Ex-Michigan cornerback Channing Stribling ready for NFL combine

Even just a few years ago, Channing Stribling didn’t entirely know how the pre-NFL draft process worked.

Then a Michigan cornerback, he figured the NFL combine was for all draft-interested seniors.

Fortunately for him, Stribling’s senior season was impressive enough that the reality didn’t matter.

He’ll be one of the 330 invited players attending the event this week in Indianapolis — one of the event-high 14 from U-M.

“Once I found out it was the best of the best, I thought it was something I wanted to go to because I knew coaches are going to watch you and you’ve got to go basically against a lot of people who are on the same path you’re on,” he said this week in a phone interview with the Free Press.

Stribling may look a little different than his last appearance for the Wolverines in the Dec. 30 Orange Bowl.

Related:

Analyst: Jabrill Peppers has to show speed, DB skills at NFL combine

After playing at Michigan weighing in the 170s, Stribling said he’s up to 190 pounds, using the advice he got from teams he met with during the East-West Shrine Game week in mid-January.

“A lot of teams I talked to wanted to make sure I was at a good weight,” said the 6-foot-2 Stribling. So I made sure the weight was a big emphasis.”

The biggest key for him to bulk up is eating three square meals a day, focusing on proportional servings, fruit, vegetables, eating healthier.

When he was in school, Stribling was always jumping from class to practice to workouts, etc. Now with time to focus only on training with the EXOS group and facility in San Diego, it’s much easier.

His height appealed to Michigan’s former staff recruiting him and that becomes an asset if he can be big enough to be physical but also show his speed.

He’s had a comfort level at EXOS, as a number of his U-M teammates are there: Taco Charlton tweeted a photo this month with Stribling, Jake Butt, Ben Gedeon, Ryan Glasgow and Erik Magnuson, plus Jabrill Peppers is there as well.

But the players who may be pushing him the most are those he’s competing against.

He has connected with West Virginia cornerback Rasul Douglas, who ESPN.com has ranked as a Top 100 player. (Stribling is No. 233 on the site’s overall list.)

They’ve been able to push each other, enduring the same workouts.

In addition to his size, NFL teams liked Stribling’s ball skills as he was tested much of the year as teams avoided All-American Jourdan Lewis on the other side.

As Stribling started all 13 games, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors, he showed he could attack the ball with four interceptions, 13 passes defended and could blitz when necessary with three tackles for loss. Teams mentioned the Wisconsin game, when he had two interceptions.

“It’s easy to see corners who like to go up and catch the ball,” Stribling said.

Related:

After many moves as Army child, Channing Stribling found a home at U-M

His senior season capped a steady progression over his career, showing his improvement year by year.

With other players higher-ranked coming out of high school and starting regularly earlier in their career, scouts were able to watch them for longer. This past season was Stribling’s first as a full-time starter, so he’s hoping they see his growth, not that it took awhile to find him as an NFL prospect.

“A lot of guys who they were on early, they topped out,” he said. “Whether they’re good or not, there’s a lot of guys who could go early, just because they did well early in their career. (Potential) kind of helps, but it’s kind of something that’s holding me back, too. They want to see more and want to see a lot. Just teams if they haven’t seen me, so it’s kind of hard to get as good idea who I am and what kind of player I am. Not a guy they’ve always been looking at.

“A lot of teams have seen the progress that I’ve made, not just from this year but from my freshman year to my senior year. I think they recognize the growth.”

The EXOS experience has exposed him to a group of players he hadn’t met before. Growing up in the South and playing in the Midwest, he didn’t cross paths with many Pac-12 guys. But at EXOS, he’s gotten to know Oregon State receiver Victor Bolden, Washington State safety Shalom Luani, among others.

But even with those at his position, he’s tried to compete while using it to improve, which is a fine balance against guys in a job competition.

“That’s the whole fun of it, going through the whole process and having that competition factor brings out the best in everybody,” he said. “If there’s any animosity, we know that’s not the right way to go about it. After this you’re going to have to take somebody’s job. You can’t have any tension, because it’s not a good things to have. Make sure the competition level stays high.”

Contact Mark Snyder: msnyder@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark__snyder. Download our Wolverines Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!