Austin Brinkman Invited to Specialist Showcase After NFL Combine

Austin Brinkman, West Virginia’s senior long snapper, will attend the specialist showcase after the conclusion of the NFL Scouting Combine, the program announced Friday.

Brinkman, who was invited to last month’s Senior Bowl, is thought of as one of the top long snappers coming out of college football this year.

𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗬 💪@SEANMARTIN91 & @MilumWyatt → NFL Combine@b17_austin → Specialist Showcase pic.twitter.com/IIphmq0V7A

— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) February 14, 2025

No long snappers received an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine for the second year in a row, however, the NFL created the specialist showcase as a post-combine event in Indianapolis for kickers, punters and long snappers to get in front of NFL scouts. Only 10 long snappers have been drafted since 2001 and none have been selected since two were taken in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Instead of long snappers taking up spots in the official Scouting Combine, the NFL instead created this specialist showcase last year, for long snappers to work out following the actual four-day combine. Brinkman will be one of the attendees this year, where he will try to prove his worthiness as a draft pick or at least get his foot in the door to be an undrafted signee.

“A lot of times West Virginia guys can get overlooked,” Brinkman said at the Senior Bowl. “It’s great to be able to represent the university and the state, but just being able to show that I belong and I can do it just as well as anybody else is what I’m trying to show.”

Brinkman will join fellow WVU seniors Wyatt Milum and Sean Martin in Indianapolis. Milum, an offensive tackle, and Martin, a defensive lineman, were both invited to the scouting combine. The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine begins on Feb. 27 and will run through March 2. It will be broadcast on the NFL Network.

For a related story, WVU football announces date of 2025 Gold-Blue Spring Showcase.