http://nfl-prospects.blogspot.com/ Darren Banks from West Liberty sounds interesting as he dominated at that level. Small Schools will hold one or two of our draft picks or UDFA's. Sammie Lee Hill from Stillwell also sounds like someone we may take a look at like Torbio from last year's Rookie Camp: http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=887922 And the fastest of the lot of late round UDFA type players, I love Ryan Mouton out of Hawaii, with that offense he has plenty of experience at covering all over the field.: http://draftdaddy.com/features/fastguys.htm
No mention of JaRon Harris from South Dakota State? Sam Pope formerly of South Carolina and now Hampton? Dre'Mail Hardin from Stillman is an interesting name. He went to Mississippi State and then transferred. Had nine packs last year at Stillman. Jason Williams of Western Illinois is another interesting name. Too bad they don't show these teams on TV lol, all you can look at is their size and weights but these names are interesting for sure.
Dig around a bit more Alen, I simply tried to find small college players who went into 2009 with "watch them play" behind their names, or who showed the tools to play in the NFL by way of speed or size and quickness. The Ball State Te sounds interesting.
I love that sites mock draft for us, lol. http://www.nfldraftdog.com/Mock_Drafts/2009_nfl_mock_draft.htm 25. Larry English, OLB 44. Clint Sintim, OLB 54. Jarius Byrd, CB (Louis Delmas and Rashad Johnson are not taken in 1st 2 rounds in their mock, meaning they might have one for us in the 3rd, lol)
A guy like Heckendorf, 6'2 180 and 4.4 playing for Wyoming or Dominique Edison from Kent State, another large Wr with good speed. Heckendorf played hockey as well...may come in handy going over the middle.. Didn't Kentwan Balmer attend Shaw? That is a fine prospect, close to 300pds and runs a 4.94.
CB Domonique Johnson was my early pick for a poor man's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (who was incidentally, my poor man's Antonio Cromartie). Let's hurry up and get him before we have to resort to a poor man's Domonique Johnson next year's draft.
Sammie Lee Hill is a name Ive been keeping an eye on since the offseason began. Might be a decent 5th round pick for us if he does well in the combine.
The two corners from San Jose State, Coye Francies and Chris Owens. They will make excellent pros, bank on it. Don't be surprised if Coye Francies ends up being the best CB in the class, either.
Coye Francies looked good in the senior bowl and looks like has the frame to fill out a little more in bulk.
I like CBs that can be described as tough. Keith Burns, who has coached guys like Dwight Lowery, Kenoy Kennedy, Jason Sehorn, Daylon McCutcheon, David Barrett, Brian Kelly and Ken Hamlin...really thinks very highly of Coye. Says he's the toughest guy on the team. Francies and Owens play like they're tough. Not afraid of contact. They love it. Owens in particular is a tackling machine. He averaged 6.0 tackles a game his final two seasons. That projects out to like 95 tackles a year in a 16 game pro season. He loves to be around the action.
I'm not trying to hi-jack the thread, but a guy that caught my eye was Ellis Lankster from WVU. I've always been a big fan of DeAngelo Williams from Cincinnati. He isn't exceptionally fast, but he knows how to play the ball and more importantly, he makes plays.
Byrd has good size and an NFL pedigree, though not extremely fast. Good ball skills and reliable playing the run. He seems like the kind of corner Parcells would want. That mock draft has Alex Mack going 11th overall to Buffalo. I think I'll get sick if that happened.
