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Even though there are not many D2 prospects at the combine, several of them have either hurt or helped themselves this week. Here is our look at those moving up and down the board.
RISERS
 OT Jared Veldheer, Hillsdale- If not for the 4.85 40-yard dash by Bruce Campbell, Veldheer would have created the biggest buzz of any lineman at the combine. He started out by measuring in at an impressive 6'8 1/8, 312 pounds, and then ran a 5.09 electronic 40-yard dash. As expected, he showed great strength putting up 32 reps of 225 to finish in the top 10 among offensive linemen and also finished in the top 10 in vertical (33.5), broad jump (9'1), and finished first in the 3-cone (7.40) and 20-yard shuttle (4.51). His performance in the drills was also impressive showing his athletic ability and quickness. Veldheer is a player we raved about shortly after last year's combine and we really felt this type of performance was likely based on what we saw on tape. After his results here at the combine it would not be surprising to see him go in the top 60-90 selections.
FALLERS
WR Preston Parker, North Alabama- Parker measured in at 5'11 1/4, 199 pounds but ran nowhere near expected clocking in the high 4.6 range on hand-held clocks and in the 4.7s on electronic clocks. He also dropped several passes and looked overwhelmed in the drills. His performance solidifies our feeling that Montana WR Marc Mariani should have had his spot at the combine as he would have done very well in the drills and likely would have ran in the mid 4.4-low 4.5 range.
OT Tony Washington, Abilene Christian- With his up and down senior season and the fact he did not participate in an all-star game, we thought that perhaps his off field issues could get overlooked but his combine performance already has several media outlets poking around to find out exactly what the issues are that Mike Mayock, Gil Brandt, and others are talking about. Measuring in at 6'6 1/8, 311 pounds, running in the 5.2s in the 40-yard dash, posting 33 reps, a 29-inch vertical, 9'6 broad jump, 7.52 3-cone, and boasting 10 1/2-inch hands and 35 1/2-inch arms is forcing everyone to dig deep into his past and it is likely that someone in the media is going to eventually print his issues. We kept our mouths quiet last summer when writing up our early reports and refuse to spill the beans on this due to our relationship with ACU coaches and other officials. All we will say is that his issue is something that we are already in the middle of checking on for next year that are high on our board before we start solidifying early grades on prospects. Once his issues come out it will be hard for any NFL team to explain drafting him and thus could ultimately plummet his stock once it is revealed.
UP IN THE AIR
RB Joique Bell, Wayne State (MI)- His career is exactly what we look for in a dominant D2 player as he dominated throughout his career and capped it by finishing with 2,084 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns on his way to earning the Harlon Hill Trophy. Then he went to the combine Senior Bowl and had a solid week of practice making us feel that perhaps our 6th-PFA type projections on him were off but he looked slow and overwhelmed in the game itself. His combine performance was somewhat a jeckle and hyde type performance running in the 4.6-4.7 range in the 40-yard dash, failed to crack the top 10 in the bench press, and not looking overly impressive in drills. Despite that he finished first in the 60-yard shuttle (11.33), second in the 3-cone (6.84), third in the broad jump (10'0), and top 5 in the vertical (36.5). If he can improve his 40-yard dash time at his pro day and by clocking in the 4.5 to low 4.6 range then his stock could start rising once again and perhaps land him in the 5th or 6th round. As of now though he appears to be a marginal draft selection to most but his production and lower body strength should still get him selected.
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