While I'm quite sure I'm the only Thundering Herd fan on the board, I thought it was worthy of a thread. A lot of people like the idea of Mario Harvey and/or Lee Smith being selected by the Dolphins late in the draft. I just wanted to say that Mario Harvey ran a 4.4 40 today and Lee Smith followed up his disappointing 5.1-5.2 at the Combine with a 4.9 today. Mario Harvey is a fast athletic LB. We call him "Thumper" and I've got to believe whether it be ST's, specialty LB on defense, depth, whatever, there's a place for him at the NFL. The same can be said for Lee Smith. Although in regards to the Miami Dolphins, he isn't that "seam busting" TE many of us want. He's probably the best in line TE blocker in the draft and he's serviceable as a pass catcher. Just thought I'd share the Marshall love. P.S. Damn, a 4.4 40 for Mario Harvey as a LB...wowzers
I wouldn't be upset if we drafted Harvey. He's shown nice improvement every year which I'm a fan of. IMO he'd be a nice fit here as a downhill thumper who can help pressure the QB, and he seems to have a nice burst when he decides to use it.
I just appreciate someone taking interest enough to reply in my Marshall thread, haha. But, ya. I think he's a good player...very biased, but hey.
Harvey is a good player. I was only mildly concerned that he failed to stand out n NFLPA setting. Sometimes it's difficult for linebackers to do that in an All Star setting, which makes it impressive that Tressor Baptiste did. You don't often see 250+ pound linebackers that can bench 27 reps and run a 4.43 get drafted low, especially if they were as productive as Mario has been. He'll be drafted higher than people think. I like him enough that I plan on doing up a video of him at earliest convenience.
I've been comparing him to a faster Tim Dobbins. I think that fits. Explosive player. Lots of potential if he can develop more decisiveness in his game play. The key to that is film study and instincts. Those let you pull the trigger and utilize your natural talents. Immediate special teams ace, like Dobbins. Thumper in the middle, like Dobbins. Has the athletic ability to cover, but needs much better instincts and anticipation there, not unlike Dobbins. By the way here's a video someone already did of him. [video=youtube;K5x9M0AAFPs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5x9M0AAFPs[/video]
Funny you say that b/c Dobbins came to my mind too, although I think Harvey might have more potential. You? Call me crazy, but I could see him becoming a quality starter after a couple years of great coaching.
He's more athletic than Dobbins so yeah the ceiling is probably higher. I did the West Virginia game and there are good things and then there are bad things. He needs to work harder on his conditioning. He was a different player in the 2nd half of that game as opposed to the 1st half, and it was absolutely one of the reasons West Virginia was able to come back, force it into overtime, and then prevent Marshall from beating them for the first time since they began playing in 1911. He was real good in the 1st half and his athleticism was a factor, but he gets tired easily, and it makes him a poor player. The 2nd half is loaded with bad tape of him jogging around and taking shortcuts. A good example is on one drive in the 4th quarter when West Virginia was driving for a touchdown that was going to tremendously increase their chances of coming back, Harvey is dragging @ss all over the field on the drive and eventually calls his own number to come off the field. Very next play, West Virginia scores a touchdown. Where's the defense's best senior? Not on the field to try and help prevent it. The whole thing reminds me a lot of Ahmad Brooks, who was used similarly as an ILB and a guy that lays his hand down on pass rush downs because of his athleticism, and had similar conditioning issues. Brooks was a decent player this year, but for the past two years he's been nothing more than a part-timer at LOLB in their 3-4 defense. This year, Brooks was San Fran's version of Koa Misi except where we hope Misi will claim more snaps going forward, Brooks has been in the league for 5 years. If Harvey can improve his conditioning significantly then I think he could be a good player in the NFL. If not he'll just be a special teams ace and a guy that rotates in every now and then. Wouldn't be surprised actually if Miami considered him a OLB in their system...same position as Koa Misi this year, Mario Haggan in Denver back in 2009 when Nolan was there.
Look forward to seeing that video, Chris. I don't know if he's on Miami's radar, I'm sure you and the rest of the UD guys do. I'm trying to get info from a friend who works in the AD at MU to see if we were there and who was speaking to Mario.
Uh, don't remind me. If Tron Martinez doesn't fumble the ball with 7 minutes and change in the 4th quarter, on the 4 yard line, we win that game easy. I don't know if you've come across him while watching film, but another guy I believe will be a decent prospect next year is Vinny Curry #99. He's got some good pass rush moves and is quick around the corner. He played great against OSU and WVU our two biggest stages last year.