As an adjunct to the Small School theme, here is the list of NFL Combine invitees, most of the small school players listed so far are not listed here, but a few are: List of the combine invitees: C Robert Bruggeman Iowa C Antoine Caldwell Alabama C Robby Felix UTEP C Alex Fletcher Stanford C Brett Helms LSU C Jonathan Luigs Arkansas C Alexander Mack California C Max Unger Oregon C Edwin Williams Maryland C Eric Wood Louisville CB Kevin Barnes Maryland CB Darius Butler Connecticut CB Don Carey Norfolk State CB Bradley Fletcher Iowa CB Coye Francies San Jose State CB Victor “Macho” Harris Virginia Tech CB Cary Harris Southern California CB Brandon Hughes Oregon State CB Malcolm Jenkins Ohio State CB Domonique “DJ” Johnson Jackson State CB Bruce Johnson Miami CB Keenan Lewis Oregon State CB Mike Mickens Cincinnati CB Ryan Mouton Hawaii CB Wopamo Osaisai Stanford CB Christopher Owens San Jose State CB Mark Parson Ohio CB Glover Quin Jr. New Mexico CB Alphonso Smith Wake Forest CB DeAngelo Smith Cincinnati CB Morgan Trent Michigan CB Lardarius Webb Nicholls State CB Jahi Word-Daniels Georgia Tech CB DeAndre Wright New Mexico DE Robert Ayers Tennessee DE Connor Barwin Cincinnati DE Michael Bennett Texas A&M DE Ian Campbell Kansas State DE William Davis Illinois DE Rulon Davis California DE Pannel Egboh Stanford DE Tyson Jackson LSU DE Timothy Jamison Michigan DE Michael Johnson Georgia Tech DE Mitchell King Iowa DE Kyle Moore Southern California DE Brian Orakpo Texas DE Zachary Potter Nebraska DE Matthew Shaughnessy Wisconsin DE Lawrence Sidbury Jr. Richmond DE Stryker Sulak Missouri DE David Veikune Hawaii DE Derek Walker Illinois DE Jarius Wynn Georgia DT Charles Alexander LSU DT Demonte’ Bolden Tennessee DT Ron Brace Boston College DT Jarron Gilbert San Jose State DT Adrian Grady Louisville DT Ra’Shon Harris Oregon DT Evander “Ziggy” Hood Missouri DT Corvey Irvin Georgia DT Peria Jerry Mississippi DT Arcilla “Alex” Magee Purdue DT Roy Miller Texas DT Khalif Mitchell East Carolina DT Fili Moala Southern California DT Myron Pryor Kentucky DT Busari Raji Boston College DT Darryl Richard Georgia Tech DT Dorell Scott Clemson DT Terrance Taylor Michigan DT Vance Walker Georgia Tech FB Marquez Branson Central Arkansas FB Jason Cook Mississippi FB Tony Fiammetta Syracuse FB David Johnson Arkansas State FB Quinn Johnson LSU FB Eric Kettani Navy FB Marcus Mailei Weber State FB Brannan Southerland Georgia FB Eddie Williams Idaho FS David Bruton Notre Dame FS Chris Clemons Clemson FS Louis Delmas Western Michigan FS Courtney Greene Rutgers FS Lendy Holmes Oklahoma FS Julian “Rashad” Johnson Alabama FS Sherrod Martin Troy FS Darcel McBath Texas Tech FS William Moore Missouri FS Troy Nolan Arizona State FS Derek Pegues Mississippi State FS Claude “C.J.” Spillman Marshall FS Curtis Taylor LSU FS Brandon Underwood Cincinnati ILB Stanley Arnoux Wake Forest ILB Darry Beckwith LSU ILB Jasper Brinkley South Carolina ILB Dannell Ellerbe Georgia ILB Anthony Felder California ILB James Laurinaitis Ohio State ILB Rey Maualuga Southern California ILB Joshua Mauga Nevada ILB Scott McKillop Pittsburgh ILB Jason Phillips TCU ILB Worrell Williams California ILB Morris Wooten Arizona State K David Buehler Southern California K Graham Gano Florida State K Jose Martinez UTEP K Louie Sakoda Utah K Sam Swank Wake Forest LS Sean Griffin Michigan LS Jacob Ingram Hawaii OG Roger Allen Missouri Western OG Travis Bright BYU OG Trevor Canfield Cincinnati OG Emmanuel “C.J.” Davis Pittsburgh OG Ray Feinga BYU OG Tyronne Green Auburn OG Herman