FCS Prospects Head to 2026 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium

Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis will host 319 NFL Scouting Combine invitees, with public on-field workouts and the Combine Experience scheduled Thursday, Feb. 26 through Sunday, March 1 and national live coverage beginning 3:00 p.m. ET on Feb. 26 and running through 5:00 p.m. ET on March 1. NFL+ will stream drills, press conferences and analysis presented by Microsoft Copilot across connected TVs and mobile devices.

The full Combine window extends beyond the public workouts: player arrivals, registration and medicals began Monday, Feb. 23 and some sources document events running through March 2 for private team interviews and additional testing. “This year, 319 of the most elite college athletes are gathering to undergo the ultimate job interview, featuring medical checks, psychological testing, and the high stakes on field drills that define draft stock,” reads the event synopsis used by organizers and coverage partners.

Lucas Oil’s public schedule lists daily fan hours and the specific on-field groups. Thursday, Feb. 26 features Inside Look 1:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Combine Experience 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., and on-field drills at 3:00 p.m. for placekickers, defensive linemen and linebackers. Friday, Feb. 27 shows Inside Look 1:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Combine Experience 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. on-field drills for tight ends and defensive backs. Saturday, Feb. 28 opens Inside Look and Combine Experience at 11:00 a.m., with 1:00 p.m. on-field drills for quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs. Sunday, March 1 runs Inside Look 11:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Combine Experience 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., and 1:00 p.m. on-field drills for offensive linemen.

Fans planning to attend must register in February at NFL.com/Combine and are instructed to “Download NFL ONEPASS (in app stores now) to register for free access to Combine Experience and Lucas Oil Stadium during public hours of operation.” Event access is subject to the NFL clear bag policy and is first come / first served contingent upon capacity, with seating inside Lucas Oil Stadium listed as general admission and fans guided to an available seating section upon arrival. HERO Sports published a working schedule on Feb. 24 that lays out additional positional workout and broadcast windows for viewers and attendees.

Among the named prospects expected at Lucas Oil are Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza and Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love, who sit atop Daniel Jeremiah’s top 50 list, along with invitees such as Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles and others noted by team sites: Ohio State S Caleb Downs, Clemson DT Peter Woods, Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. and Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey. School and conference representation skews heavily toward the FBS power conferences; Texas A&M leads all schools with 13 invites and the SEC supplies 115 of the 319 participants.

Team media schedules will run parallel to the NFL and Lucas Oil timelines and can differ from public on-field blocks. “General Manager John Spytek is scheduled to speak to the media Tuesday morning. The press conference will stream live on Raiders YouTube, Raiders.com and in the Raiders app,” the Raiders’ Combine guide states, and team sites such as Cincinnati and Las Vegas will publish daily Combine content and podcasts during the week.

Lucas Oil’s promotional copy captures the stakes: “This intense, four-day job interview is an exciting time for the athletes and a vital step in achieving their dreams of playing in the NFL.” For prospects from smaller programs and FCS schools, the Combine’s Feb. 26–Mar. 1 on-field window and the league-wide Feb. 23–Mar. 2 activity period represent the clearest national stage to improve draft stock.