Five MSU seniors will participate in the NFL Combine currently going on until Tuesday, trying to improve their positioning for the 2005 NFL Draft, which will take place April 23-24.

Running back DeAndra Cobb, defensive end Clifford Dukes, free safety Jason Harmon, place-kicker Dave Rayner and defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson all will be down in Indianapolis to prove themselves at various skill and speed drills.

The number of Spartans at the combine matches the number of players representing defending national champions Southern Cal.

Cobb ranks third all-time at MSU for kickoff return yards with 1,632.

Dukes, who dealt with an injury to his quadreceps muscle throughout his senior year, earned second-team All-Big Ten honors and ranks sixth of MSU's all-time sack list.

Leading the Spartans in interceptions in 2004 was Harmon, who also finished third in tackles with 105. It was the second-straight year he finished with more than 100 tackles.

Rayner was voted a second-team All-Big Ten player in 2004, and is the MSU all-time leader in scoring (334), field goals (62) and extra points made (148). He led the Big Ten in scoring with 105 points in 2004.

He also was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, which is given annually to the nation's top placekicker.

Vickerson ranked seventh on the team in tackles, and led the team in tackles for losses, sacks and quarterback hits. Vickerson finished his career with 119 tackles and 8.5 sacks.

The event run by National Football Scouting at the RCA Dome and is attended by many media and NFL owners, general managers and coaches.