INDIANAPOLIS -- Glenn Dorsey, the LSU defensive tackle who is the potential No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, revealed on Sunday that he suffered a hairline fracture of his right tibia in 2006. Dorsey, for one, is not concerned about the injury.
And the bottom line in his message was that NFL teams shouldn't be concerned about it, either.
"I haven't missed a game since I've been to LSU (in four years); I played every game since I've been at LSU," Dorsey said at the annual NFL Scouting Combine. "Injuries -- everybody gets nicked up, that's the way I look at it. Who doesn't go through the season without getting bumps and bruises? I don't think it's an issue at all."
Dorsey said the tibia injury took place when he bumped into a weight in the weight room while working out in the summer of 2006. He played through that injury -- as well as a sprained right knee -- this past season.
On Saturday, he spent over nine hours at a local hospital, where he underwent multiple imaging tests.
"I had MRIs, CAT scans, everything. I think I had some stingers from high school they wanted to check out," Dorsey quipped. "It's to be expected. They're investing a lot of money in these guys. I'm not surprised by it at all."
Dorsey said he won't be working out at the combine because he stopped training for it when his grandmother died recently. However, he expects to meet with a handful of teams, and he'll work out for team officials at LSU's Pro Day on March 26.
One of those teams is likely to be the Miami Dolphins, who own the first overall pick in next month's draft. If the Dolphins do take him, he will become the second consecutive LSU player taken first overall. Last year, the Oakland Raiders selected quarterback JaMarcus Russell.
Dorsey said Russell has offered him a little advice on all the scrutiny that comes leading up to the draft.
"Basically (he told me) just to stay within myself and not listen to all the hoopla," Dorsey said. "People always have their opinion about you. Some people like you, some people don't. He just told me to make sure that every day I'm taking care of my responsibilities and working hard."
With the prospect of being the draft's top player, though, comes the added scrutiny and concerns about injuries.
Flying McFadden
East Carolina running back Chris Johnson put up the fastest 40-yard dash time of the combine so far, at 4.24 seconds, on Sunday.
Johnson outpaced Arkansas' Darren McFadden, whose official time was 4.33 seconds. However, it was McFadden's unofficial 4.27 time that had NFL officials still buzzing an hour after he ran it.
McFadden's sprint solidified his status as a legitimate No. 1 overall candidate in the draft.
Patriot games
So much for all the secrecy in New England. Michigan cornerback Jamar Adams said he and Patriots representatives recently met at the Senior Bowl, and they spoke about more than just Adams' family history.
"The best thing I like about talking with the Patriots is talking a whole bunch of strategy," he said. "That's what I like to talk about."
With the potential departure of All-Pro cornerback Asante Samuel, the Patriots may be in the market for a cornerback with the seventh overall pick in the draft. Adams, a self-described chess enthusiast, might be just the cerebral player the Patriots are looking for.
Adams cautioned not to make too many comparison's between chess and football.
"The mental aspect is kind of like playing chess, but there's a physical aspect of football that brings another dimension," he said. "The whole strategy -- thinking ahead, recalling when you played them before, what move he likes to go to, what openings he likes to go to -- it's similar, but you don't want to make too many comparisons."
Not your average military brat
Nebraska defensive back Zackary Bowman's football career reflects that of his life. He lived all around the world growing up in a military family and he has played the game in a number of different locations.
He started his college career at the New Mexico Military Institute, before transferring to Lincoln, Neb., to play for the Cornhuskers.
His high school football career, meanwhile, was spent in Anchorage, Alaska. While he admits the competition was not as tough there, he said he grew accustomed to playing in inclemate weather.
"It took a while to get used to it (the weather)," he said. "My junior year we played in the state championship game and it was like a snow game. It was nothing but snow. You couldn't even see the hashmarks, the yard marks, couldn't even see the numbers on the field."
Bowman readily admits that it is rare for kids who grow up in the transient military lifestyle to think about becoming NFL stars. He credits his father, a member of the Air Force, for never pushing him into joining the armed forces.
"My dad, he wasn't like that, but a lot of kids feel like they got to join the military because they got to be like their father," he said. "But my dad told me, 'Son, you can do whatever you want to do.' "
And he is doing just that, participating at the combine in hopes of securing a football future.
'U' are family
The University of Miami has consistently produced first-round draft picks over the past 15 years. In fact, there has been at least one Hurricane drafted in the first round every year since 1995.
The latest addition to that list could be safety Kenny Phillips. The All-American intercepted 16 passes during his college career and impresses scouts with his rare combination of size (6-foot-2, 208 pounds) and quickness.
Phillips left college early after having achieved all of his goals, aside from winning a national championship.
Like many of the Miami products through the years, he credits the supportive family atmosphere at Coral Gables with aiding his development.
"It's a love, we're like a family," he said. "I mean, as soon as I got there, (Ravens safety) Ed Reed didn't waste any time coming to talk to me and sharing tips with me because he wanted to see me succeed, he wanted to see me be successful. It's just that brotherhood we have down at the University of Miami."
It's not Quinn's fault
Notre Dame safety Tom Zbikowski adressed the Irish's disappointing season and refused to pin the blame on star quarterback Brady Quinn's graduation to the NFL.
Quinn, now a backup with the Cleveland Browns, led Notre Dame to back-to-back BCS appearances in his junior and senior seasons and became one of the most decorated signal callers in school history. Without him in 2007, the Irish stumbled to a 3-9 record and started the season with a record five straight losses.
"I don't think it was as much losing Brady Quinn as it was that there wasn't a lot of experience behind him," said Zbikowski. "It was just young guys playing that are still getting ready to be developed. There is a lot of young talent, it's not going to be like that for long."
Zbikowski, when asked to explain what went wrong, joked "You got about two or three hours?"
Zbikowski is one of three Irish players at the combine, along with TE John Carlson and DE Trevor Laws.
Fagg hurt
Florida State wide receiver De'Cody Fagg hurt his left leg during Sunday morning's drills for quarterbacks and receivers and was taken from the RCA Dome field on a stretcher.
Compiled by Aron Angel, Jason Feller and Andy Fenelon, with contributions from The Associated Press.
