combine.

It came through help from a lesser-known Alabama employee whom one Tide draft prospect referred to as a "mini Scott Cochran."

And it went beyond just Ridley.

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Typically, players travel to places like Florida or Arizona to do their pre-draft training. Especially top prospects like Ridley, who is expected to be taken in the first round.

But Alabama is creating a new norm.

It started in 2014 when Amari Cooper and Christion Jones chose to do their combine and pro day training in Tuscaloosa. This year, three likely first-round picks -- Minkah Fitzpatrick, Rashaan Evans and Ridley -- opted to train in Tuscaloosa. So did several other Tide NFL draft prospects.

As has been the case since 2014, the training was led by that "mini Scott Cochran" -- Jason Poeth.

"This has been coachold who spends most of the year working with Alabama's track and field and women's soccer teams, has been around Saban and Cochran since the early 2000s at LSU. Before arriving in Tuscaloosa in 2013, he owned a gym in Mobile where he trained everyone from Olympic weightlifters to former Tide stars like D.J. Fluker and Mark Barron.

"Anything as far as working out, getting ready for combine, strength and conditioning, speed work, he knows it all," Evans said. "He's a funny guy and knows how to train but at the same time have fun."

Including with a cool new way to help players prepare for one of the combine's most important drills. Something he discovered with an unintentional assist from the Tide's former punter.

***

While flying a drone around Alabama's