In the spirit of the series of threads Barry has been creating, here's a player I feel is underrated. I'm not here to waste your time. I'm a South Florida Bulls season ticket holder. But I try to be very honest about various Bulls prospects. When there's a Stephen Nicholas coming out of the Bulls, I tell you about it. I went on about Mistral Raymond at times when nobody knew who on earth he was, and I said that Jacquian Williams has what it takes to be a coverage OLB in the NFL. They ended up drafted, surprisingly, and Jacquain actually did well (though Mistral is still a bit buried). I warned everyone about Jason Pierre-Paul pretty early because I saw him pretty early in his year at USF off JUCO transfer. On the other hand when a Terrell McClain is being overrated by people, while keeping in mind I'm a fan and I'm going to back my Bulls, I try and tell you he's being overrated. Same with Nate Allen, same with Carlton Mitchell. Sure, every now and then I'll get fooled by a Mike Jenkins (who still could be good) or Trae Williams...but many people were fooled by them. Either way, not always right about USF players, but I try and be honest and not waste anyone's time. I think Kayvon Webster is a decent draft prospect and he reminds me a lot of Nolan Carroll when I watched his Maryland tape. Webster moves around like he's controlled by a joystick and he'll test very well I think. I've always heard rumors from his fellow teammates that he's a beast in their workouts. I've seen guys single him out as the one guy who tears up their workouts all the time. I've heard him attributed as a gym rat by peers. I watched him at Shrine practice and I saw him at USF games and really his only problems in coverage are every now and then not being quite aggressive enough on underneath routes, which I think just comes with time and confidence in your ability to read what's happening as it happens. The burst is definitely there to do damage on that stuff, and so is the physicality when it comes to straight one-on-one tackling. One reason I compare him a lot to Nolan Carroll (aside from moving like controlled by a joystick) is because Nolan had a tough time in college trying to get to the ball carrier with a blocker bearing down on him. He was tentative, just didn't know how to blast through it. Kayvon is very similar that way and when I see Nolan Carroll play now and have a lot less problems with that, I think this is something that can be coached out of Kayvon. He's a little above 5'10" and 194 lbs. The size is not bad. He's got 32.5 inch arms which is plenty long enough. What I loved about him at Shrine practice was how he took to special teams. He knows this is how he gets his foot in the door at the next level. He was one of the few guys I saw really taking the coaching very seriously and making sure to get it right rather than trying to get it quick. He paid attention to form, and I thought it paid off for him as he impressed as both a gunner and blocker. You're not exactly going to have to draft a Kayvon Webster high, if at all, but I think he's a worthwhile get. Somewhere down the road if we're seeing him surprisingly good like we did a Jacquian Williams, that wouldn't shock me at all. [video=youtube;7zsDKtSgXwA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zsDKtSgXwA[/video] [video=youtube;TI9SD9nLiyc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI9SD9nLiyc[/video] [video=youtube;yh9JWdn4TJc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh9JWdn4TJc[/video]
I would implore people to watch the workout drills video at the bottom. They're very telling about the guy's agility, coordination and overall ability. Plus they're just kind of cool to watch.
Oh believe me, I've watched a few times..guy has a nice *** man what can I tell ya...seriously, really well built for the position..We should own Florida for scouting so hopefully were looking into the kid real hard. In the workout video, and when I'm personally watching an athlete workout, I always notice what kind of noises are being made, I like when an athlete is quiet when exerting himself in these drills, does tell me about their focus a bit, that they understand how to breathe, and just how their thinking throughout the process..I also like to look for their faces, body language, expressions,sometimes you can see signs of potential work ethic issues, negative or positive..
I see what you mean by Nolan Carroll. The kid looks okay but I wouldn't say he's good. Agree that his approach to tackling is tentative when blockers are involved. Wish I could see his speed tested deep more. I don't know Chris. cBs aren't my comfort zone for knowing what I'm looking at but my gut is saying I'm not enthused about him, though he's okay as a fifth CB. Maybe spend a 6th rounder on the guy. Love that he gets the importance of special teams. Enjoyed the drills. Seems to move well, have decent strength, stamina, change of direction. Would have liked to see his hips lower in change of direction stuff. Would also like to see his hips lead his turns, i.e. have his hips begin to rotate before his torso. His hips and torso turn together.. Less fluid less quick. I worry about a speed guy eating his cushion and blowing past him, or him getting murdered on a double move with that midsection. But again, that's comparing him to second round type guys I see. Maye he's worth a fifth, but I'm not in love so I only take him if he's there in the sixth. Not a bad kid though. Love his comments at the end of the practice video about getting himself right. Lol.
All I know about that stuff is that when running the 40 yard dash your face needs to be totally relaxed because if you're tight then you're going to be slower.
