INDIANAPOLIS — Rod Woodson had no idea there was a combine. And he certainly had no idea what a combine was.
The All-American Purdue defensive back and returner was running his senior season of track in January 1987 when his coaches came up to him. “Hey Rod, they’ve got a combine coming up.”
“What is that?” Woodson asked.
It was the NFL scouting combine, then called the GTE Scouting Camp, a showcase for the nation’s top 300 college football seniors. And, it happened to be taking place for the first time in Indianapolis after three years in New Orleans and Phoenix.
“In Indy?” Woodson remembers telling his coaches. “Oh, I’ll just drive there.”
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Rod Woodson wowed scouts at the NFL Combine in 1987, the first year it was held in Indianapolis.
In late January, Woodson hopped in his car and headed to the Hoosier Dome to see what this combine…