I would be willing to place a bet (not for money, of course, since that is against the rules) with you that if you turn on ESPN right now, there will be something dealing with the NFL combine.
Something I have noticed while watching the coverage is that the underdogs are seriously underrated.
In life, the underdog is someone who critics expect to fail but in the end proves the critics wrong. In football, this is not an uncommon phrase. You always hear commentators calling the lower-ranked team the underdog. Sometimes you hear about players who have been through adversity, and they are deemed an underdog.
This year’s combine was not short on underdogs. These players come from all over the country to show the scouts they are NFL-ready and should be drafted.
One underdog who stuck out to me (and a lot of media analysts) was Blake Bortles from UCF. Bortles was the only one of the “Big Three” (Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater and Bortles) to participate in drills during the combine. Bortles impressed the scouts with his strong throwing abilities and broad body build. It seems that Bortles simply looks the part of an NFL quarterback.
In my opinion, Bortles is more than just able to look the part of an NFL quarterback; he can act like it as well. Bortles always acts in a way that is far past his age.
Heading into a hopeful NFL career, Bortles seems to have a good head on his shoulders. I do not know if this has anything to do with being called an underdog and feeling like he needs to prove he belongs, but I would like to think it has a little to do with it.
I will leave you with a quote from a combine interview. Bortles was asked about how he would deal with not playing right away even if he was a top-five pick. He responded with ease.
“There’s no doubt I need coaching; I need help,” Bortles said. “I think everybody in the game does. There (are) reasons why all these greats out there are continuing to play and continuing to work in the offseason and get coached.”
That is a player who, despite being called an underdog at times, has proved his critics wrong by simply playing hard and speaking with a respect for the game.
