FOOTBALL Buckeyes abound at annual draft combine

Ohio State senior Mike Kudla tied the bench press record.
WIRE REPORTS
INDIANAPOLIS -- All-America linebacker A.J. Hawk, the top NFL prospect coming out of Ohio State this year, saw plenty of friendly faces at the NFL combine.
Hawk was one of 12 Buckeyes invited to this year's combine, eight of them from the defensive side of the ball. Ohio State led the Big Ten in fewest points allowed, total defense, rushing defense and passing defense, so the high number of prospects isn't surprising.
"I told all of the coaches here that we had two of the most physical safeties in the country playing behind me," said Hawk, who had 121 tackles last season to lead the team for the third straight year. "I knew if I didn't make the tackle they were probably going to hit me on their way to make the tackle. So I had to get there first before them."
Said one of those safeties, Donte' Whitner: "A.J. hogged all of the tackles."
Plenty of company
The other Buckeye defenders at the combine are tackle Marcus Green, end Mike Kudla, linebackers Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel, safety Nate Salley and cornerback Ashton Youboty.
Kudla equaled a combine record when he put up 45 reps of the 225-pound bench press. Kudla shares the record with Leif Larson, a player from Texas-El Paso who accomplished the feat in 2000. Kudla thought the record was 43.
"I had 46 right there," said Kudla. "I just couldn't get that last inch on that right arm. It just kind of gave way. But I was very happy with that performance."
Hawk had 24 reps, a good number but certainly nothing to match Kudla's performance. Kudla's personal best came last summer when he lifted the 225-pound bar 52 times.
"I'm glad he broke the record," said Hawk. "Forty-five is a bad day for Kudla. He'll probably break that at pro day."
High pick
Hawk is expected to be a selected within the first six picks in April's draft, possibly going to Green Bay at No. 5 or San Francisco at No. 6. He was part of a highly celebrated recruiting class in 2002, a class that got to be part of a national championship as freshmen and won four straight bowls games, including three Fiesta Bowls.
Salley, Carpenter, Kudla and Green were all part of that class. Schlegel transferred to Ohio State from Air Force, while Youboty and Whitner are forgoing their final seasons of eligibility.
"That just goes to show all the hard work that we've been putting in all of this time," said Salley. "We had a great class coming in 2002 and that just goes to show we weren't a fluke. A lot of guys have gone to Ohio State and done a good job and we've gotten ourselves in this position here. We're feeling very fortunate right now."
Hair-raising
Hawk, Carpenter and Schlegel of Ohio State all showed up Sunday with shoulder-length hair.
Carpenter, who said he had two inches taken off a couple days ago, said it was a tribute to Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals safety who was killed in Afghanistan as an Army Ranger.
But the trio also has some unique traits. Hawk tried yoga a couple of times. Carpenter was the son of former pro running back Rob Carpenter. And Schlegel has a hunting dog named Butkus.
One activity Schlegel enjoys is boar hunting with a knife.
"It's just like pheasant hunting or deer hunting in Ohio," he said.
Schlegel said he's made about 10 hunts but none recently since he hasn't been home to Texas.
As Carpenter waited to take the podium, Schlegel was asked how well Carpenter would do hunting boars?
"He'd be fine," Schlegel said. "You have to run through bushes and stab at it, so he'd be fine."