THE SCOUT'S NOTEBOOK

A Very, Very Early Look at the 2011 Draft
by Colin Lindsay, GBN Editor and Publisher
February 1, 2010

Of course, it’s still a long, long way until the 2011, but smart NFL teams always try and keep an eye out for what is coming down the road when factoring which direction to go at the upcoming draft. And, again, while it is still early, the early book on the 2011 draft is that it could be another relatively strong draft. Here’s a quick preview of some of the likely strengths and weaknesses of the 2011 draft class.

The strength of the 2010 draft appears to be along the defensive line where there is a ton of both talent and depth at both DE and DT. Teams that aren’t able to upgrade their defensive lines, though, won’t have to wait all that long to address that need as it looks like the position will be strong again in 2011. Indeed, next year’s DT crop could actually even be stronger than this year’s group, despite the fact that Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska and Oklahoma junior Gerald McCoy are the consensus top two prospects at any position in this year‘s draft field. Its unlikely any DT will go quite that high in 2011, however, next year’s class at the position could be deeper starting with Marvin Austin of North Carolina, Arian Taylor of Oklahoma, Allen Bailey of Miami, Florida’s Lawrence Marsh, Chris Neildd of West Virginia, 355-pound Phil Taylor of Baylor, Jerrel Powe of Ole Miss and Clemson’s Jarvis Jenkins. The best of the bunch, though, could ultimately juniors Jared Crick, Suh’s partner in crime at Nebraska who had 9.5 sacks of his own last fall, and Marcus Fortson of Miami.

The talent level at DE may not be quite as high at DT next April, however, Greg Romeus of Pittsburgh and Clemson junior Da‘Quan Bowers have top 10-20 potential, while Robert Quinn of North Carolina, Iowa’s Adrian Clayborn, Cameron Heyward of Ohio State, Jeremy Beal of Oklahoma, and Sam Acho of Texas all should figure somewhere before the end of the third round.

In fact, defense could be the name of the game at the 2011 as there are also relatively strong groups at both inside and outside LB. The headliners at OLB next April should include Greg Jones of Michigan State, Texas A&M’s Von Miller and Bruce Carter of North Carolina, each of whom has first-round potential, as might juniors Akeem Ayers of UCLA and Travis Lewis of Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Michael Morgan of Southern Cal, Ross Homan of Ohio State and Miami’s Colin McCarthy for the nucleus of a solid second-tier crop of OLBs.

At the same time, the MLB class may not have any superstar prospects like Rolando McClain of Alabama this year, but still should feature a number of very good players such as Kelvin Sheppard of LSU, Alex Wujiack of Maryland, North Carolina’s Quan Sturdivant, Mike Mohammad of California and Mark Herzlich of Boston College. No matter where he is drafted, though, BC’s Herslich is sure to be one of the 2011 drafts best stories after he missed the past season recovering from a rare form of cancer. And the MLB crop for the 2011 draft could get even better if either or both of talented juniors Donta’ Hightower of Alabama or Chris Gallippo of Southern Cal leave school early next winter, although Hightower will be coming back from a serious knee injury that sidelined him most of the past season.

If there is a potential weak spot on defense at the 2011 draft it could be on the corner where for the second straight year it looks like there won’t be many first round locks. Virginia CB Ras-I Dowling, who many thought had a chance to be the second or third corner off the board had he entered this year’s draft, though, is an exception as may be a number of juniors including Patrick Peterson of LSU, Texas’ AaronWilliams and Trevin Wade of Arizona. Meanwhile, CBs that should generate top 100 interest at the 2011 draft include DeAndre Morgan of NC State, North Carolina’s Kendric Burney, Brandon Harris of Miami, Prince Amukamara of Nebraska, and Virginia Tech’s Rashad Carmichael.

