Virginia Tech football: Four Hokies earn invites to the NFL Combine

In a normal year, the NFL Scouting Combine would be going on right about now. But if we’ve learned anything in the past 12 months, we are living in unprecedented times at the moment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the NFL canceled the 2021 Combine as we know in January, meaning prospects and teams would not be gathering in Indianapolis for a week for the “underwear Olympics.”

However, the 2021 NFL draft is still going down in April. As with everything else in the world, meetings can still happen via teleconferencing applications such as Zoom. Pro days will still occur at college campuses with proper social distancing guidelines in place in accordance with each state and campus.

That doesn’t mean the NFL completely forgot about inviting players to the annual Combine. One of the most important aspects of a young player’s career is receiving an invite to the Combine, especially for lower-ranked players.

On Wednesday, four former Virginia Tech stars received their official invites to the Combine. Offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw, cornerback Caleb Farley, safety Divine Deablo, and running back Khalil Herbert all expect to hear their names called in next month’s draft.

Darrisaw and Farley are expected to be first-round picks in the NFL draft; Farley could even go inside the top 10. Darrisaw will most certainly go somewhere between picks 10-20. The All-American offensive tackle is ranked by many as the No. 3 offensive lineman in the upcoming draft.

Deablo, a first-team All-ACC pick in 2020, had a fantastic week at the Senior Bowl in January. His size, smarts, and athleticism will make him a valuable commodity at the next level.

Herbert had a terrific senior season for the Hokies last fall. Herbert was snubbed for the first-team All-ACC. He was outstanding in all aspects for the Hokies and went from a likely undrafted free agent to a player who could go in the middle rounds.

Congrats to each of the former Hokies.