Photo - WKU Athletics
For the third consecutive season, WKU will be represented by a pair of former Hilltoppers at the NFL Scouting Combine as quarterback Mike White and linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe earned invitations to this year’s event, the National Football League announced on Tuesday. The Combine, held Feb. 27-March 5 in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium, features over 300 of the top draft-eligible prospects each season and is the destination for all NFL head coaches, general managers, and personnel departments for the week. Workouts are covered by NFL Network and will include quarterbacks on Saturday, March 3 and linebackers on Sunday, March 4.
White and Iyiegbuniwe are the second former Hilltoppers from their position groups to attend the combine, following Brandon Doughty (2016) and linebacker Andrew Jackson (2014). Since 2013, WKU has been represented by 10 total Hilltoppers, including multiple participants four of the last five combines, and in every year except 2015.
A two-year starter and All-Conference performer for the Hilltoppers, White led WKU to the 2016 Conference USA Championship, the 2016 Boca Raton Bowl Championship and threw for 8,540 yards and 63 touchdowns in the red and white. White is one of only two quarterbacks in school history to have multiple passing seasons of over 4,000 yards and his career quarterback rating of 158.1 is second in program history.
Iyiegbuniwe declared for the draft a year early following a stellar All-Conference USA junior season. The Bowling Green, Ky., native led WKU in 2017 with 116 total tackles, including 51 solo tackles, and his 11.5 tackles for loss also led the red and white. His tackle numbers were the third-most in a single season in the FBS era, and his 200 career tackles rank him sixth in the FBS era. He capped his WKU career with an All-Conference USA First Team performance, the third-straight such honor for a WKU linebacker.
White and Iyiegbuniwe are two of nine participants from Conference USA schools, and WKU is the only school in the league with multiple players invited. In his Combine evaluations, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein gave White a 5.42 grade, the eighth-highest among the 18 quarterbacks invited and the third-highest in C-USA.
(Courtesy WKU Athletics)
