The 2023 NFL Scouting Combine was supposed to be a great chance for USC interior offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees to show off his athleticism and ease some concerns regarding his injury history as a member of the Trojans’ football program.
Instead, it turned nightmarish for the USC standout. During offensive lineman drills at the Combine in Indianapolis Sunday, Vorhees went down with an injury that looked pretty serious during his own drills, leading to him being helped off the field.
Monday, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported the worst news possible for the NFL Draft hopeful, reporting that Vorhees is feared to have suffered a torn ACL during the drills Sunday, according to sources.
Reporters in attendance stated event trainers looked at his right leg/knee area before helping him off the field and into the locker room. He was able to put some weight on the leg leaving the field.
Injuries, unfortunately, are nothing new for Vorhees. The senior dealt with injuries throughout his final year with the Trojans. He sat out the game at Arizona in the middle of the season and did his best to be in the lineup while battling that injury the rest of the season. He was limited against Colorado but rebounded to play the full game against UCLA.
But, injuries ultimately kept him off the field late in the season as Vorhees left the season finale against Notre Dame early and was sidelined for both the Pac-12 Championship Game against Utah and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic against Tulane.
Vorhees entered the Combine healthy and participated in both the vertical jump and broad jump testing before suffering the injury while going through position drills.
Vorhees posted a vertical jump of 29 inches, which tied for No. 21 among the 40 offensive linemen who participated. He posted an 8’9″ broad jump, which tied for No. 23 among the 39 linemen who did that event.
He measured in at 6-foot-6, 310 pounds, with 32 1/8″ arm length and 10-inch hand width. Peliserro added in his report that despite suffering the knee injury, Vorhees participated in the bench press Monday morning, recording 38 reps of 225 pounds with just one leg on the ground.
The torn ACL will undoubtedly hurt Vorhees’ draft stock. Prior to the injury, Vorhees was projected as a top-100 pick due to his experience and versatility being able to play guard or tackle.
Vorhees stated that he met formally with the Steelers at the Combine and was likely going to be a target late on Day 2 for the Steelers, who need to add some big, physical bodies on the interior of the offensive line.
Check out the draft profile Alex Kozora wrote on the former USC standout.