There also isn’t likely to be any Eric Berrys at safety at the 2011 draft, although there should be decent depth at the position including free safeties Deunta Williams of North Carolina, South Carolina’s Chris Culliver, Jeron Johnson of Boise State, Zac Etheridge of Auburn, Quinton Carter of Oklahoma and Brett Greenwood of Iowa and strong safeties DeAndre McDaniel of Clemson and Florida’s Ahmad Black. Some of the best safieties in the country, though, are juniors such as UCLA FS Rahim Moore and SSs Marc Barron of Alabama and Tyler Sash of Iowa.

If there is one position that has pro scouts really excited for 2011, though, is at WR where there could be a number of truly outstanding underclassemen who would have been top prospects had they been eligible this year including A.J. Green of Georgia, Julio Jones of Alabama, Jon Baldwin of Pittsburgh, Ryan Broyles of Oklahoma, Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd, and DeAndre Brown of Southern Miss. There is a major drop-off at the position after the underclassmen, although veterans such as Leonard Hankerson of Miami, Greg Little of North Carolina and Duval Kamara of Notre Dame should provide some interesting veteran depth in the latter second and third rounds.

If there is an early consensus favorite to be the #1 pick in 2011 it would be Washington QB Jake Locker, who likely would have challenged Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh to be the first player taken this year if he had opted to enter the 2009. Locker just has to hope his decision to return to school for another year works out better than it did for Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford, the consensus choice to be the top pick last year before he chose to return to school, who barely played this fall after being injured in the Sooners’ season opener. Meanwhile, strong-armed Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett also could figure in next year’s top 10, while athletic Jerrod Johnson could be something of a first-round sleeper. And there should be some decent depth at QB in 2011 including Christian Ponder of Florida State, Houston gunslinger Case Keenum, Colin Kaepernick of Nevada, Andy Dalton of TCU, Taylor Potts of Texas Tech and former Penn State transfer Pat Devlin of Delaware.

On the other hand, while it looks like there will be some good backs in the 2011 class, it isn’t clear at this point that there are any great ones. Indeed, it wouldn’t be a total shock if no RB were taken in the opening round that year, although Evan Royster of Penn State, DeMarco Murray of Oklahoma, USF’s Mike Ford, Harvey Unga of BYU and West Virginia mighty-mite Noel Devine have top 100 potential, as do several juniors like John Clay, the battering ram from Wisconsin, Alabama’s Mark Ingram, this year’s Heisman Trophy winner and Oregon speedster Jacquizz Rodgers.

Upfront, the OTs usually take center stage over their counterparts at OG, however, the strength along the offensive line in 2011 looks like it will be inside where Rodney Hudson of Florida State, Florida’s Mike Pouncey, John Moffitt of Wisconsin and Justin Boren of Ohio State head a very strong group. On the other hand, there may be as many questions as answers at OT which features a lot of good prospects including Wisconsin’s Gabe Carimi, Lee Ziemba of Auburn, Carl Johnson of Florida, Kyle Hix of Texas, Chris Hairston of Clemson, Anthony Castonzo of Boston College and Jarriel King of South Carolina among others, however, none has yet to really establish himself as an elite type. Meanwhile, Kris O‘Dowd of Southern Cal and Steve Wisniewski of Penn State are potentially two of the better C prospects to come along in a while.


WORKOUT WARRIORS: TOP 10 STARS OF THE 2010 PRO DY CIRCUIT
by Colin Lindsay, Editor and Publisher, Great Blue North Draft Report
April 5, 2010


The annual pro day tour by NFL personnel people has in the recent past been something of an afterthought in the wake of the scouting combine and all-star games.Not so this year however. On the one hand, there were an inordinate number of top prospects swho either didn't or weren't able to work out at the combine, so their pro day appearance constituted their primary exposure to NFL teams. At the same time, there were also what seemed to be an inordinate number of players who turned in especially athletic performances at their respective pro days. And while their pro day efforst may not have been enough guarantee that any of the players in the latter category will actually be drafted later this month, it did likely earn them some second and third looks from pro teams. That said, here is our listing of the Top 10 athletic perfomances over the course of this year's pro day schedule.

