"This is my chance to show people around the league what I can do," Prentice said. "I'm going to be there, and I'm going to try and do everything that's going to be asked of me. I am going to try and take advantage of this."

Prentice is considered to be in the second tier of running backs at the invitation-only camp at the RCA Dome.

But the absence of three high-profile runners will let scouts take a longer look at other potential draft picks such as Virginia Tech's Shyrone Stith, Arizona State's J.R. Redmond, Marshall's Doug Chapman, Arizona's Trung Canidate and Prentice.

Heisman Trophy recipient Ron Dayne of Wisconsin, Virginia's Thomas Jones, Alabama's Shaun Alexander and Tennessee's Jamal Lewis -- rated as the best running backs available this year -- are among those opting not to participate in Saturday's position drills. Instead, they have scheduled private practice sessions on their respective college campuses for early next month.

"No, I'll just take my physical and that's about it," Dayne said Friday. "I have to do some interviews, but that's it. I've talked with a whole bunch of teams today and I still have some more to do before I leave."

Lewis, meanwhile, is gearing up for his personal workout in Knoxville.

"We're going to have mine down at Tennessee next month," Lewis said. "I just did my (weight) lifting up here today. I'll do the rest of my regular workout down there."

The former Tennessee standout said his decision not to take part in Saturday's drills had nothing to do with the RCA Dome's artificial turf.

"I don't have a problem with the surface here," he said. "I just think that I'll feel more comfortable working out down at Tennessee."

Jones had much of the same reasoning for not going through the combine workouts.

"I don't think that I'll do much tomorrow in terms of a workout. I'll wait for the workout that we've got scheduled at our place for next month," he said. "I've had a chance to meet and talk with some of the coaches here, so it's definitely been a good experience so far. It makes me feel good to know that they think that highly of me. I'd like to go out there and prove them right."