WRCBtv.com | Chattanooga News, Weather & SportsFormer Red Bank star Benford invited to NFL Combine

INDIANAPOLIS (WRCB) -- The NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis will have a little extra Chattanooga flavor later this month.

Former Red Bank high standout and Tennessee Tech receiver Tim Benford was one of the 300 players included on the official invite list Tuesday for the most high-profile week of workouts leading up to the NFL's April draft.

Benford will join Chattanooga quarterback B.J. Coleman at Lucas Oil Stadium from February 22-27. The two turned heads in St. Petersburg, Florida, in late January at the East-West Shrine Game. While Coleman had already received his combine invite in late December, Benford's consistent play in Shrine practices made him a late addition to the final invite list.

Benford, a 5-foot-11, 199-pound wideout, rewrote the Golden Eagles' record books during a four-year career in Cookeville. He had nearly 1,000 yards receiving as a senior year en route to Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors this past fall.

Benford told our media partners at the Chattanooga Times Free Press he is working out in Naples, Florida, to prepare for the combine's battery of drills.

Coleman has been working out in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, since the last week of December.

Both hope to follow in the footsteps of former Chattanooga defensive back Buster Skrine, who was a combine standout a year ago. His blazing 40-yard dash time helped raise his draft stock and led to him being drafted in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns.

Coleman has been graded as a mid-round pick as one of the draft's top ten quarterbacks. Benford was listed as a possible late-round pick by scouts at the Shrine Game.