One Trojan creating a combine buzz, but not who you'd think

The NFL combine events have begun, but tight ends were the skill players mostly on Saturday's display. South Carolina's Jared Cook proved to be the superior athlete at the position, displaying a 41" vertical leap and posting an official 4.5 in the 40-yard dash. The big name among tight ends, Brandon Pettigrew of Oklahoma State, performed miserably. His 40 time was in the 4.8 range and he managed just 22 reps in the 225 pound bench press.

Only one USC player peformed, and that was David Buehler. Buehler became a hot topic, as the kicker benched 25 reps and followed by posting a 4.6 in the forty. The 25 reps not only topped Pettigrew, but also many offensive lineman, including Mississippi stud Michael Oher (21).

Rey Maualuga took the podium and talked about slimming down since the Senior Bowl. Rey weighed in at 249, which is 5 pounds shaved from his appearance in Mobile Alabama that drew a lot of criticism. He still appears to be a big favorite among draft analyst, though the consensus is that Wake's Aaron Curry is the top linebacker in the class and should be the first off the board, also having the potential to go No. 1 overall to the Detroit Lions.

Mark Sanchez spent Friday answering questions about the press conference and supposed fallout with Pete Carroll. Mark reassured everyone that his relationship with the coach is just fine, and he had called Carroll that same night to talk about the media spin being put on the press conference and words said. Sanchez reiterated that he will participate in throwing drills, stating that he's a competitor and that's his purpose for being there.