The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2018 THE WOLVERINE 51 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL MAURICE HURST BOWS OUT OF COMBINE WITH HEART CONDITION Former Michigan defensive tackle Maurice Hurst had to withdraw from the NFL Scouting Combine, which ran from Feb. 27 to March 5 in In- dianapolis, after a heart condition was discovered while going through routine medical checks. Hurst had an irregular electrocar- diogram (EKG), which he said in an NFL Network interview has hap- pened before. An EKG measures the heart's electrical activity. "Same thing [happened] at Michi- gan," Hurst said. "I went through a lot of tests, got that all figured out and was cleared. Hopefully, I can just do the same thing once I get back to school and come back for rechecks." Michigan officials are not allowed to comment on the issue due to Health Insurance Portability and Ac- countability Act (HIPA) regulations, unless Hurst gives his authorization. He is planning to participate in Michigan's pro day, which is sched- uled for March 23, but he needs to be cleared before then. Yahoo! Sports' Charles Robinson reported that Hurst would see a heart specialist in Cleveland prior to U-M's event. The defensive tackle has been pro- jected to be a first-round pick in this spring's NFL Draft, but this could cause some teams to shy away from Hurst, who measured in at 6-1¼ and 292 pounds at the NFL Combine. "It was a little bit devastating at first, but then I just thought about where I'm at and all the stuff that's gone into being here," Hurst said. "I was just excited just to be able to meet all these great coaches and players." NFL Network's Kim Jones said Hurst talked to about 15 teams at the combine before leaving and added that he felt good physically. Mike Mayock, NFL Network's draft analyst, has Hurst listed as his No. 3 interior defensive lineman — although that listing was from before the heart condition was found. "Maurice Hurst is a third-down player — he's a sub-package de- fender," Mayock said. "They talk about exposing your hips, but when you're quick enough like he is, you can make the play. "Hurst is a quick explosion guy — one gap and go." Hurst also impressed ESPN's draft expert duo of Todd McShay, who had Hurst projected to go in the top 20 picks, and Mel Kiper Jr., who called Hurst the draft's top-ranked 4-3 tackle — but those plaudits also came before the combine discovery. "Hurst is a quick and powerful one- gap penetrator who is highly disrup- tive against the run," McShay noted. "He has a powerful upper body and disengages quickly. I think he fits best as a three-technique in a 4-3 system, where he can get in the backfield and get after the quarterback." The No. 1 topic of conversation surrounding Hurst, outside of his health, is his size. He is smaller than the average NFL defensive tackle, and many analysts wonder if he can last in the league being undersized. Pro Football Focus has repeatedly compared Hurst to Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Don- ald and Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, both of whom are known as undersized success sto- ries in the NFL at defensive tackle. Donald is listed at 6-1, 280 pounds, while Jarrett checks in at 6-0, 305. "Hurst was diagnosed with an un- disclosed heart condition at the NFL Combine, but he maintains top status among defensive players on our draft board until more information is re- vealed," Steve Palazzolo wrote while projecting Hurst No. 3 in his March 6 mock draft. "Hurst's three-year pro- duction is the best in the class. … He's an explosive, interior disruptor." Because of his size, Hurst's mea- surements at the combine may have been the most important thing he did all weekend, even if he would've participated in all the drills. He weighed in 12 pounds heavier than what Michigan listed him at on the official website — very good news for Hurst. — Andrew Vailliencourt Despite not participating in the combine, Hurst was still projected to go No. 3 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft by Pro Football Focus, though the outlet is a clear outlier on his NFL stock. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN