CLICK HERE to watch the workouts on NFL.com.

**** TOP 40-YARD DASH TIMES ***

RUNNING BACKS

Chris Johnson, East Carolina: 4.24 seconds
Darren McFadden, Arkansas: 4.33 seconds
Anthony Alridge, Houston: 4.33 seconds
Jamaal Charles, Texas: 4.36 seconds
Chad Simpson, Morgan State: 4.42 seconds
Rashard Mendenhall, Illinois: 4.45 seconds
Matt Forte, Tulane: 4.46 seconds
Felix Jones, Arkansas: 4.47 seconds
Jalen Parmele, Toledo: 4.47 seconds
Jonathan Stewart, Oregon: 4.48 seconds

WIDE RECEIVERS

DeSean Jackson, California: 4.35 seconds
Andre Caldwell, Florida: 4.37 seconds
Will Franklin, Missouri: 4.37 seconds
Dexter Jackson, Appalachian State: 4.37 seconds
Eddie Royal, Virginia Tech: 4.39 seconds
Devin Thomas, Michigan State: 4.40 seconds
Arman Shields, Richmond: 4.44 seconds
Brandon Breazell, UCLA; 4.47 seconds
Earl Bennett, Vanderbilt: 4.48 seconds
Pierre Garcon, Mt. Union: 4.48 seconds

QUARTERBACKS

Josh Johnson, San Diego: 4.55 seconds
Kevin O’Connell, San Diego State: 4.61 seconds
Bernard Morris, Marshall: 4.68 seconds
Adam Tafralis, San Jose State: 4.78 seconds
Matt Flynn, LSU: 4.79 seconds
John David Booty, USC: 4.82 seconds
Brian Brohm, Louisville: 4.83 seconds
Kyle Wright, Miami (Fla.) 4.85 seconds

**** BLOG ENTRIES BEGIN BELOW ***

 9:38 A.M. EST: We’re still expected to see some defensive linemen and linebackers come through here — LSU’s Glenn Dorsey, for one, since he didn’t make it into the media room Sunday — but most of this day will belong to the cornerbacks and safeties.

And by the way … good morning from Indianapolis.

9:45 A.M. EST: If you live in central Pennsylvania or happen to be a regular reader of The New York Times‘ sports section, this story is probably familiar to you. For those of us in the middle of the media room who are not, the following two paragraphs from this story elicited the loudest guffaws so far this weekend:

Joe and Sue Paterno have not seen a movie in a theater since “Titanic” and watch so little television that they were delighted to stumble upon a show this spring that they had not seen before.

“We discovered ‘M*A*S*H,’” Sue Paterno said, laughing.

She’s not the only one.

10:11 A.M. EST: LSU’s Chevis Jackson, Virginia Tech’s Brandon Flowers, Alabama’s Simeon Castille, Penn State’s Justin King and Iowa’s Charles Godfrey all roamed into the room about the same time.

Jackson, like numerous other cornerbacks who pass through this room on an annual basis, cited Champ Bailey as a player after whom he attempts to model his game.

Castille, the son of former Broncos cornerback Jeremiah Castille — best known for his 1987 AFC Championship tackle and forced fumble on Earnest Byner — talked about the advice his father provided — to seize the opportunity at the Combine as best he could. Simeon said Jeremiah did not have his best workout when he came through an early permutation of the Combine 25 years ago.

10:32 A.M. EST: From last night:

TOP 10 BENCH PRESS RESULTS:

WIDE RECEIVERS

Eddie Royal, Virginia Tech: 24
Lorne Sam, UTEP: 23
Pierre Garcon, Mt. Union: 20
Darius Reynaud, West Virginia: 20
Marcus Smith, New Mexico: 20
Joe West, UTEP: 20
Mark Bradford, Stanford: 19
Arman Shields, Richmond: 19
James Hardy, Indiana: 18
Ryan Grice-Mullen, Hawai’i: 17

RUNNING BACKS/FULLBACKS

Carl Stewart (FB), Auburn: 30
Jerome Felton (FB), Furman: 30
Jonathan Stewart, Oregon: 28
Justin Forsett, California: 26
Peyton Hillis (FB), Arkansas: 26
Rashard Mendenhall, Illinois: 26
Owen Schmitt, West Virginia: 26
Cory Boyd, South Carolina: 25
Thomas Brown, Georgia: 25
BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Ole Miss: 24

11:14 A.M. EST: Occasionally looking up at the workouts on the television … San Diego’s Josh Johnson, something of a mysterious quantity since his 43-touchdown season was at the non-scholarship stratum of the level once known as Division I-AA, unofficially checking in at 4.44 seconds … while Dexter Jackson of Appalachian State was unofficially timed at 4.27 seconds.

11:36 A.M. EST: Line of the day: Notre Dame safety Tom Zbikowski, upon being asked about the Fighting Irish’s season and what went wrong:

“You got two or three hours?”

12:39 P.M. EST: Unofficially, from a quick stop at the television …

Dexter Jackson’s 4.27-second 40-yard dash remains the fastest among wide receivers for now. Cal’s DeSean Jackson checked in with a 4.31 40 time, while Will Franklin of Missouri was next with a 4.32.