Johnson LSU OG Andrew Kemp Wisconsin OG Andrew Levitre Oregon State OG Maurice Miller Mississippi OG Seth Olsen Iowa OG Anthony Parker Tennessee OG Duke Robinson Oklahoma OG Jaimie Thomas Maryland OG Kraig Urbik Wisconsin OG Louis Vasquez Texas Tech OLB Kevin Akins Boston College OLB Cody Brown Connecticut OLB Victor Butler Oregon State OLB Jonathan Casillas Wisconsin OLB Aaron Curry Wake Forest OLB Brian Cushing Southern California OLB Larry English Northern Illinois OLB Moise Fokou Maryland OLB Zackary Follett California OLB Marcus Freeman Ohio State OLB Nicholvin “Cody” Glenn Nebraska OLB Mortty Ivy West Virginia OLB DeAndre Levy Wisconsin OLB Kaluka Maiava Southern California OLB David “Orion” Martin Virginia Tech OLB Clay Matthews Southern California OLB Tyrone McKenzie South Florida OLB Clint Sintim Virginia OT William Beatty Connecticut OT Joel Bell Furman OT Alex Boone Ohio State OT Robert Brewster Ball State OT Gerald Cadogan Penn State OT Ramon Foster Tennessee OT Xavier Fulton Illinois OT Andrew Gardner Georgia Tech OT Dan Gay Baylor OT Troy Kropog Tulane OT Cornelius Lewis Tennessee State OT Kyle Link McNeese State OT Phil Loadholt Oklahoma OT Ryan McKee Southern Mississippi OT Jamon Meredith South Carolina OT Eugene Monroe Virginia OT Michael Oher Mississippi OT Augustus Parrish Kent State OT Garrett Reynolds North Carolina OT Jason Smith Baylor OT Fenuki Tupou Oregon OT Jose Valdez Arkansas OT Eric VandenHeuvel Wisconsin OT Jason Watkins Florida P Justin Brantly Texas A&M P Matt Fodge Oklahoma State P Kevin Huber Cincinnati P Thomas Morstead Southern Methodist QB Jason Boltus Hartwick QB Rhett Bomar Sam Houston State QB Thomas Brandstater Fresno State QB Nathan Brown Central Arkansas QB Thomas “Hunter” Cantwell Louisville QB Rudy Carpenter Arizona State QB William “Chase” Daniel Missouri QB Thomas “Cullen” Harper Clemson QB Graham Harrell Texas Tech QB Brian Hoyer Michigan State QB Stephen McGee Texas A&M QB Curtis Painter Purdue QB Michael “Mike” Reilly Central Washington QB Pat White West Virginia QB John Parker Wilson Alabama RB Kahlil Bell UCLA RB Andre Brown North Carolina State RB James Davis Clemson RB Arian Foster Tennessee RB Rashad Jennings Liberty RB Jeremiah Johnson Oregon RB Ian Johnson Boise State RB Gartrell Johnson Colorado State RB Marlon Lucky Nebraska RB Chris Ogbonnaya Texas RB Cedric Peerman Virginia RB Javon Ringer Michigan State RB Kory Sheets Purdue RB Javarris Williams Tennessee State SS Patrick Chung Oregon SS Kevin Ellison Southern California SS Mike Hamlin Clemson SS Nic Harris Oklahoma SS Stephen Hodge TCU SS Jamarca Sanford Mississippi SS Clarence “Chip” Vaughn Wake Forest SS Otis Wiley Michigan State TE Travis Beckum Wisconsin TE Chase Coffman Missouri TE Davon Drew East Carolina TE Anthony Hill North Carolina State TE Cornelius Ingram Florida TE Robert Myers Utah State TE Shawn Nelson Southern Mississippi TE Bear Pascoe Fresno State TE Brandon Pettigrew Oklahoma State TE John Phillips Virginia TE Richard Quinn North Carolina TE Kory Sperry Colorado State WR Ramses Barden Cal Poly WR Deon Butler Penn State WR Demetrius Byrd LSU WR Quan Cosby Texas WR Jarett Dillard Rice WR Dominique Edison Stephen F. Austin WR Brooks Foster North Carolina WR Brandon Gibson Washington State WR Juaquin Iglesias Oklahoma WR Manuel Johnson Oklahoma WR Aaron Kelly Clemson WR Johnny Knox Abilene Christian WR Quinten Lawrence McNeese State WR Brennan Marion Tulsa WR Mohamed Massaquoi Georgia WR Kenny McKinley South Carolina WR Marko Mitchell Nevada WR Louis Murphy Florida WR