Asti: NFL Combine Snub Will Only Add More Fuel to Fire for Beanie Bishop

West Virginia will be represented at the NFL Combine, although not by its consensus All-America. While Zach Frazier, a prospect almost assured to be drafted in the early rounds, did receive an invite, Beanie Bishop was snubbed.

Frazier being invited was only a formality, but his fellow offensive lineman Doug Nester and Bishop are both being left out of the NFL’s premiere event leading up to the NFL Draft. And even though Nester failing to earn a chance to impress scouts in Indianapolis stands out, Bishop’s omission feels more glaring.

A major reason Bishop was not invited could be due to the incredible depth at his position. There are plenty of defensive backs most feel are worthy of playing on Sundays in the fall. But regardless of how many quality players could help an NFL team’s secondary, Bishop did everything possible to validate his inclusion and gain a chance to prove himself, something he felt he had to do when arriving in Morgantown for his final college season.

Bishop is also on the heels of taking part in the East-West Shrine Bowl at the end of January. He even discussed his mindset and confidence with a representative of WV Sports Now who talked to him in Frisco, Texas. It’s usually common for players from the Shrine Bowl and/or the Senior Bowl end up the NFL Combine as well. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for Bishop.

Beanie Bishop Oozing Confidence During NFL Draft Process: ‘I’m Elite When Ball Is in Air’

“I wanted to show that I’m elite when the ball is in the air. Whenever the ball is in the air, it’s just as much mine as it is theirs (the receivers),” Bishop explained when asked what he wanted to show during the 2023 season. And to that regard, Bishop picked off four passes and wrecked games for opposing quarterbacks all throughout the year, most notably getting to Pitt quarterback Phil Jurkovec in WVU’s Backyard Brawl win and recording two interceptions on the road at UCF. He also helped keep the Mountaineers at the top of college football in ball-hawk rate with 20 pass deflections.

Bishop’s lone season at WVU will forever go down as an historic one since he was recognized as just the 13th consensus All-American in program history.

WVU DB Beanie Bishop Becomes Consensus All-American

Not being able to test himself at Lucas Oil Stadium and miss out on the opportunity to have in-depth conversations with NFL personnel will now put Bishop at a disadvantage compared to some of his peers. There’s still film that demonstrates the impact he can have, but putting his full athleticism on display at the combine may have been able to boost projections of where Bishop will be selected.

Most importantly for the Louisville, KY native, he showed he’s a complete corner in games. “And that I can tackle well. I finished the season with 60 tackles (67). Not a lot of DBs like to tackle. And I love to tackle. I’m a physical DB, can play inside and outside,” Bishop said while exuding that confidence WVU fans grew to love so much.

Feeling he always needs to keep proving himself, Bishop even touched on what he hopes NFL scouts realize about him after the East-West Shrine Bowl. “I want to be able to show them that I can handle the volume of the playbook, make checks and adjustments and just be able to play inside and outside.”

Bishop is no stranger to being snubbed or doubted. In fact, he carries every bit of it with him as extra motivation. So while it’s possible this will only add more fuel to his fire, he still deserves the chance to show what he can do on the biggest stage of draft season.

Draft expert Nick Farabaugh analyzed Beanie Bishop as an NFL prospect during his appearance on Mike Asti’s “Mike Drop” podcast.

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