FanPost

Devin Fuller Left Out of Combine but Prepping Anyway

Devin Fuller missed the Combine but he isn't planning missing the NFL. - Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

With the college football season over and players preparing for the NFL Draft, one Bruin has been training 6 days a week and following a strict diet with 5 meals a day and working on his techniques as a receiver and kick returner and practicing for the drills at the Combine.

Even though he wasn't invited to the Combine.

After all the hoopla this past week over the NFL's largest scouting event, it's easy to forget that there were a lot of talented Bruins who didn't get the chance to compete in Indianapolis. Perhaps the biggest snub at U.C.L.A. was Devin Fuller.

Cameron DaSilva wrote a great article for Fox Sports checking in on Devin Fuller's progress toward the NFL. It's just that his path to the pros won't go through Indy.

Last year alone, 41 players who weren't invited to the combine were drafted -- three of which went in the fourth round. On the other hand, 108 prospects who were invited went undrafted.

Former UCLA wide receiver and standout return man, Devin Fuller, isn't taking the traditional route to show off his talent for scouts. He was one of several players snubbed from this year's combine.

"It was definitely disappointing for sure, but I cant dwell on it too much," Fuller told FOX Sports recently. "I know the player I can be. It just takes one team to like me."

His absence from the combine wasn't just a surprise to him. Several teams that he's talked to were also taken back by the fact that he didn't receive an invite.

"All the teams that I've talked to were very surprised that I didn't get an invite," he said. "But they don't really decide that, obviously. I'm just concentrating on things I can control."

Fuller has been back east in Virginia (he's originally from New Jersey), and he's had plenty of time to dedicate to getting ready for the draft. He graduated in December which we all know is a fantastic and impressive accomplishment. He'll walk in graduation in June but right now Fuller's focus is all about job preparation.

"The fact that I can help in special teams probably changes the way scouts look at me, but that doesn't change how I approach my training," he said. "I plan on catching the ball, first and foremost. The receiver's job is to catch the ball."

...

"I want to do everything I can to help out a team," he said with regards to being a return man in the NFL. "My goal is for a team to fall in love with me and give me a chance to be on their roster."

Fuller was the Bruins leading kick returner last season as well as the team's fourth leading receiver after being #2 in his junior year. There's no question he can produce both on offense and special teams, and that combination should prove attractive to a team looking for a under the radar playmaker in the later rounds. He'll get a chance to put that on display for the scouts at U.C.L.A.'s Pro Day on March 15.

The article points out that some pretty huge names including Wes Welker, Antonio Gates, James Harrison, and Osi Umenyiora weren't invited to the Combine either. If Fuller's name ends up anywhere close to those, then the pain from any Combine snub will be replaced with the pride of knowing he had a fantastic pro career.

And we won't be too surprised when that happens.

Good luck, Devin!

GO BRUINS!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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