The National Invitational Camp or NFL Scouting Combine, as it is more widely known, is a week-long showcase, occurring every February in Indianapolis, Indiana's Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008), where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Football League coaches, general managers and scouts. With increasing interest in the NFL Draft, the scouting combine has grown in scope and significance, allowing personnel directors to evaluate upcoming prospects in a standardized setting. Its origins have evolved from the National, BLESTO and Quadra Scouting organizations in 1977 to the media event it has become today.

Athletes attend by invitation only. Implications of one's performance during the combine can affect perception, draft status, salary and ultimately career. The draft has popularized the term "Workout Warrior", whereby an athlete's "draft stock" is increased based on superior measurable qualities such as size, speed and strength, despite having an average or sub-par college career.

Tests and evaluations

Tests/evaluations include:

• 40-yard dash
• Bench press (225lb repetitions)
• Vertical jump
• Broad jump
• 20 yard shuttle
• 3 cone drill
• 60-yard shuttle
• Position-specific drills
• Interviews — each team is allowed 60 interviews in 15-minute intervals
• Physical measurements
• Injury evaluation
• Drug screen
• The Cybex test
• The Wonderlic Test

Scouting organizations

The NFL's first scouting organization, LESTO (Lions Eagles Steelers Talent Organization), was started in 1963 by the teams mentioned in its name. It became BLESTO when the Bears joined the following year and BLESTO-V when the Vikings came on board later in the decade. It is now known simply as BLESTO despite the Bears and Eagles having gone their separate ways.

CEPO (Central Eastern Personnel Organization), formed in 1964, was a joint endeavor between the Colts (Baltimore-based at the time), the original Browns, the Packers and the Cardinals (St. Louis-based at the time). Its name was changed twice, first to United Scouting after the Falcons, Giants and Redskins joined its ranks, then finally to National Football Scouting in 1983 to avoid any confusion associated with the United States Football League, the NFL's direct competitor that began its operations that year. National Football Scouting is now known simply as The National.

Also formed in 1964 was Troika by the Cowboys, Rams (based in Los Angeles at the time) and 49ers. It was renamed Quadra when the Saints joined in 1967. Quadra is no longer in existence.

List of team participants

As of the 2008 season (see table below), eighteen franchises participate in The National, with seven served by BLESTO. The seven non-affiliated teams rely on its in-house scouting staffs.

BLESTO	The National	Non-affiliated
Buffalo Bills	Arizona Cardinals	Baltimore Ravens
Detroit Lions	Atlanta Falcons	Chicago Bears
Jacksonville Jaguars	Carolina Panthers	Cleveland Browns
Miami Dolphins	Cincinnati Bengals	Indianapolis Colts
Minnesota Vikings	Dallas Cowboys	New England Patriots
New York Giants	Denver Broncos	Oakland Raiders
Pittsburgh Steelers	Green Bay Packers	Washington Redskins
	Houston Texans
	Kansas City Chiefs
	New Orleans Saints
	New York Jets
	Philadelphia Eagles
	St. Louis Rams
	San Diego Chargers
	San Francisco 49ers
	Seattle Seahawks
	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
	Tennessee Titans

Combine Directors in NFL Draft Advisory Board

Every year, the directors of BLESTO and The National are seated as members of the NFL Draft Advisory Board.

 The Board offers its opinion to college football players as to the likely round in which they would be taken, if they forgo college football playing eligibility and enter the draft. The combine directors' experience enables them to offer guided opinions as to the likely round at which a player would be picked.

Pro Day

Each university has a Pro Day, where NFL scouts are allowed to come to the school and watch players participate in the events that take place at the Combine. This is done under the belief that players feel more comfortable at their own campus than they do at the Combine, which in turn leads to better performances. College teams which produce a large quantity of NFL prospects generally generate huge interest from scouts and coaches at their Pro Days.

High School Combines

College teams now rely on events comparable to the NFL Combine as a way to find or discover players. Statistics from programs such as The National Underclassmen Combine, which is for 8th-11th graders, are factored into the recruiting process.

References

1. David Schoenfield, Page 2: The 100 worst draft picks ever, ESPN.com, April 26, 2006 (see #45, Mike Mamula, a "workout wonder")
2. Isaac Cheifetz, Hiring Secrets of the NFL: How Your Company Can Select Talent Like a Champion (2007), 68, available at Google Books
3. Rich Eisen, Total Access: A Journey to the Center of the NFL Universe (2007), 128, available at Google Books
4. http://profootball.scout.com/2/820118.html Marino, Tom. "The Scouting Combine's Role in Pro Scouting," Scout.com, December 10, 2008.
5. http://www.draftdaddy.com/features/blesto.htm "Who Are BLESTO & The National?" DraftDaddy.com.
6. Thomas Stinston, When in Doubt, Consult the Expert Panel, Atlanta Journal Constitution, December 21, 2008

External links

• Official website
• Combine on NFL.com
• History by the numbers: Combine has come a long way — includes combine records through 2008
• National Underclassmen Combine: combine for high school football players that is comparable to the NFL Combine