You can't train what you don't measure, and you can't see where you stand against college standards until you've got honest numbers to plug in. The good news is you don't need a combine, a pro timing system, or a single piece of fancy equipment to test the measurables that matter for a lineman. You need a tape measure, a stopwatch or a phone, a flat surface, and a friend to help. Here's how to test each one properly, and just as important, how to avoid the mistakes that give you numbers you can't trust.
Body Measurements
Height and Weight
Measure height in bare feet, standing tall against a wall, heels down. Weigh yourself first thing in the morning before eating for the most consistent reading. These are your baseline, so record them honestly.
Arm Length, Wingspan and Hand Size
For arm length, let your arm hang naturally at your side and measure from the bony point on top of your shoulder to the tip of your longest finger. For wingspan, stretch both arms straight out and measure fingertip to fingertip. For hand size, spread your hand wide and measure from the tip of your thumb to the tip of your little finger. Take each one twice and average them. These won't be combine-exact at home, but they'll get you close.
The Movement Tests
40-Yard Dash
Mark off 40 yards on a flat, grippy surface. Start from a three-point stance, the way you actually leave the line, not a sprinter's crouch. Have your timer start the clock on your first movement, not on a "go," because reacting to a shout adds tenths that aren't really your speed. Run through the line, don't slow down as you approach it. Take the best of two or three runs with full rest between.
Common mistake: hand timing always reads faster than electronic timing, often by two or three tenths. So don't compare your stopwatch 40 directly to a televised combine number. For a lineman, the first ten yards matter more than the full forty anyway.
20-Yard Shuttle
Set three points five yards apart. Start straddling the middle line, sprint five yards to one side and touch the line, change direction and go ten yards to the far line and touch, then five yards back through the middle. This one rewards the change of direction and foot quickness that show up on your blocking tape, so it's worth getting right.
Common mistake: not actually touching the lines, or rounding the turns. Touch the line with your hand and make sharp cuts, or the number is meaningless.
3-Cone Drill
Set three cones in an L shape, five yards apart. The path runs through a set pattern around all three. It's worth looking up the exact route and walking it a few times before you time it, because running the wrong pattern gives you a number you can't compare to anything. This drill measures bend and body control, both gold for a lineman.
Vertical Jump
Stand side-on to a wall, reach up as high as you can and mark your standing reach. Then jump from a standstill (no run-up, no step) and mark the highest point you touch. The difference between the two marks is your vertical. Chalk on the fingertips makes the marks easy to see.
Common mistake: taking a step or a little run-up into it. A true vertical is from a dead standstill. A run-up inflates the number and makes it worthless for comparison.
Broad Jump
Stand with your toes behind a line and jump forward as far as you can from two feet, landing on two feet without falling backward or putting a hand down. Measure from the line to the back of your heels on landing. If you stumble back or steady yourself with a hand, the jump doesn't count.
The Strength Tests
Bench Press
The combine standard is max reps at 225 pounds, but most high schoolers should test at a weight that's safe and realistic for them, often 185. Always have a spotter, always use good form, and never test a true max without someone there. Count only clean reps with full range, no bouncing the bar off your chest.
Squat
Test your one-rep max only with proper coaching, a spotter or a rack with safeties, and a thorough warm-up. If you're not confident in your form under heavy load, don't chase a max number on your own. A safe, honest squat at a weight you control tells you more than an ugly max that risks an injury.
📋 Coach's Read
Test yourself, then test yourself again a few months later, and watch the trend. The single most useful thing these numbers give you isn't the score, it's the direction. A kid whose shuttle and vertical are climbing every off-season is a kid who's getting better, and that progress is exactly what you show a college coach. Date your results and keep them.
What To Do With Your Numbers
Once you've got honest measurements, plug them into the tool and see where you land against NAIA, D3, D2, D1 and the NFL Combine line. Don't panic at the gaps. Those gaps are your off-season to-do list. Test now, train through the year, and test again. The numbers that move are the story worth telling.