Boise State’s top draft prospect won’t work out at NFL Combine. Two veteran Broncos will

A pair of former Boise State football players are set to work out at the NFL Scouting Combine this week in Indianapolis, but the Bronco getting the most draft buzz won’t take the field.

Boise State safety JL Skinner suffered a torn pectoral muscle over the weekend and won’t take part in on-field workouts, but he will be present for interviews with NFL teams. The two-time All-Mountain West pick confirmed the news on Monday morning.

“Won’t affect me and my ability to play DB,” Skinner wrote on Twitter. “I’ll come back and show why I’m one of the best. Gods plan.”

Skinner turned heads at the Senior Bowl last month. He did enough that his teammates voted him the National Team practice player of the week, but he didn’t play in the annual all-star game after learning of a death in his family.

Skinner has been projected by most analysts as being picked in the late second or early third round in this year’s draft, scheduled for April 27-29 in Kansas City, Missouri. He could be taken later because of the injury, but Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy doesn’t think he’ll fall far.

The first round of the draft will air on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network on April 27. The second and third rounds will be televised the following day and the fourth through seventh on April 29.

“NFL teams know he can run,” Nagy wrote on Twitter. “He still goes on day two.”

Nagy said Skinner hit 19.17 miles per hour during speed tests at the Senior Bowl. Former Boise State wide receiver Khalil Shakir ran 19.18 mph last year. He went on to run the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds at the combine and was drafted in the fifth round by the Buffalo Bills.

Skinner, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound native of San Diego, was named first-team All-Mountain West after leading the Broncos with four interceptions last season and recording 63 tackles, second on the team. He was a second-team all-conference pick after leading the team with 92 tackles in 2021.

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Two longtime starters at Boise State are expected to take the field at the combine this week: offensive lineman John Ojukwu and defensive back Tyreque Jones.

Jones (6-2, 210) was a five-year starter for the Broncos. He spent four seasons as a safety before moving to nickle last year. He finished the season with 34 tackles and an interception.

Jones showed off his speed last month during practice for the East-West Shrine Bowl, running almost 21 mph, according to the all-star game’s director of player personnel, Erik Galko.

Ojukwu (6-6, 315) was also a five-year starter for the Broncos. He began his college career at right tackle and moved to left in 2020, replacing former Boise State lineman Ezra Cleveland after he went to the Minnesota Vikings as a second-round pick.

Ojukwu appeared in 55 games and started 50 since joining the program in 2017. He started 32 straight games at left tackle the past three seasons.