Loston, Trice top DBs at Dallas Combine

The Under Armour/Scout.com Combine went down this past Saturday at Dallas and athletes from three different states were represented. Plenty of athletes were on hand to validate their play on a college football team. Today, we feature some of the top defensive backs who were present.

MVP: Craig Loston, Aldine (TX) Eisenhower
He is already the size of several Division I safeties (6-foot-1, 190), so choosing Loston as the MVP was a no-brainer. When it comes to footwork, Loston moves like a cornerback, but has the vision of a safety. After posting a 4.57 in the 40-yard and a 10-foot1 broad jump, Loston seemed to be in a league of his own. When the groups broke out into drills, he displayed his explosiveness when breaking on passes. 

Defensive back coach Don Cox:
“That young man (Loston) is on a whole different level. He needs to be at the Under Armour (All-American) game because he just out shined everybody. He plays at a level that seems higher than many other guys and he can only get better and better.”

Top performer: Marcus Trice, Mesquite (TX)
If there is one player who showed complete and total confidence, it was Trice (5-9.5, 164). After about three rounds of drills, it seemed like he was the wide receivers’ primary target in the 1-on-1 competitions. Trice definitely stepped up to the challenge of anyone he faced. He displayed great hips and made good breaks on the balls and finished the day with four interceptions. Trice (for the defensive backs) set the tone from start to finish.

Defensive back coach Don Cox: 
“He (Trice) has that swagger and you can’t buy that type of swagger. He backed up everything he talked. Very few passes were caught on him and he locked down some of the top wide receivers who were at the camp. Not matter how much was thrown at him, he never backed down and never buckled. He is a true lockdown corner.”

Other standouts:
Vincent McDaniel, South Grand Prairie (TX)
McDaniel (5-foot-6.5, 141) is a solid corner who started out the day kind of slow, but once the groups broke out into 1-on-1 and 7-on-7 drills, McDaniel turned it up to a new level. He is a small corner, but he showed how well he jams receiver on the line. What stands out for McDaniel is aggressive play and closing abilities.

Javon Harris, Lawton (OK) Macarthur
Harris (5-foot-11.5, 178) is a player who showed that he is true free safety. With his good hips and vision, he could actually play anywhere in the secondary. But after the performance Saturday, it is safe to say he natural safety and had the strong play to back it up.

Thomas Ferguson, South Grand Prairie (TX)
Ferguson (6-foot-.5, 192) was all over the place and if a ball was in the air, he made a play on it. He displayed all of the tools to be a solid safety on the next level. He showed great hips and instincts when it comes to finding the ball.

Sleeper:
Michael Venson, Katy Morton Ranch
Coming into this combine it is safe to say that Venson (5-foot-9, 160) was slightly an unknown to the recruiting circuit. But he proved that he is worthy of some looks. He displayed good footwork in drills and 1-on-1. And if that wasn’t enough, he ran a 4.55 in the 40-yard.