1. Kent State FB-TE-HB Jameson Konz was timed in the low-to-mid 4.4s in the 40, while posting a 46-inch vertical leap which would have the top figure for any position at the combine. For the record, the vesatile Konz, a 6-3, 235-pounder who actually started his KSU career as a LB, had 21 receptions this past fall.

2. Alabama-Birmingham WR Joe Webb, an athletic dual threat collegiate QB who passed for over 2,000 yards and ran for another 1,500 in his career, put up some outstanding numbers at the Blazers pro day as the 6-3, 226-pounder reportedly ran the 40 in the mid-4.4 range while recording leaps of 42.5 inches in the vertical and 11.5 inches in the broad jump, both of which would have been the top figure among wideouts at the combine. Webb also posted 21 reps in the bench press and ran under 4.0 seconds in the short shuttle which again would have been tops at the combine.

4. Central Florida safety Michael Greco, another converted quarterback, opened some eyes at the UCF pro day when the 6-3, 217-pounder reportedly ran under 4.40 seconds in the 40, benched 225 pounds 22 times, and had a 41.5-inch vertical leap.

5. Illinois HB-WR-TE-FB Jeff Cumberland put up some outstanding numbers for a 6-5, 250-pounder as he ran a sub-4.5 40, while posting times of 4.36 in the short shuttle and 6.90 in the 3-cone drill, as well as a 35.5-inch vertical leap.

6. Unheralded William&Mary DT Sean Lissamore may have been the most impressive big guy at any pro day across the country. Lissamore measured in at a solid 6-3.5 and 298 pounds at the team's pro day, ran under 4.7 seconds for the 40; posted a 30-inch vertical while recording times of 4.55 in the short shuttle and 7.60 in the three-cone drill, both of which would have been among the top ten for DL at the combine; he also managed 26 bench press reps.

7. Arizona State MLB Travis Goethal helped himself with a solid day as he measured in at 6-2.5 and 238 pounds, ran the 40 in 4.60 seconds, while posting times of 4.22 in the short shuttle and 6.70 in the the 3-cone drill. For the record, both Goethal's 40 and 3-cone times would have been among the top 3 LBs at the combine, while he would have been close to the top 5 in the shuttle.

8. Minnesota CB Marcus Sherels who turned some heads with a sub-4.4 40 time - some teams reportedly had him running under 4.34 seconds) and vertical leap of 40 inches. For the record, Golden Gopher OLB Simoni Lawrence also had a very good day as the 6-0.5, 230-pounder ran the 40 in under 4.60 seconds, had a 10-7 broad jump, a 4.35 short shuttle and a 6.88 three-cone drill. He stood on his from the combine, and did position drills.

9. LSU has as many prospects for the 2010 draft as any program in the counrty, but the former Bayou Tiger that may have had the team's best pro day was unheralded WR Chris Mitchell who ran the 40 in the mid 4.4 range, posted a vertical leap of 36.5 inches and had times of 4.21 in the short shuttle and 6.76 in the 3-cone drill, both of which would have been among the top 10 figures for the position at the combine. Meanwhile, former LSU DT Al Woods impressed when the 307-pounder ran in the 5.00 flat range.

10. Kansas RB Jake Sharp put himself on the draft radar by running the 40 in under 4.45 seconds, while posting a 25-inch vertical leap, 10-4 broad jump, 4.06 short shuttle, 6.84 three-cone drill, and 19 bench press reps.

Honorable mentions: Penn State TE Mickey Shuler, who was not invited to the combine, also made some noise at the Nittany Lions' pro day as the 6-4, 250-pounder ran the 40 in around 4.65 seconds, had a 37.5-inch vertical jump and must be practising his jumps on the trampoline; did 28 reps in the bench and posted times of 4.25 seconds in the short shuttle and a 6.70 in the 3-cone, each of which would have been among the leaders at the position at the combine. Fellow Penn State Andrew Quarless and LB Sean Lee also ran well posting times of 4.57 and 4.62 for the 40 respectively. Meanwhile, no 2010 draft prospect did more for himself during his school's pro day positional drills than Northwestern QB Mike Kafka who threw the ball extremely well at the Wildcats on-campus workout.

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