A prominent defensive standout won’t be at the NFL Combine after a background check turned up some off-field issues.
Louisiana Tech’s Jaylon Ferguson, the all-time NCAA sack leader, was uninvited from the NFL Combine after the league discovered a simple battery charge from his freshman year at school stemming from a fight at a McDonald’s, according to Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Ferguson was also charged with public intoxication in college.
NFL teams are aware of Ferguson’s incidents. He had been projected as a first-round pick before the allegations went public, and the rescinding of his invitation is league policy.
Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and Colorado State receiver Preston Williams were also blocked from attending the Combine, with both having previous publicly-reported incidents. Simmons also suffered a brutal injury ahead of the draft that will likely have further impacts on his stock.
