DaVon Hamilton was a winner for his position group for the second day in a row, while Malik Harrison also posted one of the best marks among linebackers.
After topping all defensive linemen with 33 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press on Friday, Hamilton had the best vertical jump among defensive tackles in his NFL Scouting Combine workout on Saturday, leaping 29.5 inches into the air.
While that number ranked just 19th among all defensive linemen, the top 18 were all part of the defensive end group. Among the defensive tackles who participated in the vertical jump, no one leaped higher than Hamilton – which is particularly impressive considering Hamilton is the fourth-largest defensive tackle at this year's combine at 6'3 3/4" and 320 pounds.
Hamilton ran the 40-yard dash in 5.14 seconds, which ranked only 13th out of 18 defensive tackles who ran. Taking his size into consideration again, though, that's a solid time for a 320-pound nose tackle. Hamilton also drew praise for his performance in position drills, where he showed his fluidity in ability to move in ways he will actually move as a defensive lineman on the football field.
.@dmhamilton53 with the moves
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) February 29, 2020
Watch the #NFLCombine all weekend on @nflnetwork.#GoBucks #DevelopedHere pic.twitter.com/kENzKR9nK1
Justin Madubuike, Neville Gallimore, Khalil Davis, and Davon Hamilton have looked great.
— Jordan Reid (@JReidNFL) February 29, 2020
Hamilton also ran a 7.72-second 3-cone drill, which tied for third among defensive tackles who participated. His worst showing of the day came in the broad jump, where his leap of 8-foot-6 was the third-shortest. Altogether, though, Hamilton had a strong combine – after already bolstering his draft stock with a big week at the Senior Bowl, where he earned Practice Player of the Week honors – that likely solidified his standing as a middle-round draft pick.
Harrison, one of Hamilton's best friends from their years at Ohio State and a fellow Central Ohio native, likewise went through a full on-field workout and had a good showing at the NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday.
Most notably, Harrison put his agility on display by topping all linebackers in the 3-cone drill with a time of 6.83 seconds. Not including defensive backs, who will work out on Sunday, that ranks as the third-best time in the 3-cone drill – which tests athletes' ability to turn and maintain speed – among all participants in this year's combine, behind only Baylor wide receiver Denzel Mims and Dayton tight end Adam Trautman.
Harrison's highlights of the day also included a 36-inch vertical jump, which tied for eighth among linebackers, and a 4.32-second 20-yard shuttle, which tied for 11th among linebackers. Harrison's 10-foot-2 broad jump tied for 13th out of 31 linebackers, and his 4.66-second 40-yard dash tied for 15th out of 31 linebackers.
While it was Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons who stole the show on Saturday night by running a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at 238 pounds, Harrison's numbers across the board were more than good enough for a 6'2 5/8", 247-pound linebacker. Like Hamilton, he also showed out well in positional drills.
That's an athlete right there @Leek_39
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 1, 2020
Watch the #NFLCombine through tomorrow night on @nflnetwork.#GoBucks #DevelopedHere pic.twitter.com/cNBefChdJV
I think Malik Harrison checked boxes today. Haven't done a ton of tape study on him, but he looked good on the Senior Bowl tape and 4.66/36 vert/10'2 broad are good numbers for him at 6-3, 247. Big LB who can run just fine. Curious to see agilities, but good day so far.
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) March 1, 2020
Harrison has been widely projected as a late second-round to early third-round pick in early mock drafts, and his combine performance should only help his draft stock.
Former Ohio State defensive end Chase Young, who is already a sure bet to be one of the top picks in the 2020 NFL draft, did not participate in any all drills on Saturday, having chosen to focus on continuing to improve as a football player rather than training for combine drills in the months leading up to the draft.
Three more former Buckeyes will work out on Sunday, the final day of this year's NFL Scouting Combine, including Jeff Okudah – who is planning to go through a full workout even though he, like Young, is already projected as one of the draft's top picks – as well as fellow defensive backs Damon Arnette and Jordan Fuller.
Okudah was the only one of those defensive backs to participate in the bench press on Saturday, putting up 11 repetitions of 225 pounds. While that was one of the worst performances among defensive backs – no defensive back had less than 10 – the bench press is typically a drill that favors players with shorter arms, and Okudah is tied for the second-longest arms of any defensive back at the combine.
It would be a surprise if Okudah didn't put up much better numbers in his runs and jumps on Sunday, when NFL Network's coverage of on-field workouts is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
