From FCS wide receiver to ACC standout, Wake Forest LB Branson Combs is the 2025 NFL Draft sleeper to know
The best part of the NFL Draft process is finding the perceived “diamonds in the rough” and learning the interesting back stories about where these prospects came from. One of the more talented linebackers in the 2025 NFL Draft class is Wake Forest star Branson Combs, who almost nobody ever talks about… until recently. A […]
The best part of the NFL Draft process is finding the perceived “diamonds in the rough” and learning the interesting back stories about where these prospects came from. One of the more talented linebackers in the 2025 NFL Draft class is Wake Forest star Branson Combs, who almost nobody ever talks about… until recently.
A big reason for that was that Combs began his career as a member of the Southern Illinois Saluki program. During the course of his career on the FCS level, Combs would collect 177 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, six interceptions, and 18 pass breakups. Combs was named a Second-Team All-MVFC member twice for his efforts.
You pop on the film and you quickly see the frame, and the athleticism that Combs possesses. It’s pretty easy to project an ascension based on his overall talent. Then you look into Comb’s background and that athleticism starts to make even more sense, especially when you consider the position he originally envisioned himself playing.
“I didn't get too much recruitment. It was kind of between Southern Illinois and a couple other FCS schools,” Combs told The First Team. “I was actually recruited more at linebacker, I'd say, out of high school, but I wanted to play wide receiver funny enough.
“I liked the staff, and I liked everything about it but playing wide receiver was a big thing for me,” he continued. “I had the opportunity to do that at Southern Illinois, so I went there, played the first two seasons at wide receiver, and now I'm playing linebacker.”
For the first two seasons of his Southern Illinois career, Combs majored in catching passes on the offensive side of the football. During the 2020 season, his most recent out wide, he would haul in 12 receptions for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Combs was a productive member of the team as just a redshirt freshman, but the coaching staff saw a bigger direction for his future.
Position switch that almost never was
“To be honest, I didn't want to do it at the beginning,” Combs explained. “I talked to Coach Hill after we played our season in the spring. I played wide receiver in the spring, and then it's a turnaround straight into the fall for the next season and they brought it up.
“I told them I didn't want to play linebacker, It's kind of how it went,” he added. “Obviously whatever you tell me to do is what I'm going to do. I get that but if you're asking me what I think, that was kind of my opinion on it. Obviously, it worked out. I moved to linebacker and I think that first season was good, just as far as getting myself back to how I need to play on the defensive side of the ball, kind of getting used to everything. But it didn't go as well as I would like, just because it's new. As the years went on, I got more and more comfortable. Looking back, that was the right decision.”
For the next three seasons of Combs’ career in Carbondale, Combs would become a difference maker on the defensive side of the football. That was especially true during the 2023 season, where he posted 86 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, and nine pass breakups. His game really rounded into form.
With one year of eligibility remaining due to COVID, Combs wanted to explore what so many have begun to do, transferring up to develop his game even further in preparation for the NFL. That led him to the transfer portal, and eventually to Wake Forest. Already holding some mid-round spring grades from the NFL, Combs wasn't unknown to evaluators on the next level, but there are some competition-level concerns he has the chance to answer.
Continued physical development
Over the years, and continuing this offseason, Combs has seen his body transform. He has gone from a big-bodied pass catcher to legitimate NFL-level linebacker. It’s been a slow process that he wanted to get right.
“I was probably 205 or 210 pounds playing wide receiver,” he said. “I was a little bit of a bigger body so that was what preempted the move. I was a physical wide receiver, bigger built so it wasn't too much having to put on. I think it was a little bit at a time, around five pounds per year.
“I played last year at like 220 to 222 pounds, and I've kind of gotten up from there now it's around 227 to 229, in that range,” Combs continued to explain. “That's been something that I've tried to kind of go slowly about so it's not bad weight. I think it's important to keep the athleticism that I do have from coming over from wide receiver, but at the same time knowing that I need to put on weight just to be more capable in the box.”
Combs' lone season with the Demon Deacons got kicked off on Thursday during the team’s 45-13 victory over North Carolina A&T. During that first contest, Combs was able to record four total tackles, one tackle for loss, and a sack. It was just a small taste of what you should expect this season.
For now, get Combs on your radar, NFL Draft fans. He won’t be a massive secret for much longer. This could end up being the mid-round linebacker that everyone is going to want come April.
