USC’s Drake London tries to silence his NFL draft doubters with some fancy footwork
Ryan Kartje (LA Times) — His stock was soaring, his future stardom seemingly assured, when last October a defender rolled over Drake London’s right ankle as he fell into the end zone. All of a sudden, everything was in doubt.
But nearly six months later, with the NFL draft looming, only a few of those questions linger, the most pertinent of which the receiver set out to answer Friday.
A sideline of scouts, coaches and executives from 12 NFL teams watched closely from the practice field at USC as London ran routes, caught passes and showcased footwork Friday. Many on hand represented teams with picks in the top half of the first round, where many have pegged the USC receiver to be selected.
Most of those teams probably would’ve preferred to see more, but London chose not to run a 40-yard dash or take part in any other speed testing, avoiding the risk that comes with running this late in the process.
“You know, everybody has six, eight weeks, a couple months to really train for that, whether it’s broad jump, vertical, all of that,” London said. “I was just trying to get back running at the end of the day. The tape is out there. You’ve seen it.”
What no one had seen until Friday was London cut on that surgically repaired right ankle. He was still recovering during the NFL Scouting Combine in February. He missed USC’s Pro Day last month and had to delay his own by 10 days because of a mild hamstring strain.
But London was front and center Friday. Cones for footwork drills were set up directly in front of the sideline, and London had no trouble deftly cutting between them, chopping his feet violently, pushing off his ankle without problem. The footwork drills lasted just a few minutes, but still seemed enough to put any remaining doubters at ease.
“I was just trying to complete the workout,” London said, “trying to showcase that I’m back to where I was at, if not even better.”
Drake London runs a drill Friday. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP)
Many wondered whether that would be possible in late October, when he lay crumpled on the Coliseum turf with tears in his eyes. In the following weeks, he could barely walk, let alone cut on a dime. He hobbled for a while on crutches and wore a boot after surgery. It wasn’t until a week before the Combine that London finally could jog on a treadmill.
Prognosticators have picked apart his profile in the meantime. Most of their questions have centered on London’s speed and ability to separate from NFL defensive backs.
London shrugged away those suggestions Friday. So did T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the former Pro Bowl receiver who has been training London in recent months. Had he run a 40-yard dash Friday, Houshmandzadeh said he believes London would have landed somewhere between a high 4.4 and a 4.53.
“You don’t see guys with his size move the way that he moves,” Houshmandzadeh said. “He moves like a little guy, but he’s a big guy. That’s rare.”
It’s that unique skill set that could send London soaring into the top 10, perhaps even as the top receiver drafted. Alleviating concerns about his ankle should help that standing.
Former USC receivers coach and star player Keary Colbert — now with Florida — flew across the country to be there for London today and answer any questions from teams.
London will get the chance to answer any other questions in due time, but with his ankle healed and his Pro Day now behind him, there’s no doubt what comes next.
“I mean, I’ve been dreaming about this ever since I was a little kid,” London said. “When they tell you something to write, what do you want to be when you’re older? It wasn’t a superhero, it wasn’t a garbage man or a fireman or anything like that. It was NFL or NBA. I wanted to be in the league.
“So the dream is happening and I just can’t wait for it.”
latimes.com
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It seems that Drake London managed to fully accomplish his goal of showing he’s completely recovered (even better, he insists) and ready to take on the NFL. The 12 teams that showed up may have liked to see more, but by all accounts, they saw enough of USC’s latest ball magnet (including his surgical scar for good measure) to draft him in the first round, where he’ll join a huge Trojan football fraternity. And Drake still managed this without running the “magical forty” that remains a mystical requirement in the measurement of every NFL athlete. It amazes me, just a… Read more »
Just in the last few weeks, he went from the first receiver off the board ( to the Jets) to later first round, according to the draft analysts. I hope he avoids the Jets USC jinx, and ends up going mid first to a team with a solid organization and QB. I still think he will be an instant impact player in the Cooper Kupp mold. Happy Easter everyone!
The most important quality for a wide receiver is running a precise route to get to the spot when the QB expects you to be there and open. London was able to do that and hopefully showed that he still can. He also has that quality to get the ball even when covered. Here comes the but…that ankle is probably still not 100% but it probably will be by kick off in September. His 40 time would show his flat out speed and if it is NFL quality. He is a great athlete and should do well when ever he… Read more »
It’ll be a shame if he goes to the Jets. I still think he’s a top 15 guy. I also believe his decision not to run a forty, but still demonstrate his pattern and catching skills was an excellent plan which was very well supported by top-liners like Jordan Palmer. Drake London was the greatest playmaking WR I’ve ever seen at USC, and that’s saying a lot when you consider Trojan bigtimer “Just Give Me The Damn Ball” Keyshawn Johnson, who was ironically also not only the Jet’s first pick, but also the #1 pick in the entire ’96 NFL… Read more »
Often these one man scouting shows are just a Ferdinand the bull moment. The player gets stung by a bee, snorts and runs around like a raging bull for a few moments, only to be placed on the sidelines, sniffing flowers. Drake is different. He proved his potential on the field the past couple of seasons and was only out there to prove he could still do the work. He wore crocs out to the field to show the surgical scar he earned by being covered like a car chase in L. A. The thing that made him one of… Read more »
Rialto, I think the quality of a player is shown by what happens to the team when he is not there. With Drake London, SC won four games. Without him, SC won zero games. I am convinced that without Drake London, the 2021 Trojans would have been 1-11 (we would have beat a woeful San Jose State team without him). In fact, after he came out, AZ turned a rout into a close game. The consensus on the Board was the 2021 was the worst SC team any of us had seen, even worse than the Petros Papadakis team that… Read more »
What gets me is the media is worried about his “separation” from a db. Most of his catches were made while totally engaged closely with a db, he simply is like a ball magnet and out reaches the defense. This is the go to guy when you are at 3rd and nine, plain and simple.
Great to see this first cabin treatment for Drake:
“Former USC receivers coach and star player Keary Colbert — now with Florida — flew across the country to be there for Drake London today and answer any questions from teams.”
That just shows Colbert is a Trojan and will always be a Trojan.