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At the start of the segment, Deion Sanders wasn’t sure how to pronounce Troy Apke’s name. A moment later, one of the most famous defensive backs of all time was calling him over for a hug.
While playing safety for four years at Penn State, Apke wasn’t particularly on anyone’s NFL radar. But on Monday, he dramatically raised his chances of being drafted by posting an eyebrow-raising 4.34 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine.
It was the capper to an impressive week in Indianapolis for the Nittany Lions, who had eight players in attendance and saw running back Saquon Barkley vault firmly into consideration for the No. 1 overall pick next month.
“Let’s face it,” NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said. “Penn State has lit this combine up.”
With the final day of workouts in the books, 247Sports awarded Penn State top honors in the combine “medal count” — handing out gold, silver and bronze to each prospect who finished in the top three at his position in each drill.
The Lions finshed with 13 medals (nine gold, three silver, one bronze), seven more than any other school. Barkley and tight end Mike Gesicki cleaned up, hauling in eight golds and two silvers by themselves.
Big performances by those two were widely expected. But Apke caught people by surprise.
The Pittsburgh native had turned in a solid senior season and was particularly strong in the second half of the year. An invitation to the combine, however, seemed like a long shot until he won MVP honors in December’s NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.
Apke made the most of the opportunity.
With teammate Marcus Allen electing to hold off and run his 40 later this month at Penn State’s pro day, Apke became the first name on the list to run among safeties.
As Apke lined up to start, the NFL Network’s broadcast has Sanders down on the turf discussing two of the best defensive backs in the draft — Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick and Florida State’s Derwin James.
Suddenly he perked up as Apke hit full stride.
“Oh, man,” Sanders said. “He can run!”
“Why are you surprised, Deion?” said a bemused Mayock.
“You know why I’m surprised,” Sanders joked. “I can’t say it on TV. But he can run run.”
Upon hearing Apke’s time, Sanders said, “I’m gonna hug him!” Motioning Apke over, Sanders followed through, saying, “Hey, man — that was good!”
Never one for wordy interviews, Apke just laughed and said, “I try.”
As it was, Apke recorded the fourth fastest 40 time of anyone at the combine, behind only a trio of defensive backs who clocked in at 4.32. He also added a 41-inch vertical jump to lead all defensive backs, tying Barkley’s mark and just a half-inch behind Gesicki, who tied for the highest jump of anyone at the combine.
If there was another person whose stock rose over the past four days, it might have been the man who trained all of the Lions. Penn State strength coach Dwight Galt was mentioned by name by Mayock.
It adds up to what will likely be the program’s best showing in recent memory at the draft, which runs from April 26-28 in Arlington, Texas.
And Barkley just might steal the show again.
After turning in what Mayock called “arguably the best performance from a running back in combine history,” reports began to filter out on Sunday that Barkley was “firmly” in the mix to be selected first overall by the Cleveland Browns, who also hold the No. 4 pick.
But after how the past few days have gone, Barkley may not be available at No. 4 with the New York Giants (No. 2) and Indianapolis Colts (No. 3) both in need of a feature back.
If he does go first overall, Barkley would be the first running back to accomplish the feat since fellow Penn State alum Ki-Jana Carter in 1995.