Interesting. I think he's quick twitch, quick hips all the way. He moves around and changes direction very easily, no stiffness, and he has burst which isn't always the case. I look at him as a guy with great work ethic and focus that has a high ceiling because of his raw physical ability, and will just keep getting better and better. There's some Brent Grimes in him. He just needs more experience, more reps, more coaching, he'll start seeing things more quickly. Already in the games he shows the ability to learn and catch on to what teams are trying to do to him.
Certainly worth keeping an eye on once he is drafted. The sort of guy you won't hear much of for the first year or two, I bet, then year three he'll be someone's nickel or dime corner in every game.
He very nearly made a huge play in Shrine practice and it's the type of play I've seen before in games. He had a deep zone to the left of the field and meanwhile Rodney Smith was on the right size of the field working against Brandon McGee of Miami with a deep post. Kayvon had no threats to his zone and followed the quarterback's eyes (Colin Klein), back pedaling deep. Klein threw Rodney on the post and Webster broke on the football when it was released. He positioned himself perfectly in front of Rodney to intercept it like a deep safety, but the ball just barely squeaked through his hands. McGee had trouble staying with Rodney as he ran all the way down and across to the middle/left of the end zone though and so Rodney managed to bobble the ball into his hands for the touchdown. The catch was on McGee, not Webster, as Smith was McGee's coverage responsibility and Webster was just following the quarterback's eyes and trying to make a play...but that would've been a really nice play if Webster made it. I've seen him make it before. He's got good awareness of the quarterback in zone and knows when to peel off his coverage to make a play on the ball. That's not always the case.
That's a good sign. And maybe I'm wrong but I feel like dime packages play more zone than man to man anyways, so if I expect him to become a dime back, then that works. But I still wonder how he is in man coverage against a speedy WR who attacks his cushion. That's not a knock, more a 'Id like to see how he looks in that situation'.
Some day I'll post video of Kayvon going against Stedman Bailey. The two are good friends, and there's respect there.
Well, you know how I feel about bailey so that would be impressive as hell to watch. Stedman must have undressed him for at least two or three times getting by him deep. I am so grateful Stedman Bailey is flying under the Tavon Austin smokescreen.
Ah, here we go. Stedman mostly faced the other corner. But there are a few instances in there if I remember right. [video=youtube;5vRf-4CbWVc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vRf-4CbWVc[/video]
I forgot how good a job Quenton Washington did on Bailey in that game. At about 2:30 in the video Kayvon's got Bailey in a short zone. He nearly intercepts Geno Smith. Should've had it, but a fine play by him. I like the 3rd & 16 where Kayvon kept Bailey from getting open at the sticks and Stedman had to come all the way back for the ball at about 5 or 6 yards, and Kayvon just murdered the guy in the air while he was catching it. Maybe I shouldn't say this is a video of how Kayvon Webster did on Stedman Bailey, and instead say this is a video of how well Kayvon Webster kept a cap on Tavon Austin.
First off, I love Stedman Bailey. What a catch to set up the victory. This kid has a competitors heart. What a champion. If we don't get him, I would love to see him on the 49ers. Wow, that would be great. Kayvon acquitted himself well. Good in zone (missed that INT). Changed directions with Stedman well in man when the play was extended and Stedman extended his routes. A couple things: 1) he mostly plays with massive cushion. Coaches or he himself feel susceptible to deep speed? 2) I am yet to see him press or jam. The one time he li Ed up at the LOS he still didn't engage. He immediately turned his hips at the snap to haul *** back deep. That's a guy who doesn't trust his ability to either press or flips his hips and stay with a guy so he protects himself by anticipating it and turni g and running. 3) doesn't backpedal. He side-pedals. Maybe it's the coached technique but to me it seems like a kid avoiding getting blown past when he can't turn his hips reactive my fast enough from a backpedal. Next steps for me are to see him in combine drills. I want to see his backpedal. I want to see him forced to press at the line. I want to see him have a speed guy aggressively attack his cushion head on and have him Only commit to flipping his hips at the last moment once the WR has committed to the deep route. Maybe he can do these, and just hasn't. Right now he is playing like a guy who is scared (or who coaches are scared) of getting beat on a 9 route. If that's what he is, I still like him as a dime guy for umbrella coverage that keeps everything in front of you. But if we want a style where DBs are aggressive and challenge short and medium catches then he's the wrong cat.
Good point about Tavon. Kayvon is decent and has really good change of lateral direction, plus stays well in a WRs hip pocket on extended plays IMO. I also think he's a decent tackler, but needs to get through blocks better.
Yeah inconsistent in that regard. The reason I bring him up though is because the underlying characteristic that allows players to get better when they have all the physical ability and quickness, is just work ethic and attitude...and based on everything I've heard around the program, he has those things going for him particularly well.
