INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Glenn Dorsey was at the hospital from about 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, getting poked and prodded as NFL teams checked out players’ health at the annual scouting combine.
“MRIs, CT scans, everything,” Dorsey recalled. “There’s things from high school they want to check out.”
A day later, the defensive tackle from LSU got poked and prodded by a swarm of media asking if any lingering injuries will affect his status as one of the top picks in April’s draft.
Dorsey pronounced himself healthy. He’s not participating in any drills at the combine, choosing to wait until LSU’s Pro Day on March 26. He said it’s because he missed training time after the death of his grandmother.
Dorsey fractured his right tibia before his junior season but played through it. He also played through a sprained right knee this past season.
“There’s no health concerns to my knowledge,” he said. “I haven’t missed a game since I’ve been at LSU. Everybody gets nicked up.”
Dorsey added, “None of the teams have come to me about injuries at all. I guess we’ll have to see.”
He chuckled about rumors that he wasn’t attending the combine and said he’s prepared for the scrutiny that comes with being one of the top prospects in the draft.
“I’m never surprised,” Dorsey said. “I try to set myself up to hear wild things. Sometimes, I just wonder where they get it from.”
—
NOT HIGH ON HIGH PICKS: Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian isn’t sure if having a top 10 draft pick would be worth it.
His Colts don’t have a selection until late in the second round. Polian said good teams like the Colts are less likely than in the past to trade up for an early pick because of the required financial commitment. Last year’s top pick, JaMarcus Russell, missed all of training camp in a contract dispute before getting $29 million in guarantees.
“Trades are a unique thing in the first round anymore because of the cost of the top 10 picks financially,” Polian said. “To take on that cost … is almost counterintuitive.”
Polian said agents have driven up the cost of the early picks, making it more difficult than ever for struggling franchises to improve. He said that cost can hamper teams for years, especially if they make a mistake on a pick or the player gets injured.
“The draft was designed to either allow the weakest teams, based on record, to choose the best players, or if they chose not to take a particular player, to gather a bunch of picks to further accelerate their growth and competitiveness,” he said. “That’s now been skewed by the cost of the picks in the first round.
“When that’s skewed and changed because of the agents, that isn’t a good thing for the game.”
—
CASON CARES: Cornerback Antoine Cason of Arizona isn’t just proud he decided to try to raise money to fight cancer or that he was so successful in collecting funds. What he remembers most is how he hung with the plan despite facing initial obstacles.
Cason and a former teammate, Matt Brooks, concocted the idea in June to sell rubber wristbands to support the American Cancer Society. Cason wanted to honor his grandfather, who died of leukemia last February.
But as a varsity athlete, Cason needed approval from the NCAA and the Pac-10 to be involved in such fundraising. It took several months of persistence and writing letters to both organizations to receive the go-ahead.
Finally, in September, “Cason Cares” was launched. The pair raised $7,000 in two months by selling the wristbands for $3 each. Members of the Phoenix Suns even wore them.
The Jim Thorpe Award winner as the nation’s top defensive back, Cason was putting in 14-hour days with football practice, school and working on the campaign.
“I wanted to give back and do something positive that pretty much everyone can relate to, that someone in their family has had cancer,” Cason said.
—
JOHNSON FLIES: East Carolina running back Chris Johnson put up the fastest 40-yard dash time of the combine so far, 4.24 seconds, on Sunday.
Johnson outpaced Arkansas’ Darren McFadden, who ran it in 4.33 seconds.
California wide receiver DeSean Jackson had the fastest 40 time at his position, finishing in 4.35 seconds. He finished just ahead of Andre Caldwell of Florida, Dexter Jackson of Appalachian State and Will Franklin of Missouri, who all finished in 4.37 seconds.
—
FAGG HURT: Florida State wide receiver De’Cody Fagg hurt his left leg during Sunday morning’s drills for quarterbacks and receivers and was taken from the RCA Dome field on a stretcher.
—
AP Sports Writer Cliff Brunt contributed to this report.
Add A Comment
THIS IS NOT A GAMBLING SITE – If you think you have a gambling problem click here.
Disclaimer: This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Individual users are responsible for the laws regarding accessing gambling information from their jurisdictions. Many countries around the world prohibit gambling, please check the laws in your location. Any use of this information that may violate any federal, state, local or international law is strictly prohibited.
Copyright: The information contained on TheSpread.com website is protected by international copyright and may not be reproduced, or redistributed in any way without expressed written consent.
About: TheSpread.com is the largest sports betting news site in the United States. We provide point spread news, odds, statistics and information to over 175 countries around the world each year. Our coverage includes all North American College and Professional Sports as well as entertainment, political and proposition wagering news.
©1999-2023 TheSpread.com