Oklahoma football: Perrion Winfrey grabs scouts’ attention at NFL Combine

It’s safe to say, Oklahoma defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey moved up the NFL Draft board at the NFL Combine this week.

We didn’t grasp all of Winfrey’s skills during the two seasons he spent at Oklahoma, but the fierce interior D-Lineman felt like he was out of position.

“I feel like I played out of position over my time at Oklahoma. Whatever my team needed, I was willing to do,” Winfrey said at the NFL Combine.

Whatever the problem was, Winfrey has earned his money this weekend. Measuring 6-foot, 4 inches and 303 pounds, Winfrey bolted to a 4.89 40-yard dash time, which is extremely imposing for his size. The big man showed his speed, and acceleration in front of NFL scouts.

It was the third best 40-time out of defensive tackles, behind Georgia defensive tackles Devonte Wyatt and Jordan Davis.

Winfrey isn’t satisfied, though, he wants to keep pushing towards the goal of an NFL career.

"“I’m not one of those players that just gets complacent or gets happy with personal accolades that I have in the past. I continue to want to be great and chase accolades and chase team success until I can’t anymore.”"

As many know, Winfrey has a sense of urgency and a nasty attitude to his game. During his time at Oklahoma, he would wear knee pads with a design of Michael Myers on one pad and Jason on the other (from the “Halloween” movie series).

Winfrey tallied 40 tackles in two years with the Sooners and was credited with six sacks, but there’s more left in the tank for him. According to NFL analyst Lance Zierlein, Winfrey can work his way up in a starting rotation in the NFL.

"“He does, however, have an explosive get-off and heavy hands. His flashes at the Senior Bowl improved his draft stock and made teams take notice. He has some hit-or-miss elements to his game but has good rotational value with a chance to become an eventual starter” Zierlein said."

Winfrey wasn’t the only Sooners defensive player that impressed at the combine with their skills. Brian Asamoah, Isaiah Thomas, and Nick Bonitto each had an exceptional combine. Asamoah ran a 40 in 4.56 seconds, along with a 36.5 vertical jump. Thomas posted a 4.70 40-yard time, and Bonitto turned in a 20-yard shuttle in 4.23 seconds along with a 4.54 second 40 time, which ranked fifth best among defensive ends.