West Virginia's Bruce Irvin is getting ready for the NFL Combine on Feb. 22. (Andy Lyons/Getty Photo/ESPN.com)
With the Super Bowl behind us, football fans are looking forward to watching some future NFL players.
The NFL Combine is set to kick off on Feb. 22 and that means that hundreds of college players are preparing for it by working out on their own or in some cases, with trainers.
West Virginia’s Bruce Irvin is one of those players.
The Georgia native is in Central Florida working out with Tom Shaw’s camp at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports at Disney. Irvin, along with a small group of players from across the country, are preparing themselves for the challenges that lie ahead in Indianapolis.
“I’m getting some good work in and I’m really enjoying it,” Irvin said after practice last week.
At 6-foot-3, 240-pounds, Irvin is making the jump from defensive end – a position he played most of the time in college – to outside linebacker. It’s something that he is working on during his time at Shaw’s camp.
“I’m just trying to get comfortable to becoming an outside backer and just getting settled into my position,” Irvin added.
Last season, Irvin helped the Mountaineers to a 10-3 record and a share of the Big East title. He was a force for West Virginia’s defense, leading the team with 8.5 sacks as well as 15 tackles for a loss. His college career culminating with an impressive 70-33 win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl on Jan.4.
“I’d be lying if I said I expected us to go out there and score 70 points,” Irvin said. “I just wanted to lay it all out there on the line. It was the last time that I was going to play with most of those guys.”
“It’s nice to get one of those BCS rings,” Irvin added with a smile.
All his hard work paid off when he received his invitation from the NFL to participate in the combine, something he is looking forward to doing.
“They said in the email, if you got this invite you can consider yourself one of the top players in college football,” Irvin said, adding, “I’m a competitive guy so I am looking forward to competing with some of the best players in the country.”
It’s the competition that could come up big for him when the NFL Draft kicks off on April 26 in New York City.
Irvin has been rated in some mock drafts as the fifth-best outside linebacker in the draft. That’s something that doesn’t concern Irvin.
“I feel like I am one of the top players in the country,” Irvin said, noting that he feels like he will go in the first round. Either way, he is looking forward to the journey.
“It’s a dream come true and I am just looking forward to it.”
