The opportunity for Irishmen Rory Beggan, Mark Jackson, Charlie Smyth and Darragh Leader to go from relative unknowns to hot topics in NFL circles was what made last week’s Scouting Combine so crucial for their hopes of playing in the league. And based on reports from the Irish camp, their stars have risen.
Earlier, kicking coach Tadhg Leader expressed his confidence that GAA goalkeeping trio Beggan, Jackson and Smyth will soon be signed by NFL franchises, saying that “A couple of NFL teams came over to me pretty quickly afterwards and said: ‘We’re quite interested in your guys’”.