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QB Matt Corral doesn't regret playing in Ole Miss bowl game despite ankle injury

INDIANAPOLIS -- Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral, speaking Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine, said he has "no regrets" about playing in the Sugar Bowl in January and that he is on track to be at full speed for his March 24 pro day on campus.

Corral won't throw at the combine -- quarterbacks will have their on-field workout Thursday -- because he is still recovering from a right ankle injury he suffered in the first quarter of Ole Miss' loss to Baylor. Corral said Wednesday that the injury was "a high ankle sprain, no breaks, no tears."

Multiple teams asked Corral in formal interviews at the combine whether he regretted playing in the bowl game and not opting out, he said.

"They asked if I regretted it, and I said, 'Absolutely not,'" Corral said. "I never thought about opting out. ... It was never a thought in my mind. I was going to play regardless."

Corral said his recovery from the injury, which was originally framed at six to eight weeks, is coming along well enough that he recently has started taking full dropbacks in his workouts as well as running in his conditioning.

"About 2½ weeks ago I started throwing and running," Corral said. "... I am throwing at 100% right now. I just started taking dropbacks about two and a half weeks ago. Before that I was just throwing from spots, not taking any dropbacks."

Corral topped 3,000 passing yards in each of his final two seasons at Ole Miss and had a combined 49 passing touchdowns. He threw for 3,349 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2021 and rushed for 614 yards and 11 touchdowns.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has Corral listed as the No. 3 quarterback prospect in the draft behind Pitt's Kenny Pickett and Liberty's Malik Willis. ESPN's Todd McShay has Corral as the No. 27 prospect overall and also the No. 3 quarterback.

"I'm not able to perform physically [at the combine], but I can definitely show the teams what I know mentally," Corral said.