Maybe some of the guru's can provide some insight into this. Obviously the scouts/GM's can't finger it or the NFL would be full of elite's, however is there something in the make-up of these college kids that translate to the light coming on in the NFL? So many players are chosen, and have the athletic potential, but in the NFL that only goes so far. What is it about the Ray Lewis', Zach Thomas' and such that get what the NFL is about and apply themselves to it successfully. Is there one general attribute that contributes to that drive that is seen in college? Let us know what you look for, and is that even something worth trying to find in a college player.
I've talked about this in the past. I believe that the difference for the vast majority of players is not physical talent (given a reasonable NFL level of ability), but rather the work they put in. Guys that get by on athletic ability alone at the college level can rarely continue to do so at the pro level. And players who already have the drive or personality to put in the work in college are more likely to do so as a pro. But the reality is that 95% of the coaches and 99% of the players will tell you that they're hard workers. Obviously that's not true so I look for evidence that the player has worked on their craft on the field. With Tannehill, for example, I saw a little shoulder dip when he steps up in the pocket. That is something that is taught to protect the ball from a DE swipe, but generally not intuitive. It generally comes from either a lot of experience, which he didn't have or it comes from practice. And in my experience most QBs don't show that level of nuance so most don't get it with standard amount of practice that every college player does. To me that meant that either RT was putting in extra time or he was just a faster learner than the vast majority of prospects. Either way, it was a positive trait that indicated to me that he was likely to get it.
That's good stuff Rafs....Ryan Mallett is a good example of a player who I dropped because he wasn't working on his craft and had a bad attitude, along with some real Qb issues...he dropped...Landry jones, when most everyone was talking first round pick, I said would drop hard, I saw some sloppiness that symbolized some poor habits ( found out later it was true)..You have those signs, and then you have your intuitiveness, detecting charisma and leadership, figuring out who has a personality that others will follow..While no one agrees with me, Tyronne Matthieu has a natural charisma that others can detect, and combined with his great talent, is just someone that other players will gravitate to..
Agree with your other examples, but Matthieu is just unreliable. He hasn't got "it" when it comes to figuring out his addiction. If somebody tells you he's going to do something 10+ times and then 10+ times doesn't do it, you have to have some serious blinders on to believe that this time he will. I do believe the charisma part though, b/c people kept believing him and being disappointed 10+ times.
