Ole Miss to Send 4 Players to NFL Combine

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

Four Ole Miss Rebels have been invited to showcase their talents on the gridiron at the 2020 NFL Combine Feb. 23 – March 1 at Lucas Oil Stadium, in Indianapolis.

Scottie Phillips heads to the NFL Combine with three other teammates. Photo courtesy of Joshua McCoy / Ole Miss Athletics.

Josiah Coatney, Bentio Jones, Scottie Phillips and Qaadir Sheppard will go through an extensive series of drills, workouts, interviews, testing and measurements in front of league scouts and personnel as they pursue a professional football career in hopes of being selected in April’s NFL Draft.

Coatney heads to the combine after his stint with the Rebels after playing 36 games from 2017-19 at defensive end. He recorded 174 tackles with 70 solo and 104 assists. The Douglasville, Ga. native also had six sacks and forced two fumbles during his tenure. Coatney took part in the Reese’s Senior Bowl as a part of the South squad.

Jones played in all 48 games during his time in Oxford with the Landshark defense. He recorded a total of 132 tackles, 66 solos. The Waynesboro, Miss. native pressured the opposing quarterback and got home 10.5 times in sacks for a total of 38 yards lost and one interception in his senior campaign.

Ole Miss running back Scottie Phillips played two seasons after transferring in from Jones Community College. He played in 21 games and rushed for 1,470 yards with 17 touchdowns. The Ellisville, Miss. native recorded 18 receptions for 182 yards out of the backfield with three scores.

Sheppard played outside linebacker for the Rebels for three seasons after transferring in from Syracuse. During his time in Oxford, he played in 27 games and recorded 81 total tackles and got into the backfield for 12 tackles for a total loss of 35 yards.

The NFL Scouting Combine (National Invitational Camp) is organized and operated by National Football Scouting, Inc. More than 600 NFL personnel, including head coaches, general managers, scouts and medical staff representing all 32 teams, will attend the Scouting Combine and evaluate 337 of the nation’s top college players eligible for the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft.

Fans can begin watching live coverage of the combine on Feb. 27-March 1 on the NFL Network and NFL.com beginning at 3 p.m. CT (Thursday-Saturday). On Sunday, coverage will start at 1 p.m.