As linebacker Channing Tindall answered questions at the NFL combine on Friday, he started to laugh midway through a response. Nakobe Dean, who was Tindall’s teammate at University of Georgia, had crashed the interview to ask Tindall some questions about who is his best friend.
The defending national champion, Georgia was well represented Friday at the NFL combine. Linebackers Dean, Tindall and Quay Walker were in Indianapolis, showcasing their skills and complimenting each other. The 2022 class of linebackers has a heavy dose of SEC prospects among this year's versatile group of defenders.
Dean, a top prospect, had 72 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles last season.
“We always kind of thought about it. It was all our dream to be in this position,” Dean said. “I knew it was mine, so I would say halfway through the season, one of us probably just brought it up like, ‘Man, we can all possibly get drafted,’ and things like that. We're still working towards our goal, the draft hasn’t happened yet and it’s very unpredictable.”
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Tindall had 67 tackles and 5.5 sacks his senior year. He felt the area he grew the most during his time at Georgia was in communication. He said going from playing with his hand in the dirt to making the signal calls was an adjustment, and that a healthy pressure from his teammates to get it right helped him learn faster.
“They (were) getting on me, like ‘What’s the call at safeties? What’s the call at DBs? What’s the call? It’s your fault. Someone messes up, it’s your fault.’ So then, I got tired of getting blamed,” Tindall said with a laugh. “So probably the biggest thing is the adjustments of actual being vocal and talking.”
Outside of Georgia, linebacker Chad Muma is coming off a year at Wyoming where he had 142 total tackles, eight tackles for loss and three interceptions. A Colorado native, Muma felt the defense at Wyoming would help him transition to the NFL.
“From what it sounds like, our base Cover 3 and our Cover 3 Match is really similar to what teams do,” Muma said, “so when I was drawing up plays or drawing up our quarters look, coaches were saying, ‘That’s really similar to what we do.’ ”
Muma gave all the credit to Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl, who took over in 2014, coaching Bills quarterback Josh Allen after he recruited him. Muma felt Bohl’s ability to find the right staff for the program will help launch players to the NFL.
“He does a great job of preparing us in Laramie, Wyoming, of all places, just because of the coaches he’s able to bring in, the staff he surrounds himself with and then everything they project onto us to really prepare us for this next level,” Muma said.
Linebacker Devin Lloyd, a highly-rated prospect out of Utah and the 2021 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, may be the best of the class. Last season, he had 111 tackles, seven sacks, 22 tackles for loss and four interceptions for Utah. Still, like any other prospect, he feels far from satisfied this far ahead of the draft.
“I have so many more goals and aspirations that I want to accomplish,” Lloyd said. “And so, I'm definitely going to take in the moment, whenever it does happen, and enjoy that and look back on everything that I've done to get to this point, but I'm also really looking forward to the future wherever I go.”
