FAYETTEVILLE — Former Arkansas defensive tackle John Ridgeway has been invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, he said Friday on Twitter.
Ridgeway is the second player from the Razorbacks’ 2021 team to announce he has received an invitation to the combine, which will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on March 1-7. Former Arkansas cornerback Montaric Brown has also been invited.
After transferring from Illinois State, Ridgeway recorded 39 tackles, 4 tackles for loss and 2 sacks in 12 games.
The 6-6, 320-pound Ridgeway has also been invited to play in the Senior Bowl on Feb. 5 in Mobile, Ala.
“John’s made as big a jump as anyone at the defensive line position for us, one of our biggest risers overall,” Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy told The Associated Press in November.
Nagy told the AP he was impressed with Ridgeway’s size, strength and agility.
“He’s really one of the only defensive linemen in this draft that has true knock-back ability at the point of attack,” Nagy said. “You see this guy come off the ball and he can lock people out, throw ’em and get to the football.
“And I always like guys with a wrestling background. He’s a really accomplished high school wrestler and you can see that in his play — natural leverage. He just knows how to position himself. He’s one of the best defensive tackles in this draft in terms of holding up double teams and recreating the line of scrimmage. He’s a big-bodied man that’s hard to move. Those guys are hard to find.”