CHAMPAIGN, ILL. • Carroll Phillips had just grabbed some Chick-fil-A at the Indianapolis airport and was waiting at baggage claim for luggage. And who does he see walking up but defensive tackle Chunky Clements, his teammate from the University of Illinois.
Next thing you know, up walks another teammate, linebacker Hardy Nickerson. By coincidence, they had all arrived on separate flights within minutes of each other for the NFL Scouting Combine.
“We all hugged each other, took a picture,” Phillips said.
The only one missing from a quartet of Illini defenders invited to the combine was defensive end Dawaune Smoot.