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Ali Marpet, an offensive lineman from Division III Hobart & William Smith College, was the only Division III player invited to the NFL Combine. Let's just say he made the most of it:
Hobart OL Ali Marpet: "I take eating pretty seriously." Right on, brother.
— Doug Farrar (@SI_DougFarrar) February 18, 2015
Ali Marpet's grocery bill must be enormous. "I need 7,000-plus [calories per day] ... if I want to gain weight, I need 8-9,000 calories."
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurke_SI) February 19, 2015
Fastest OL of 2015 Combine: Ali Marpet of @HobartFootball with a 4.98
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) February 20, 2015
Hobart OL Ali Marpet Bench reps: 30 40 yard: 5.10 Let's go! https://t.co/CB4S7nPvKL
— Rich Keefe (@Keefe21) February 20, 2015
If all that weren't enough, Marpet also had the fastest 10-yard split (in the 40) of any offensive lineman at 1.74 seconds, a time that was actually better than about half of this year's tight ends. Add in interviews with the Bills, the Falcons, and the Patriots, and I would say that Ali had a pretty damn good combine.
His skill isn't exactly news, so this isn't just some Combine Workout Hero that came out of nowhere - this is more of a "confirmation of known skill" plus a little extra wow factor for good measure.
Not much else happened for our underdog linemen on Friday. Al Bond reaffirmed the physical limitations that will prevent him from being a tackle at the next level, and Robert Myers showed that he isn't the greatest athlete, but it won't keep him from starting at the next level... though his issues with spandex might.
Robert "Quadzilla" Myers is your new favorite offensive lineman: http://t.co/qIfZ3ynUMQ Vine: https://t.co/UiNrltPhFy
— LostLettermen.com (@LostLettermen) February 20, 2015