Jordan Norwood Penn State WR Gregory Orton Purdue WR Darius Passmore Marshall WR David Richmond San Jose State WR Brian Robiskie Ohio State WR Sammie Stroughter Oregon State WR Brandon Tate North Carolina WR Michael Thomas Arizona WR Patrick Turner Southern California WR Tiquan Underwood Rutgers WR Mike Wallace Mississippi WR Derrick Williams Penn State WR Jaison Williams Oregon The Combine is not the be all and end all, however it is a safe bet that someone not listed is by nature a later round pick. BTW, I can recall the reports about Ireland going to Alabama and watching the Tide practice or play, it is interesting that small college Stillman has two players who maybe are NFL prospects as well. That is pure speculation of course..
Kahlil Bell got an invite. That's good for him. Guy played his heart out for us even though he was injured. Had a lotta hopes for him as MJD's successor and as a bruising complement to the speedy RB's but he just couldn't stay healthy. Was probably the only offensive threat on the entire team. Could be a steal if he can stay healthy.
I like what DJ Moore brings to the table in terms of dynamic playmaking and is a good fit for zone coverage (gives a very small cushion). I just wish he were a bit taller and a bit more refined because then he'd be the perfect CB. Vontae Davis has good size and speed. Almost like a Will Allen but taller (i.e. good run-support CB but not really a playmaker and a shutdown guy). Sean Smith is another guy with size but I wonder if he may be better suited for a FS because if he can't jam a WR from the get-go, he could have trouble in the pros trying to keep up. Lower in the rounds, loved watching Keenan Lewis play in Pac-10 games. Very solid all-around CB with great size. Made some mental mistakes against UCLA though but I can waive that as one bad game in a sea of better ones. Friend of mine at SJ St. is high on Coye Francies but I question character and experience there and I felt Chris Owens was the more polished corner there. Domonique Johnson I'm sure you know. Darius Butler is another guy I like (his uncle was a Miami Dolphin to boot). The New Mexico CB duo are also interesting projects. DeAngelo Willingham had a rough season but is a possible low round sleeper IMO. Really a lot of the CB's could use work but I like the ceilings.
We may or may not be in the market but I like FS Troy Nolan out of ASU if he's there for a middle-late round pick. That Arizona St. passing D is just scary. Made life hell for Sanchez (and especially Kevin Craft) and kept Stafford to under 60% completed which only Alabama, Florida, and Vandy can claim. They say he may be slow but that didn't hurt another S I liked in the draft last year, Chris Horton, from doing well in the pros. I think Nolan is right there. Ballhawk who with a little tinkering could be a dominant safety.
It's difficult to get some sort of feel for where we are going at either Safety spot, to me, dragging feet on Y Bell is speaking loudly..ditto Randal Hill... IMO there is not much of a chance we start two rookies at the Safety slots, but we could see two new starters and a back up come on in. And last year wasn't Josh Bartlett the Safety for ASU?
Indeed, but if we're looking for one in the lower rounds, Nolan's my fave. Worth a flier IMO. Josh Barrett yep. I'd actually put Nolan above him because Barrett tended to rely on his physical attributes rather than technical play. Still did ok for the Broncos as a rookie. I'd imagine Nolan could top that. Az. St. didn't miss a beat when Barrett left.
