Central Michigan University Athletics
Three Take Part in NFL Combine
2/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Three former Central Michigan football players will get a chance to strut their stuff on the national stage this week at the annual NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Ex-CMU standouts Titus Davis, Thomas Rawls and Leterrius Walton are among the 300-some invitees who hope to catch the eye of NFL teams.
That the trio is in Indianapolis this weekend for the invite-only event suggests they are among the cream of the crop of draft-eligible players. The draft is scheduled from April 30-May 2 in Chicago.
Walton is a 6-foot-5, 315-pound defensive tackle from Clinton Township, Mich.; Davis a 6-2, 190-pound wide receiver from Wheaton, Ill.; and Rawls a 5-10, 217-pound running back from Flint, Mich.
The trio will be scrutinized and graded on their performance in several areas, including the bench press, the vertical jump and the three-cone drill. The combine's marquee event is the 40-yard dash.
Walton has spent the last seven weeks in Indianapolis, training daily at St. Vincent Sports Performance.
He said he has consulted with former CMU teammate Zurlon Tipton, who just completed his rookie season with the Indianapolis Colts, and he has talked with several other former NFL players. One of whom, former NFL linebacker Roosevelt Colvin, meets with and helps train Walton three times per week.
"I'm best friends with Zurlon Tipton and we talk about a lot of stuff, hang out a lot," Walton said. "I meet with Rosevelt Colvin three times a week; go over combine-specific drills.
"It helps a lot. It's a blessing to have someone who's been there, been through it all and experience it."
Walton said he has hired an agent and leaves it up to his representatives to talk with prospective employers. One can spend hours combing over draft projections on myriad websites.
"It's not my job to know what people are saying, I'm here to work," Walton said. "You get curious about it, but at the same time you've got to do your part: Work and show what I'm capable of and at the end of the day, God will take of it.
"I've just got to get out there and show the best of my ability."
Walton, like every player in Indianapolis this weekend, knows how critical the combine can for an NFL prospect. His performance, and that of every other participant, can have a major impact how high or how low he may be selected in the draft, or whether he gets drafted at all.
"It's very important for me and my future," Walton said. "I want to show everybody that I'm capable of playing a long time in the NFL."
Walton made 33 tackles including 19 solos last season when he earned First Team All-Mid-American Conference honors in 2014.
Davis is CMU's all-time leader in receiving yardage (3,705) and career touchdown receptions (37). He finished the 2014 season with 60 catches for 980 yards and a Chippewa-record 13 TD receptions despite missing nearly four games due to injury. He was named to the All-MAC First Team, the fourth consecutive year that he earned all-conference honors.
He is also the only player in Football Bowl Subdivision history to have caught at least eight touchdown passes in each of his four collegiate seasons.
Rawls, who transferred to CMU after three years at Michigan, finished the season with 1,103 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns on 210 attempts (a 5.3-yard average), earning second team All-MAC honors. His 270-yard effort in a 34-17 win at Northern Illinois ranks as the sixth-best single-game rushing total in CMU history.
Walton, Davis and Rawls are three of nine players from MAC schools invited to the combine. The others are Miami (Ohio) defensive back Quinten Rollins, Northern Illinois wide receiver Da'Ron Brown, Ball State running back Jahwahn Edwards, Toledo offensive lineman Greg Mancz, UMass tight end Jean Sifrin and Western Michigan defensive back Donald Celiscar.
