Marshon Lattimore and Marlon Humphrey had plenty of advice on their way to the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine.
Lattimore could draw on recent experiences of former Ohio State teammate Eli Apple, a cornerback who was selected with the 10th overall pick by the New York Giants in last year's draft.
Lattimore said the best advice he's received is "Just do what you do. You have the talent to be here. Just go in and try to be the best at everything you do. Don't go in with less confidence than you would if you were at Ohio State. Just go in and be yourself."
He said there's a couple of reasons he's reached out to Apple the most.
"He's just been through it last year and I was out there playing with him in 2015," Lattimore said. "We're close friends so I've been looking at him for pointers and stuff like that."
In addition to plenty of former Alabama teammates who have made the pros recently, Humphrey also can ask his father, Bobby Humphrey, a two-time All-America running back at Alabama and first-round pick in the 1989 NFL Draft, for advice.
Although Bobby Humphrey still ranks second in school history with 3,420 rushing yards, Marlon said his father steered him away from that position at an early age.
"I played running back when I was young, and my dad always pushed me away from running back," Marlon said. "He would go workout with us and be aching in his knees, so seeing that and him pushing me away from it kind of made me turn into a DB."
NFL Media's Mike Mayock and Bucky Brooks slotted the same four players in their top four rankings, but disagreed on the order of their top three players.
Mayock went with Washington's Sidney Jones, Lattimore and Humphrey, followed by Florida's Teez Tabor and LSU's Tre'Davious White.
Brooks opted for Lattimore, Humphrey, Jones, Tabor and Florida's Quincy Wilson.
Here are highlights from the cornerbacks' media session on Sunday:
Sidney Jones, Washington
Pre-combine position rankings: Mayock 1st CB, Brooks 3rd CB
On his decision to not participate in the bench press: "Talking with my agent, we just felt like it was a more comfortable situation for myself."
On if he can and needs to improve his strength: "You can always get better at anything you do. Strength is something you can obviously work on."
On if he is worried about the depth at cornerback: "Definitely not. I know my talent and what I bring to the table. The other stuff doesn't affect me at all."
Marshon Lattimore, Ohio State
Pre-combine position rankings: Mayock 2nd CB, Brooks 1st CB
On the medical exam evaluating his hamstring: "I actually had to get an MRI for my hamstring even though it happened all the way in 2014, they still want to see if there's anything wrong with it. My hamstrings are fine right now, but I had to get an MRI on the one that I tore."
Were you annoyed that teams asked about your hamstring first? "I knew it was going to get asked about it so I'm not annoyed about it. I'm just enjoying the process right now."
Was staying healthy this year luck or doing something different? "Just doing something different. It's not luck at all. I did yoga, I did extra strengthening exercise, I did stretching, all that. It's no luck, no."
Do you still do yoga? "Not right now, I didn't have time to do yoga. But I'm going to get back to it when I'm done with this. Going back to Ohio State, probably do a little yoga program.
Marlon Humphrey, Alabama
Pre-combine position rankings: Mayock 3rd CB, Brooks 2nd CB
On his approach: "Work hard and stay out of trouble. That's kind of what I've built my athletic career on, just working hard and trying to stay out of trouble."
Where do you fit in with a talented group of cornerbacks in this year's class? "Hopefully I'll be one of the top guys. That's all I can hope for. I think everybody should think they're the best, so hopefully the top guy, but that's for someone else to judge, not me."
On what he wants to run in the 40-yard dash:"I want to run fast. I don't know if I'm going to run 'island fast' [anyone who breaks the record in adidas shoes will win a private island], but I think I'm going to run fast and should be good."
Tre'Davious White, LSU
Pre-combine position rankings: Mayock 5th CB
On the defensive backs tradition at LSU: "It's the coaching we have. Coach Corey Raymond. It's a standard we have, older guys coming back looking after the younger guys that's playing right now. We hold each guy to that standard, so those guys know what to expect once they get to LSU. They're expected to play on an island. If they can't play on that island, they're probably not going to want you."
What do you want to show here? "I don't want to leave no question marks, that I can pretty much do it all. I can play inside, outside at a high level. I played a game at the end of my junior year at safety, so I have pretty much a high football IQ, how to play all three positions in the defensive backfield at a high level."
