INDIANAPOLIS -- Of all the hulking athletes competing at the NFL Scouting Combine, is Iowa OL Brandon Scherff the strongest?
Well, his bench-press numbers from Thursday don't make the most compelling case for him (he put up 23 reps, which tied for 24th of the 37 offensive linemen who lifted), but maybe that's just not his event.
It was Scherff's hang-clean numbers that had people talking Thursday in Indy as the former Hawkeyes star took the podium. He said his one-rep max in the lift is 480 pounds, and there's evidence to back that up in this video from last summer of him doing three reps at 443 pounds. The guy can hang-clean about 100 pounds more than all-time mammoth offensive lineman Aaron Gibson weighed during his playing days.
Yes, the legend of Brandon Scherff is growing strong. Here are a few highlights from his unique bio.
» He was a 290-pound quarterback in high school.
» He played five sports as a freshman in high school (football, basketball, baseball, tennis and track).
» He returned to practice last season a day after having his knee scoped to repair a meniscus injury and played in a game that Saturday after undergoing the procedure on Tuesday. That's after he was told he would be out for 2-3 weeks.
He also told us last summer that he might go turkey hunting instead of attending the draft if he's invited.
There's some debate over just where Scherff will be drafted and whether he fits best at guard or tackle in the NFL, but we know this much -- the team that picks Scherff can count on him to do some ridiculously heavy lifting, and they'll be getting one of the 2015 draft's more interesting characters.
