INDIANAPOLIS North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples heard a lot of questions Saturday about whether he dogged it his final year with the Tar Heels.
He can expect a lot more today when he meets with teams.
The book on Coples after his head-scratching senior year was the 6-foot-6, 284-pounder has top-10 talent with a seventh-round motor. Coples denied he took it easy last fall when he had just 7.5 sacks, though he conceded it might appear that way on game film.
Coples said that because the game came so fast to him, he might have looked slow on film. He also said his long strides make it look like he's not moving as fast as other players.
"A lot of people have a lot of high expectations for me. I appreciate that," Coples said at the NFL Scouting Combine. "But when you're playing the game of football, you have things that happen that don't go as planned. I think it was a situation that happened that I learned from, I matured from, and I think I'll reap the benefits at the next level."
Coples, who dominated the Senior Bowl practices last month, is scheduled to meet today with the Panthers, who pick ninth. Asked if that would be too low for him, Coples said: "Anything can happen in the draft."
The implication was the Panthers could move up to draft him. But if the player who's been compared to former UNC and Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers - both in stature and inconsistent effort - can't convince teams he has a passion for the game, it could be Coples moving down.
FLIPPING OUT: South Carolina defensive end/linebacker Melvin Ingram has been working with Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller at a training facility in California to improve his linebacking skills. But Ingram needs no help when it comes to athleticism.
Ingram, a 6-1, 264-pounder, did a standing back flip recently after Miller doubted him.
Ingram, a projected top-10 pick who said the Panthers are among the teams he's met with, has enjoyed his time with Miller, who has the same agent as Ingram.
"We just try to compete against each other every day," Ingram said. "Obviously, he's the Defensive Rookie of the Year. So I just try to pattern myself after him because I feel like he's had a lot of success in the NFL."
QUICK LEARNER: Appalachian State receiver Brian Quick didn't play football until his senior year in at his Columbia high school. But it didn't take long for the former basketball standout to master his new sport.
Quick said by his sophomore year at Appalachian, he knew he'd made the right decision.
"I was just amazing to myself," he said. "I surprised myself, but it took hard work. I never would have thought I would be so good or taking that next step. I can tell you it was a long transition and I am pretty proud of myself."
The 6-3, 220-pound Quick caught 71 passes for 1,096 yards last season.
TESTING RESULTS: Southern Cal's Matt Kalil, the top tackle prospect and brother of Panthers center Ryan Kalil, ran the 40 in 4.99 seconds Saturday. Only Oklahoma's Donald Stephenson was faster among linemen at 4.94 seconds.
Kalil and Stephenson were the sixth and seventh offensive linemen to go under five seconds since 2009. Kalil did 30 reps on the 225-pound bench press, tied for 11th among linemen. Michigan's David Molk was first with 41 reps.
