South Carolina’s Wonnum delivers multiple high ranking performances at NFL combine
Coming into the NFL combine, South Carolina defensive end D.J. Wonnum projected as a borderline draftee according to at least one ranking.
If stacking up favorably against other defensive linemen in testing matters, the trip to Indianapolis could help the Georgia product.
At 6-foot-5, 258 pounds, Wonnum ranked well in multiple tests on his trip to work out in front of scouts. A day after teammate Rico Dowdle put up numbers strong enough to be ranked second in a comprehensive athletic rating, Wonnum delivered a solid performance.
Among defensive linemen and edge rushers, he ranked:
▪ Fifth in the 40-yard dash (4.73 seconds)
▪ Third in the vertical jump (34.5 inches)
▪ Tied for fourth in the broad jump (123 inches)
▪ Third in the three-cone drill (7.25 seconds)
▪ Tied for eighth in the 20-yard shuttle (4.44 seconds)
He didn’t do well at the bench press, with only two linemen getting fewer than the 20 reps he had.
Wonnum was a three-year starter and four-year rotation player who battled injuries as a junior. He posted 37 tackles, 9 1/2 for loss and 4 1/2 sacks as a senior, earning second-team All-SEC honors from the AP.
A member of Will Muschamp’s first recruiting class, Wonnum flipped from Indiana and was a rotation player his first season on campus. He closed his career with 29 1/2 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, six pass break-ups and a pair of blocked kicks.
His younger brother Dylan is a starting offensive tackle with the Gamecocks.
D.J. Wonnum is listed by CBS as the No. 218 player in the class, which projects in the early seventh round range. He was one of five Gamecocks at the combine with Dowdle, Joseph Charlton, Javon Kinlaw and Bryan Edwards (neither Edwards nor Kinlaw participated in drills).
This story was originally published March 1, 2020 at 8:19 AM.
