Strong group from Georgia high schools help themselves at NFL combine

INDIANAPOLIS — VJ Payne, who starred at Buford High before playing at Kansas State, hopes he helped his draft stock with a strong showing at the NFL scouting combine.

Payne, a defensive back, measured 6-foot-3 and weighed 208 pounds. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds. He had a vertical jump of 35 inches and broad jump of 10 feet, 7 inches. He did not bench press.

He was one of the 18 players from high schools around the state who participated in the combine and didn’t attend to Georgia, Georgia Tech or Georgia State.

“The type of player that you’re going to get is somebody who stays out of trouble,” Payne said. “I pride myself in staying out of trouble. I don’t like being too much in to the mix. You’re going to get a good off-the-field guy.”

Payne jumped at the scholarship offer from Kansas State.

“The reason I went out to K-State was ball, and I never looked back,” Payne said. “I never thought about transferring. I never thought about going to another school for any reason honestly.”

Cameron Ball, went to Arkansas after piling up 42 scholarship offers at Tri-Cities High. Ball is part of a strong defensive tackle group. He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.13 seconds and showed off a 32-inch vertical jump. He did not do the bench press.

“Stay down for the come-up, man,” Ball said about his message to students at Tri-Cities. “You know, the odds were stacked against me, going to that school. I won probably, like, eight games my whole career there.

“I had plenty opportunities to leave. I could have went to IMG Academy. I graduated with 42 offers from Tri-Cities High School. I do my yearly camp there. Just stay down for the come-up. God willing, I’m going to be a legend coming out of my school.”

Miami wide receiver C.J. Daniels, who also played at LSU and Liberty, was a long shot coming out of Parkview High.

“I was like an underdog, an overlooked recruit,” Daniels said. “I only had six offers coming out. But I had a few schools that took a chance on me, Liberty being one. Coach Hugh Freeze gave me an opportunity.”

Daniels participated in the position drills but did not undergo testing. He will perform at Miami’s Pro Day on March 23.

Here’s a list of the players from Georgia high schools (who didn’t play at UGA, Tech or Georgia State) who participated in the scouting combine:

Name, position, college, height, weight, high school:

Marcus Allen, CB, North Carolina, (6-foot-2, 187 pounds, Walton): He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.50 seconds and had a 39-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot, 3-inch broad jump.

Cameron Ball, DT, Arkansas (6-4, 310, Tri-Cities): Ran the 40-yard dash in 5.13 seconds. Had a 32-inch vertical jump. He did not do the bench press.

CJ Daniels, WR, Miami (6-2, 205, Parkview): He participated in position drills but did not undergo testing. He will perform at Miami’s Pro Day on March 23. Started his career at Liberty (2020-23) and also played at LSU (’24).

Caleb Downs, CB, Ohio State, (6-0, 205, Mill Creek): The projected top-10 pick skipped the workouts after reportedly being flagged for medical issues. Teams will seek second opinions. He is the sixth two-time unanimous All-American selection at Ohio State.

Jalen Farmer, OL, Kentucky, (6-5, 312, Eastside): He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.93 seconds and had a 27-inch vertical and 9-foot broad jump. Started at right guard last season for the Wildcats.

Romello Height, OLB, Texas Tech, (6-2¾, 239, Dublin): He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds and had a 39-inch vertical jump to show off his explosiveness. Finished second on the Red Raiders with nine sacks last season.

Colton Hood, DB, Tennessee (6-0, 193, Eagle’s Landing Christian): The projected first-round pick ran the 40-yard dash in 4.44 seconds. Had a 40½-inch vertical jump and leaped 10 feet, 5 inches in the broad jump. He played at Auburn (2023), Colorado (’24) and Tennessee (’25). He played in 29 games and had 77 tackles and three interceptions.

Joshua Josephs, OLB, Tennessee, (6-3, 240, North Cobb): He did not go through on-field testing, but his arms measured 34¼ inches and he had a wingspan of 6-foot-11⅞ inches.

Jalon Kilgore, S, South Carolina (6-1, 207, Putnam County): Has also played some nickel back. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds and had a 37-inch vertical jump. He bench-pressed 225 pounds 16 times.

Connor Lew, C, Auburn (6-3, 303, Kennesaw Mountain): He showed off his strength by bench-pressing 225 pounds 31 times. Only Texas A&M’s Trey Zuhn III (33) and Clemson’s Blake Miller (32) had more lifts. He took over at center for the Tigers in 2023. He was an AJC Super 11 selection.

Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State, (6-2, 326, North Gwinnett): Showed off his agility during the defensive lineman on-field drills. He played in just two games after suffering a foot injury last season. Considered one of the top defensive tackles in the draft.

LT Overton, DL, Alabama (6-3, 274, Milton): He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.87 seconds. Overton played in 13 games and made 12 starts last season.

VJ Payne, DB, Kansas State, (6-3, 208, Buford): He played for the Wildcats from 2022-25. Payne ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds and had a vertical jump of 35 inches and broad jump of 10 feet, 7 inches. He did not bench press.