{"id":756872,"date":"2026-02-16T22:29:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T22:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/756872\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T22:29:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T22:29:20","slug":"get-an-early-look-at-the-next-generation-of-football-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/756872\/","title":{"rendered":"Get an early look at the next generation of football stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have fun exploring the city with Play List, Mirror Indy\u2019s midweek arts and culture newsletter. Sign up here:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Support local news that keeps Indy informed. <\/p>\n

Local football fans will have a chance to see the next generation of talent in action when the National Football League Combine returns to Lucas Oil Stadium from Feb. 26 through March 1.<\/p>\n

An event that\u2019s been held in Indianapolis since 1987, the NFL Combine gives college football players a chance to showcase their talent in front of scouts from all 32 professional football teams. The skills evaluation is free and open to the public.<\/p>\n

Nine players from Indiana University\u2019s historic national championship-winning team have been invited to participate in the NFL Combine \u2014 a program record. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, running back Roman Hemby, wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr., wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, tight end Riley Nowakowski, offensive lineman Pat Coogan, linebacker Aiden Fisher, defensive back Louis Moore, and defensive back D\u2019Angelo Ponds are all draft prospects<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The National Football League Combine returns to Lucas Oil Stadium from Feb. 26 through March 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

By registering through the NFL\u2019s OnePass app<\/a>, fans can attend all of the festivities, which the NFL officially refers to as Inside Look<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where you\u2019ll see the college athletes running their drills in front of NFL coaches,\u201d Visit Indy Associate Director of Marketing Christine Zetzi said. \u201cReally, this is their tryout to get into the NFL.\u201d<\/p>\n

When they\u2019re not watching the players in action, fans can explore the family-friendly Combine Experience, which takes place in Lucas Oil Stadium\u2019s south lot, and concourses inside the stadium. Fans can take photos with the Colts Super Bowl XLI Vince Lombardi Trophy, view all 59 Super Bowl rings up close, participate in interactive games, and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where you\u2019ll see people doing the 40-yard dash or trying to catch a pass,\u201d Zetzi says. \u201cI took my 6-year-old last spring, and he had a great time trying to punt the ball. So it\u2019s definitely more hands-on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The family-friendly NFL Combine Experience takes place in Lucas Oil Stadium\u2019s south lot. Credit: Provided photo\/Visit Indy<\/p>\n

For more information on the 2026 NFL Combine, visit NFL.com\/Combine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations<\/a> from individuals, foundations and organizations.<\/p>\n

Seth Johnson is a Mirror Indy freelance contributor. You can reach him at seth.johnson4291@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I hope this story helped you feel more connected to our arts and culture scene. Our nonprofit newsroom runs on donations from people like you who share our passion for arts and culture and our city’s innovative spirit. You help us make good on our promise to deliver stories that reflect our community. <\/p>\n

Community-powered journalism can’t exist without you. Please support our work today.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Amanda Kingsbury
Managing Editor for Innovation, Mirror Indy\u00a0<\/p>\n

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By clicking Sign Up, you\u2019re confirming that you agree with our Terms of Use<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Have fun exploring the city with Play List, Mirror Indy\u2019s midweek arts and culture newsletter. Sign up here:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":756873,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2026],"tags":[4412,339,7,9,7510,108236],"class_list":{"0":"post-756872","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-athletes","9":"tag-college-sports","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-things-to-do","13":"tag-under-hero"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116082677403791772","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=756872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/756873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=756872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=756872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=756872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}