Notre Dame Football: Full results from NFL Combine for DeShone Kizer, Jarron Jones & Isaac Rochell

If DeShone Kizer’s performance in a plethora of NFL Combine tests were compared solely to previous Notre Dame Fighting Irish players, the quarterback’s effort could be summarized as Bobbie Howard-esque.

Howard, a linebacker and undrafted free agent from the Class of 1999, was likely satisfied with his 30 inch vertical jump, 110 inch broad jump, 4.48 second 20-yard shuttle and 7.52 second performance in the three-cone drill.

But for Kizer, a projected first or second round draft pick, to put up similar numbers - 30.5 inch vertical, 107 inch broad, 4.53 second shuttle and 7.40 second three-cone - was considered largely disappointing.

Kizer was ninth fastest of 12 quarterbacks who elected to run the 40 this year. He was eighth of 13 QBs in terms of best vertical, 11 of 13 in the broad jump and dead last in both the 20-yard shuttle and the three-cone drill. (An explanation of each drill is here.)

The Toledo, Ohio native’s on-field performance at the so-called “Underwear Olympics” may cause him to fall in a few mock drafts. But there’s a multitude of Pro Days and private workouts between now and April 27, the first day of the NFL Draft in Philadelphia. General managers, coaches and scouts can dissect Kizer’s speed and agility with their own eyes, or dim the lights and break down the 1,700 snaps he took under center at Notre Dame.

Kizer may have underwhelmed at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, but he received rave reviews for his poise and accountability in meeting rooms with GMs and media members.

Club representatives are notorious for feeding misinformation to media members about their draft intentions, often hoping to maximize value for their pick. It’s impossible, then, to surmise the intentions of 49ers general manager John Lynch when he volunteered that Kizer “blew the doors off” his in-person chat.

Was this an attempt by the Niners, who hold the second pick, to make Kizer’s actual suitors overpay for him? Or was this a genuine signal that San Francisco intends to select the former Irish signalcaller with either a first or second round (34th overall) pick?

This much seems certain: Any scout that suggests Kizer would have benefited from an additional year of college is a true dunderhead. The 2017 quarterback class of Kizer, the Clemson Tigers’ Deshaun Watson and North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky seems tame compared to the potential murderer’s row of the UCLA Bruins’ Josh Rosen, Lousiville’s Lamar Jackson and USC Trojans’ Sam Darnold that awaits in 2018. The time for Kizer to maximize his value, whatever it may be, is this year - instead of looking over his shoulder at redshirt sophomore Brandon Wimbush waiting to make his mark in South Bend.

ROCHELL BESTS JONES

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

While Kizer has certainly been the focus of Notre Dame-related Combine chatter, the Irish were also represented Sunday by a pair of defensive linemen: Jarron Jones and Isaac Rochell.

Rochell, a projected Day 3 pick, ran a 4.89 second 40-yard dash, good for 30th out of 50 participants. Jones, considered a second- or third-round selection, was the third slowest of the group, posting a 5.33 second result.

Rochell posted 25 reps at 225 pounds on the bench press, tied for 13th out of 49 participants. Jones threw up three fewer reps and tied for 30th.

Jones’ vertical jump was so poor, it almost seems like a mistaken report. The lineman who blocked four kicks in college jumped just 20.5 inches high. That’s not only 4 inches less than any other participant, it’s 4 inches less than any other previous poor performance by a Notre Dame player in 17 years (Dan Stevenson, a sixth-round pick in 2006, jumped 24.5 inches).

Rochell jumped 114 inches in the broad jump, good for 29th out of 50 participants. Jones did not participate in this event, and he and Rochell also skipped the 20-yard and 60-yard shuttles and the three-cone drill.

You can look at Kizer’s, Jones’ and Rochell’s results in context of fellow 2017 draft hopefuls here, or compare them to previous Irish players invited to the Combine in the last 18 years.