ESPN College Football Recruiting

One day after hosting more than 700 prospects in Pittsburgh, the 2009 Nike Football Combine tour traveled 300 miles east. On Sunday, nearly 700 prospects from all over the Northeast attended the fifth Nike Combine of 2009 at the NovaCare Center, home of the Philadelphia Eagles in the City of Brotherly Love.

At the end of the day, a sleeper from New York placed himself on the recruiting radar by posting the combine's top SPARQ rating. Six-foot, 213-pound linebacker/fullback Robert Bright, out of East Meadow (N.Y.), took the day's top honors with a rating of 102.54. He will have a chance now to emerge as the first big prospect at his school since current Boston College OL John Elliott came out of EMHS in the Class of 2007.

Bright posted his score with a very steady all-around performance. The 'backer executed the combine's best power-ball throw at 44 feet, while also impressing in the 40 with a 4.89, clocking a quick 4.41 shuttle and jumping 32.9 inches in the vertical. Bright ran for 500 yards and also totaled 40 tackles last year in eight games last fall.

Although Bright took the SPARQ rating honor, the player who most in attendance felt was the most impressive physically was 6-1½, 186-pound athlete Josh Furman of Millersville (Md.) Old Mill. Furman showed why he's already drawn offers from Maryland, Michigan, Pitt, UNC, West Virginia and others on Sunday with a spectacular showing that netted him the third-best SPARQ rating of the event at 99.30. Furman soared a combine-high 38.3 inches in the vertical jump and also flashed his superb athleticism with a 4.25 shuttle and a 4.7 40. Furman ran for 796 yard and 14 TDs last year while also totaling 87 tackles and eight sacks on defense to earn second-team all-state honors in Maryland.

Other players who impressed Sunday included 6-4, 305-pound defensive tackle DaQuan Jones of Johnson City (N.Y.), who ran a 4.66 shuttle and threw the power ball 35 feet; Long Branch (N.J.) rising junior Miles Shuler, who finished No. 2 with a 99.69 SPARQ rating while clocking a 4.54 40; and Philadelphia Chestnut Hill Academy DB Ibraheim Campbell, who clocked a 4.58 40 to go along with a 4.26 shuttle.

See below for the "Workout Warriors" from the Philadelphia Nike Combine:

• The SPARQ rating is a scoring system designed to measure football-specific athleticism by combining results in the four combine tests: 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle, vertical jump and power ball throw.
• The 40-yard dash at Nike combines are timed using SPARQ digital timing. Not all players choose to test, and some have their marks scratched in individual events.
• The shuttle run at the Nike combine is timed with stopwatches, and players must touch the lines with their hand. Not all players choose to test, and some have their marks scratched in individual events.
• The vertical jump at the Nike combine is measured on jump pads in inches. Not all players choose to test, and some have their marks scratched in individual events.
• The kneeling power-ball throw is a test of upper-body and core strength and is measured in feet to the nearest half-foot. Not all players choose to test, and some have their marks scratched in individual events.

ESPN RISE and Scouts, Inc. will have much more from the Philadelphia Nike Combine throughout the week, including top testing results from each event, more standout performances, the recruiting buzz from the combine, an all-combine team and complete results by the end of the week.