Harvard’s Ben Braunecker eager to size himself up against bigger-school players

INDIANAPOLIS — Ben Braunecker likes playing Nintendo 64 and Super Smash Bros., where he can beat up on his buddies playing as Fox McCloud.

He also likes molecular biology, bacterial strains and infectious diseases. When Braunecker enrolled at Harvard, he thought he’d end up at medical school, not the NFL combine, but that’s where he found himself this week along with 14 other tight ends.

The tight end class is slightly smaller than usual — there were 19 invited to last year’s combine — but Braunecker believes that will help him stand out to potential NFL suitors. The Ferdinand, Indiana native is one of three Championship Subdivision tight ends at the combine and is eager to prove he can hang with the best of the Bowl Subdivision.

“[The smaller class] is good for me, good for FCS guys that don’t have a whole lot of publicity coming out,” Braunecker said. “I can’t compete with guys that have a lot of production out of the SEC like that. With how thin the class is, it presents an opportunity, if I show up at this event on Saturday and tomorrow, that I can jump a few spots and make a name for myself.”

As a senior, Braunecker caught a career-high 48 passes for 850 yards and eight touchdowns. At the combine, the physical drills draw the most hype, but they are just a sliver of the evaluation process. Crushing the 225-pound bench press or reaching for the rafters in Lucas Oil Stadium during the vertical jump don’t always translate to success in the NFL.

Braunecker knows that, but believes it’s important for him to show teams he can physically matchup with other tight ends, despite being slightly undersized at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds.

Where Braunecker can shine is the one-on-one interviews with front office executives and coaches, where he can display his intelligence.

During a meeting with Miami Dolphins, Braunecker was asked to memorize all of their offensive formations in a minute. Then, after a short break, he had five minutes to regurgitate it.

How’d he do?

“Reasonable,” Braunecker said.

Braunecker isn’t sweating the Wonderlic test, which tests players’ intelligence and problem-solving skills with a series of questions, either.

“That’s always fun,” Braunecker said. “It’s like any sort of problem set we do at Harvard, just simpler. I’m not worried about it all. If anything, it’s a nice opportunity to flex your academic muscles a little bit.”