Arkansas Pine-Bluff Tackle Terron Armstead Having Huge NFL Scouting Combine

If there was ever an example of a good thing that can come from the NFL Scouting Combine it’s what happened for Arkansas Pine-Bluff offensive tackle Terron Armstead today. Armstead wasn’t a heralded prospect coming into the weekend in Indianapolis, and by April he may still not be, but what he did today can do nothing but help him.

To start the weekend Armstead measured in at an impressive 6-5 and 306lbs with an NFL caliber 33″ arm length. He then followed that up with a very impressive 31 reps at 225lbs on the bench press. A very impressive number for a tackle prospect.

It was what he did on Saturday that was more impressive. Armstead stepped up to the line for the 40 yard dash and belted out a time of 4.71 seconds officially, which is the fastest ever by an offensive lineman. A 4.71 forty time is something that many running backs 100 pounds lighter aspire to, so seeing a man the size of Armstead do it took everyone at Lucas Oil Stadium completely off guard.

Does any of this mean Armstead will be drafted any higher? On it’s own, probably not. But there will be a ripple effect from this. Armstead was already on the rise from a nice performance at the East-West Shrine Game, so he while wasn’t a total unknown even though he was not being discussed among the top prospects at his position. What he did today really made two very important things happen.

First, this is going to force NFL scouts to go back and review tape from the Golden Lions to see if what they saw in his all-star game and what they see here at the combine matches up with what shows up in game tape. Because let me be clear, the NFL is littered with excellent athletes who can’t play enough football to get on the field. I happen to think Armstead is a nice football player and so this display of athleticism tells me he has room to grow.

The second thing today’s performance does is it will send NFL scouts to the Arkansas Pine-Bluff pro day. What both of these things means is not only will Armstead get more exposure but any of the Golden Lions players with NFL aspirations will also get a closer look by scouts. All because of what this young man did today. Keep coming back for more coverage of the NFL Scouting combine for more updates.

Curt covers the Pittsburgh Steelers, the NFL draft, and college football for Rant Sports. Connect with Curt on Twitter @nfldraftboard.