In the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens selected USC offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees.
Vorhees will have to wait a little longer than most other draft picks to make his NFL debut. He is recovering from a torn ACL in his right knee, suffered during on-field drills at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
However, Vorhees made sure that his injury was not the last thing scouts saw from him at the combine. The 6-foot-6, 310-pound lineman still did the bench press on Monday, March 6, despite injuring his knee the night before. He completed 38 reps on the bench, the most of any player at the 2023 combine.
“I didn’t find out officially that my ACL was torn until that Monday morning,” Vorhees said on Glenn Clark Radio May 3. “So, it was about probably two hours before I went and did the bench press. Long story short, I got the doctors to give me the OK. … When I got to the bench press, everyone was kind of like, ‘What’s this guy doing? Why is he warming up?’ And I just told them, ‘Yeah, I’m doing this.’ I was there to go do a job and I wasn’t going to be stopped, [that] kind of mentality.”
That moment went viral, primarily because a significant injury was suffered on one of the biggest stages in professional football, but also because people were in awe of how impressive Vorhees’ showcase of strength turned out to be.
Vorhees said that many kids who were dealing with significant injuries reached out to him in support.
“It’s weird because in the moment, you don’t realize the impact things will have,” Vorhees said. “It’s just interesting perspective. But definitely once I got back from the combine and things kind of settled down. I kind of realized like, ‘Oh, this actually made quite a bit of news.’ Just knowing that it will be a video that will surface forever and thinking about the legacy that it will leave behind for my children and grandchildren.”
Vorhees was voted the winner of the 2022 Morris Trophy, given to the best offensive lineman in the Pac-12. His best year, though, might have come in 2021, when he earned Associated Press and Pro Football Focus first-team All-Pac 12 honors and won USC’s Offensive Lineman of the Year Award.
Prior to the injury, some mock drafts had Vorhees being selected as high as the third round. While the injury certainly affected his draft stock, Vorhees is grateful that he was still able to hear his name called on Day 3.
The Ravens dealt a 2024 sixth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for a seventh-rounder this year to take Vorhees.
“When I got the call [from the Ravens] it was just so indescribable, it’s hard to even say what the emotions were like going through my mind,” Vorhees said. “But I saw the Maryland area code on the caller ID and I instantly knew who it was. I was so thrilled when I got that call. Just something I’ll never forget. … I’m grateful for where I’m at now, and just looking forward to the opportunity to be a Baltimore Raven.”
Vorhees started 48 games for the Trojans from 2017-2022, with 25 coming at right guard, 19 at left guard and four at left tackle. He received praise from former Stanford head coach David Shaw, whose team Vorhees went up against every year of his career except the pandemic-impacted 2020 season.
“This guy moves people,” Shaw said on Glenn Clark Radio May 2. “That’s something we talk about, being a people mover. He knocks people back. He’s got great length and athleticism. He’s really physical. He’s one of those guys that when you put the film on, he’s a Raven.”
Vorhees used one word to describe who he is as a player.
“Physicality,” Vorhees said. “I think I do a great job in the run game, especially. It’s easier to display my physicality. I think that’s one of the most [desirable] traits that you need to have as an offensive lineman.”
Vorhees is not counting out a possible return to action during the 2023-24 NFL season.
“I definitely don’t want to close any doors now,” Vorhees said. “I mean, if I didn’t prove to the world that I was a competitor with going out and doing the bench press after a torn ACL, I don’t know what other proof you need. … We’ve got a long year, and I anticipate the Baltimore Ravens playing pretty late into the season, so definitely not going to rule anything out this early on. We’ll just take it day by day.”
For more from Voorhes, listen to the full interview here:
For more from Shaw, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of USC Athletics