One of the cool parts of the NFL Combine is that almost all of it is aired on NFL Network giving you one last chance to view your favorite college football players in action (by action, we mean running and throwing in shorts) before they head to the 2011 NFL draft.
That won't be the case with Missouri Tigers QB Blaine Gabbert, according to a report. The Sporting News reports that Gabbert's agent confirmed he will not throw at the NFL Combine instead waiting for the Mizzou pro day on March 17.
This isn't completely unusual for players, especially top quarterbacks, to make this decision. Gabbert is expected to be the first or second quarterback taken in the draft along with Auburn QB Cam Newton. The Gabbert camp may believe that there's not much to be gained from throwing at the Combine. There is, though, something that could be lost with a bad workout.
Gabbert will now wait for Mizzou's Pro Day on March 17. That workout will take place in an environment that's probably more comfortable for him and with receivers he's familiar with. The point of pre-draft workouts is to make the player look as good as possible. The best chance of that happening is apparently in Mizzou.
So we'll have to wait until the middle of March to see what scouts have to say about Gabbert's arm.