Former Armadillo and Houston Cougar, Jordan Hammersmith, participated in the recent NFL combine and has impressed many teams – in the professional National Broad Jump League (NBJL).
“I wasn’t even aware there was a professional broad jump league,” said Hammersmith. “Nor was I aware there was a professional National Vertical Leap League (NVLL) or a professional How Many Times Can You Bench Press 225 Pounds League (HMTCYBP225PL). But I guess that’s why they have you do all those drills that, quite frankly, have very little to do with how well you can play football.”
Hammersmith also found it odd that when testing for his speed, NFL scouts and combine officials had him run the 40 yard dash without pads on. “I thought,” said Hammersmith, “that maybe they changed the rules in the NFL. Maybe there are no more pads and helmets. But no. That’s just how they test you. Kinda stupid when you think about it.”
Hammersmith also noted the stupidity of measuring the 40 times down to the hundredth of a second. His 4.61, for instance, was dubbed mediocre while someone who ran 4.59 was given the highest grade possible for their respective position. “I mean,” questioned Hammersmith, “isn’t the blink of an eye, like, a tenth of a second?”
Despite his misgivings, though, Hammersmith is glad he participated in the combine. And, since he didn’t impress NFL scouts with his abilities to run around traffic cones or jump really high to touch a rope, he’s also glad the NBJL was there. “Yeah, I guess it’s a good thing my coach told me to work on my broad jump after the season. At first I thought, wait, I’ve never broad jumped in a game before but it turns out he really knew what he was talking about."