Michigan’s Mario Manningham, regarded by some as the top receiver in this year’s draft class, logged times of 4.59 and 4.62 seconds.

1:20 P.M. EST: The brotherly resemblance between Hamza and Husain Abdullah is breathtaking. Truth be told, a picture of the younger Abdullah looks like a shot of Hamza with dreadlocks added via Photoshop.

The similarities don’t cease there. Both matriculated at Washington State and both play safety — including one year, 2005, where their paths intersected.

“Like my brother, but three inches shorter,” Husain said.

1:40 P.M. EST: With the RCA Dome due for demolition in October, this is the last Combine to be held there, with all activities moving across the street to Lucas Oil Stadium, which is currently in advanced construction stages in advance of the Indianapolis Colts’ debut there this summer.

“The goal of (moving to) Lucas Oil Stadium is to use the facility for all phases of the event,” said National Football Scouting president Jeff Foster, adding that team interviews of players would probably still take place at nearby hotels.

One of the advantages of the Combine’s relocation is the consolidation of medical examinations, which could take place at the stadium instead of at a local hospital.

The ground on which the RCA Dome currently stands is eventually expected to be used for an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center. Upon completion of that work, some aspects of the Combine could move back.

1:54 P.M. EST: Congratulations, Leodis McKelvin. You just became the first player in the last six years to begin his media briefing at a table and have it moved to one of the lecterns at each end of the room because the media crush became too great.

“Guess I’m in the spotlight,” he said, grinning broadly from the podium.

2:06 P.M. EST: Best forty-yard dash times, official:

WIDE RECEIVERS

DeSean Jackson, California: 4.35 seconds
Andre Caldwell, Florida: 4.37 seconds
Will Franklin, Missouri: 4.37 seconds
Dexter Jackson, Appalachian State: 4.37 seconds
Eddie Royal, Virginia Tech: 4.39 seconds
Devin Thomas, Michigan State: 4.40 seconds
Arman Shields, Richmond: 4.44 seconds
Brandon Breazell, UCLA; 4.47 seconds
Earl Bennett, Vanderbilt: 4.48 seconds
Pierre Garcon, Mt. Union: 4.48 seconds

QUARTERBACKS

Josh Johnson, San Diego: 4.55 seconds
Kevin O’Connell, San Diego State: 4.61 seconds
Bernard Morris, Marshall: 4.68 seconds
Adam Tafralis, San Jose State: 4.78 seconds
Matt Flynn, LSU: 4.79 seconds
John David Booty, USC: 4.82 seconds
Brian Brohm, Louisville: 4.83 seconds
Kyle Wright, Miami (Fla.) 4.85 seconds

2:43 P.M. EST: The room was still buzzing from Darren McFadden’s unofficial time of 4.27 seconds for his 40-yard dash when Glenn Dorsey walked into the room — a day after most of his fellow defensive linemen had addressed the media.

Of note on Dorsey:

… He isn’t working out here because he missed some pre-Combine time owing to the death of his grandmother.  He will go through the full workouts paces March 26 at his pro day in Baton Rouge, La.

… He did suffer a hairline fracture of the tibia — which he mistakenly dubbed the “tibula” – during his junior campaign in 2006, but said the injury did not affect him in 2007. 

3:12 P.M. EST: McFadden showed his blazing time wasn’t a fluke, clocking an unofficial 4.33 (per NFL Network) for his second 40-yard dash …

… East Carolina’s Chris Johnson checked in with a 4.29 40 …

… Rashard Mendenhall, 20 pounds heavier than McFadden, might have been just as impressive as the Arkansas tailback with his 4.37 time.  Mendenhall was clocked at 4.43 seconds for his first 40-yard dash …

… Central Florida’s Kevin Smith followed a 4.4-second 40-yard dash with a disappointing 4.56 in his second run.

3:53 P.M. EST: Ah, revisionist history.

The official times for the 40-yard dash are in … and it’s not McFadden with the best time, but East Carolina’s Chris Johnson, whose sizzling 4.24-second time is easily the best for any player at any position to run so far.

Chris Johnson, East Carolina: 4.24 seconds
Darren McFadden, Arkansas: 4.33 seconds
Anthony Alridge, Houston: 4.33 seconds
Jamaal Charles, Texas: 4.36 seconds
Chad Simpson, Morgan State: 4.42 seconds
Rashard Mendenhall, Illinois: 4.45 seconds
Matt Forte, Tulane: 4.46 seconds
Felix Jones, Arkansas: 4.47 seconds
Jalen Parmele, Toledo: 4.47 seconds
Jonathan Stewart, Oregon: 4.48 seconds

4:55 P.M. EST: Well, gentle reader, this is to be the last of the postings to originate from Room 110 of the Indiana Convention Center.  The last of the players have come through the room; the media is beginning to clear out, and our set — as it were — is in the process of being struck, with tripods and cameras being packed away for the trip back to Colorado.  We’ll post three full press conferences — those of Glenn Dorsey, Mike Jenkins and Hamza Abdullah’s younger brother Husain, a photo gallery and the final notebook in the next couple of hours, so if you get bored with the Academy Awards, come kill some more time with us. 

Until later, vaya con Dios from the Convention Center.

Tags: 2008 NFL Draft, 2008 Scouting Combine

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