Skrine confident after all-star game

UTC's two-time all-conference cornerback continues to train for the NFL combine.

Friday, February 11, 2011

photo Staff File Photo by Jake Daniels/Chattanooga Times Free Press UTC's Buster Skrine stands in the UTC locker room.

Former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga cornerback Buster Skrine is back in New Jersey this week training for the NFL combine later this month in Indianapolis.

The two-time first-team All-Southern Conference selection spent last week in San Antonio, where he went through a few days of practice before playing in the NFL Players Association All-Star game on Feb. 5.

"It was just practices, interviews, meetings all day, from 7 in the morning to 10 o'clock at night," he said.

Skrine started the game, which included college football seniors from across the country -- most of them bowl subdivision players such as receivers Kris Durham of Georgia (and Calhoun High School) and Tennessee's Denarius Moore.

Skrine was credited with three tackles and said he played as much or more than any of the six corners on his team.

"Going into it, I thought it was going to be like, with guys from much bigger schools, a faster pace and things like that," the 5-foot-10, 186-pound Skrine said. "But, really, people were a little bit bigger than me, but I held my own."

Numerous reports last week listed Skrine among the players who impressed in San Antonio, and Skrine said he heard a lot of positive feedback from scouts.

According to one report on NFLDraftScout.com, Skrine "still gets a draft-worthy grade because of his fluidity and ball skills."

Skrine is the first UTC player invited to the combine since running back Eldra Buckley in 2007. Buckley wasn't drafted but signed with the San Diego Chargers and has been with the Philadelphia Eagles for two seasons.

Skrine, a four-year starter, finished his Mocs career with 156 tackles, 21 pass break-ups and five interceptions. If he has given himself a shot at being a late-round draft pick after his trip to Texas, Skrine can cement that with a strong performance in the combine.

For most of 2011, Skrine has been training at the Parisi Speed School in Fair Lawn, N.J. There he's putting in the work to make sure he tests as well as possible, especially in the 40-yard dash.

Skrine has been hand-timed at under 4.3 seconds, and he expects to run that fast in Indy.

"I'm looking at the combine, to run something really fast," he said. "No slower than a 4.3 and a 4.2 is in the picture."

The Mocs will conduct their pro day on March 23.


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