A school-record three Charlotte 49ers have been invited to the 2020 NFL Combine, taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Offensive lineman Cameron Clark, defensive end Alex Highsmith and running back Benny LeMay all earned invites after leading Charlotte to its best season ever and the school's first bowl appearance.
Earlier this year, each of the three competed in the 95th annual East-West Shrine Bowl, with LeMay earning offensive MVP honors. The East-West Shrine Bowl is an annual senior showcase that gives top college players a chance to showcase their talents to NFL scouts.
"Having three guys invited to the NFL Combine puts you up there with the premier programs in college football," said 49ers head coach Will Healy. "Those are three excellent players and three really good representatives of our program. I know they will excel going up against some of the nation's best. They've proven that at the East-West Shrine Bowl, and this is another great opportunity for them to showcase their skills."
Charlotte's three representatives are the most for a Conference USA school. Florida Atlantic, FIU and Louisiana Tech each had two players invited. UNC Charlotte and Wake Forest led North Carolina schools with three invites.
A first team all-Conference USA choice, Clark anchored Charlotte's offensive line that produced C-USA's top rushing attack. Clark started all 12 games to run his streak of consecutive starts to 31 games. A three-year starter and two-time co-captain, Clark set a school record with 49 games played during his four-year career.
A third team all-America by both AP and Pro Football Focus (PFF), Highsmith is the 49ers all-time sack king and the first 49er to garner all-America honors. This past season, he broke records for sacks in a game (4.5), season (14.0) and career (20.0). He was named first team all-C-USA as both a junior and senior, the first 49er to earn first team all-league honors two times. Listed on the Chuck Bednarik Award Preseason Watch List as a candidate for the nation's top defensive player award, Highsmith was a semifinalist for the Burlsworth Trophy, given to the top collegiate player that began his career as a walk-on.
Charlotte's all-time FBS rushing leader, LeMay posted back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons as a junior and senior. His 3,232 career rushing yards are the most by a 49er that competed all four years at the FBS level and second overall. LeMay ranked second in C-USA with a 98.4 rushing avg. (1,082 yards total) and led the league in all-purpose yards (120.4/game; 1,324 total). A first team all-C-USA selection, LeMay was second in C-USA with 13 touchdowns (9 rushing; 4 receiving) and ranks second all-time for the 49ers with 28 career TDs.
Read the entire story on the Charlotte 49ers website.