INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Marshawn Lynch doesn't expect a recent assault accusation to affect his draft stock.
The California running back was accused of punching, slapping and sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend in December. He maintained his innocence from the beginning, and was never arrested or charged. He feels he shouldn't have to answer questions about it this week at the NFL Scouting Combine, but said he'll gladly do so.
``I'll tell them the truth,'' he said. ``It's probably not fair, but it's something they want to know about. I've got nothing to hide.''
Lynch was more excited to talk about his football success. The Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year is second in career rushing at Cal with 3,230 yards. He also scored 35 touchdowns in three seasons.
He feels his versatility makes him similar to Marshall Faulk, LaDainian Tomlinson and Reggie Bush.
``I like lining up in the slot, out there at receiver, to get me some one-on-ones, getting me into open space,'' he said.
Rumors have Lynch possibly going to Green Bay. The Oakland native wouldn't mind going to play in the cold and reuniting with former Cal teammate Aaron Rodgers.
He also wouldn't mind playing for his hometown Raiders.
``That would be a dream come true,'' he said. ``I am a Bay Area guy. To be able to stay in the Bay Area - that would be something big.''
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ON THE MEND: Adrian Peterson said the collarbone injury that kept him out for much of his junior year at Oklahoma shouldn't scare teams away.
Peterson rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns when he returned to play against Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. He finished with 1,012 yards in seven games, but questions remain about his durability because Peterson also missed action in four games during his sophomore year with a high ankle sprain.
Peterson said there's nothing to worry about.
``Right now, it's the collarbone, and it's going to heal on its own and it's going to heal completely,'' he said.
Some questioned whether he should be at the combine, but Peterson sees it as an opportunity.
``That's the kind of competitive person I am,'' he said. ``There's no reason not to work out here.''
Peterson placed second in the Heisman balloting as a freshman before the two injury-plagued years. He isn't disappointed about not having won a national championship or a Heisman before opting to skip his senior season.
``Yeah, missed opportunity but no regrets,'' he said. ``Everything happens for a reason. What happened in the past is the past. Right now, I'm looking forward to going into the NFL. That's my dream.''
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LIVING IN THE PAST: Boise State quarterback Jared Zabransky is looking forward to playing in the NFL, but he keeps getting questions about a play he made in college.
After falling behind Oklahoma 35-28 in the Fiesta Bowl, the Broncos tied it with a stunning 50-yard touchdown on fourth-and-18 with 7 seconds to play. Zabransky hit Drisan James at Oklahoma's 35, and James pitched the ball to Jerard Rabb, who raced into the end zone.
The play, triple right-solid-circus, was one of the memorable plays of the college season.
``Every media event I've been associated with since then, I've probably been asked about that,'' he said. ``I think that's something that's exciting, something that I'm going to live with for a long time.''
Boise State won the game 43-42 in overtime.
``I think it was just a Cinderella effort of the little-engine-that-could,'' Zabransky said. ``It's the type of thing where that game was broadcast everywhere. We have a guy that works with military people in Iraq and he said it gave those guys a lot of hope. It's really something special beyond football.''
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THANKS, BRO: Former UTEP quarterback Jordan Palmer doesn't compete with brother Carson in football, and for now, that's probably a good idea. Carson Palmer is the quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals and a former Heisman Trophy winner.
Jordan finds other ways to compete with big brother.
``When it comes to golf and video games, we don't really joke around a whole lot,'' Jordan Palmer said. ``We take that stuff pretty seriously.''
Though the brothers are competitive, family loyalty won out when Carson cast his Heisman ballot for Jordan.
``He had sent me a text message: 'By the way, I voted for you for the Heisman,''' Jordan said. ``I didn't think anything of it. I thought he was kidding.''
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JUST LIKE JERRY: New Hampshire receiver David Ball has been mentioned in the same breath as Jerry Rice. Now, he just wants to make it into the NFL.
Ball broke Rice's NCAA Division I record for touchdown receptions this past season. He finished his career with 58 for Division I-AA Wildcats.
Ball enjoyed a rare media crush when he broke the record.
``It was actually a pretty crazy few days, and to tell you the truth, it was actually wilder leading up to it at the point when I was one away.''
Ball's accomplishments were good enough to land him a slot in the Senior Bowl against Division I-A talent. He said that prepared him for the combine.
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CLEVELAND NO. 3: Cleveland general manager Phil Savage was happy that the Browns won the coin toss with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to gain the third overall pick.
The Buccaneers will select fourth.
The teams finished with 4-12 records last season and their opponents had the same winning percentage, making the coin toss necessary.
Savage said Cleveland is content with the No. 3 pick and is unlikely to trade up, but would be open to trading down.
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PALKO FOLLOWS DAD: Pitt's Tyler Palko shouldn't have any trouble calling audibles -- he's been drawing up plays since he was 9 years old.
Palko learned to draw plays from watching his dad, high school coach Bob Palko, while growing up in Pennsylvania.
``When you're around your dad and that's all he does is around football, a lot of times, you're going to do what he does,'' Palko said. ``So I took an interest in that and happened to draw 11 guys up on the field and put it together.''
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WALKER LIKES ROSENHAUS: Notre Dame running back Darius Walker is impressed with his new agent, Drew Rosenhaus.
``He's 40 years old, he's been in the game 20 years,'' Walker said. ``He basically lives, eats and breathes football. He has no wife, no kids, none of that. He's got nothing to do but be an agent.''
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AP Sports Writer Michael Marot contributed to this report.
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