Interesting, was Nolan a team captain? In Dallas, they attempted to find late round picks who started for 3 yrs and were also team captains.
Ap had a Little All America Team: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=ncf&id=3780735 A few of these players are also mentioned on the "small college" NFL prospects lists, with Ireland stopping at nothing to find talent, even the CFL is fair game, some of these folks are on the radar to be sure.
Draft insiders Texas v Nation top prospects, many are from small schools or obscure schools: Curtis Painter was highly thought of last season going into this one, he really fell off. Piere Walters name keeps coming up, he could be the poor man's L Sidbury.
Have to think Brandon Ore is on the radar of teams. He goes to West Liberty now I believe but was at one time a productive back at Virginia Tech.
I've seen Chris Owens once and in that one time, I saw him get dominated by a bigger wide receiver. He couldn't handle him because of the frame.
If we ever had a need for a short CB and another TE, Owens and Purvis would be my picks. Owens could maybe learn off of Will Allen, who himself gets bullied by bigger WR's, to tandem in the future with a taller CB (Jason Allen? a higher drafted CB?).
Gotta mention Alen, before I started this thread I did not even know there was such a beast as a Little All America first second or third team. And I do seem to recall Barndon Ore's name. And if we want a real wildcard, don't forget Arkansas's Marcus Monk played Basketball for the razorbacks this year
Eh, CB is one of those positions that you can play or you cannot play (IMO) Owens is on my list as a player to watch, but both our Cb's are larger players so perhaps Bowles or Tuna prefers larger Cb's? I do think a Cb taken late who can fill our dime role would be an incredible stroke of luck for us that is why I'm bringing these guys up.
Will Allen is 5'10 and Andre Goodman is 5'10 and both are around 190-195. Owens is also 5'10 but 175-180lbs. I'm sure he can gain the extra 15-20 after a year or two. Bj Tucker and Nate Jones, 2 of the more recent CBs drafted by Parcells were also around Owens' size.
Poking around, I found a list of Small School sleepers by positions we could be interested in: http://www.draftdaddy.com/ranks/smallschool_LB.htm Dexter manley Jr...wow.... I've read some good things about Jake Visser. Rather then subject everyone to more poorly formatted posts, here is the link to the small school top 10 Db's: http://www.draftdaddy.com/ranks/smallschool_DB.htm And Te http://www.draftdaddy.com/ranks/smallschool_TE.htm Manderville is interesting, he played in some allstar games, he reminds me a bit of Carlson from Notre Dame. http://www.draftdaddy.com/ranks/smallschool_WR.htm That should cover the small college prospect round up, feel free to add pertinant links or info if something strikes you as important. Otherwise, we should not have any Hilliards or Parmalee's sneak up on us this draft, now there is a football league in Austraila...
Excellent, though I feel we are in need of a pure cover corner no matter their lack of size, third and longs should no longer be mismatches for our secondary no matter what...most of the teams we play this year can run the Spread and they can operate it efficiently, we must plan on countering them.
Pretty sure everyone's heard of Ramses by now. Love to get him but not anything higher than a 3rd. Gotta long way to go before he's ready. And he could use a little more fire. I know you go to Cal Poly Ramses, but that's no reason to slack off.
DT John Faletoese is a name I've seen. Can really penetrate the OL. Probably a better fit for a Cover 2 though.
Player like him could be this season's Toribio, just comes out of nowhere and makes at least the Training Camp roster. Though Sam Hill or Ellis out of Shaw could also make a splash for us, DraftScout had a null write up on Hill from the Senior Bowl, Ellis has no press to speak of, but Balmer came out of Shaw IIRC and Burke played with Langford at Hampton so we will have a good idea if the cat can play or not. The Secondary players are the ones who intrique me, there seems to be a fair amount of talent in the obscure schools this year, though Banks from W Liberty does not run 4.4's according to draft scout, he runs 4'6's...to slow for a rook if that 40 time holds up.
