2013 NCAA FB Season / 2014 NFL draft

[BINGO]

Brandon Coleman - WR - Scarlet Knights

Rutgers redshirt junior WR Brandon Coleman is already meeting with NFL agents and is expected to enter the 2014 draft, according to draft insider Tony Pauline.

Despite it being against NCAA regulations for prospects to meet and sign with agents during their football careers the practice does happen. Coleman is a long strider with a huge frame who can win at the catch point or separate with his feet. Many evaluators have already come away impressed by his two on-field seasons at Rutgers.
Source: Dane Brugler on Twitter

Jul 1 - 11:02 AM

 

[BINGO]

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix - DB - Crimson Tide

Scouts Inc.'s Kevin Weidl believes Alabama junior S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix "shows excellent eyes in coverage."

Weidl notes Clinton-Dix "is clean movement wise" and his "anticipation skills jump out on tape." The 2013 NFL Draft will likely produce one of the best safety classes in recent memory, but this senior crop does not look as strong after first look. Clinton-Dix could infuse a great deal of talent and be listed among the top players at the position throughout the 2013 season.
Source: Kevin Weidl on Twitter

Jul 1 - 9:59 AM

 

[BINGO]

Craig Loston - DB - Tigers

Scouts Inc.'s Kevin Weidl calls LSU senior S Craig Loston an "enforcing tone setter."

Weidl notes Alabama safety Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix is more instinctive and fluid than Loston, but the LSU senior defensive leader is intriguing nonetheless. Loston is explosive in close areas but needs to stay healthy. We doubt he is selected as high as former teammate Eric Reid.
Source: Kevin Weidl on Twitter

Jul 1 - 9:34 AM

 

[BINGO]

Louis Nix - DL - Fighting Irish

Notre Dame redshirt junior DT Louis Nix III drew a comparison to B.J. Raji from NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah.

Jeremiah made sure to note he is drawing similarities to Nix III and Raji when the former first-round pick entered the draft. The Irish tank has a "strong base" and "quick hands," according to Jeremiah. We think he's easily the top draft-eligible talent on the Notre Dame defense and even shows Vince Wilfork-like flashes.
Source: Daniel Jeremiah on Twitter

Jun 30 - 9:49 PM

 

[NinerSickness]

I do love me some Irish Chocolate.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

How did Marcus Coker become so irrelevant to the football world? The guy can absolutely play

He got kicked off Iowa and is playing who knows where


actually here we go, with a mid-post google, I found out what happened to Marcus Coker

Marcus Coker transfers to Stony Brook

he plays for the Seawolves

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

David Fales - QB - Spartans

San Jose State senior QB David Fales is "wowing everyone" at the Elite 11 quarterback camp, according to CBS Sports' Bruce Feldman.

Johnny Manziel and Tajh Boyd were among the onlookers impressed. Fales was "throwing strikes" and more than holding his own, per Feldman. Many have recently questioned Fales' velocity and downfield arm, but he compensates for the lack of ideal vertical ability with great pocket awareness and placement.
Source: Bruce Feldman on Twitter

Jul 1 - 10:23 AM

This dude is amazing, I'm happy we avoid playing him this year in conference play

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

4. Taylor Lewan, Michigan, OT: A projected top-15 pick by many NFL Draft analysts if he had opted to leave Ann Arbor after last season, the towering left tackle returns this fall to anchor the Wolverines line. The 6-8, 309-pound Lewan, who's known for his both his nastiness and his nimble feet to rival coaches, would've put on quite a display had he went to Indy for the combine in February.

Taylor Lewan is a 6-8, 309-pound giant known for his nimble feet and a nasty streak. (USATSI) According to Wolverines strength coach Aaron Wellman, Lewan has clocked an electronically-timed 4.8 40-yard dash. The Arizona native has also, despite his long arms, bench pressed 275 pounds 21 times and also squats 550 pounds. In addition, this offseason Lewan improved his vertical jump to 29 inches, up from 26 last year.

"He's a great worker and a great leader," said Wellman. "We're lucky he decided to come back. He is so unselfish. He came back to win a Big Ten championship and leave a legacy here."

Wellman said Lewan often will call him or spend time in his office asking him all sorts of questions about training and diet. "The nutrition piece is big for him. Anything related to him becoming a better football player, he asks about."

5. Marqise Lee, USC, WR: The biggest bright spot on what was an otherwise nightmarish 2012 season for the Trojans, Lee isn't the nation's biggest receiver at 6 feet, 195 pounds, but he may be the most dynamic. Last year, he won the Biletnikoff Award after catching 118 passes for 1,721 yards and 14 TDs. Lee also averaged 29 yards per kick return and 8 yards a carry. There's a good chance he also may play defense this year too.

Lee's explosiveness is evidenced by his work with the USC track team as well. He's a 25-foot long jumper and he's also run on the sprint relay team.

"He's gotta be in the top five of the most freakish athletes I've ever been around," said USC WR coach Tee Martin, a former standout QB at Tennessee who also played in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. "He's in there with the Jamal Lewises, the Leonard Littles, the Donta Stallworths and Kordell Stewarts. The things that are so great about Marqise is he's got this great ability to contort his body and to jump and just explode and go from zero to 60 really fast. And the really scary part is he's still so young and is working so hard to get better."

6. Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M, QB: The guy who became the first freshman to ever win the Heisman Trophy has shown he's quite the all-around athlete as he continues his whirlwind bucket list offseason. Just in the past month, Manziel's broken 80 at Pebble Beach and homered in BP in a major league ballpark when he visited the San Diego Padres. Friends say the 6-footer is also capable of throwing down some eye-catching dunks on the basketball court as well. Oh yeah, and he also can do stuff like this too.

Johnny Manziel may check in at around 6 feet tall, but his huge hands are a huge plus. (USATSI) The real reason why he cracks the Top 10 on the Freaks List is for something else, though. At first glance, Manziel looks rather ordinary at 6-0, 210, but coaches say in addition to his preternatural wheels, the Aggies star has huge hands, which are a big plus for any QB, especially a shorter one. A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said Manziel's oversized mitts remind him of another play-making 6-foot QB on a team he coached back in his Purdue days -- Drew Brees, who apparently has thumbs the size of croissants.

"Having those big hands not only helps tote the ball in traffic, but he can basically go all through his motion and still pull the ball back," noted George Whitfield, a private QB coach who helps train Manziel. Whitfield also has worked with some huge NFL quarterbacks, Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Newton and Andrew Luck. All three of those QBs have size 14 shoes. Manziel wears 15s.

7. Dri Archer, Kent State, RB-KR: You might as well call Archer Mr. MACtion. The 5-8, 173-pound Archer is the league's most exciting player and may be the quickest man in college football. Despite his diminutive frame, Archer still ran for 1,429 yards and 16 TDs, with a 9-yard average per carry. In eight games Archer had at least one run of 43 yards or longer. KSU strength coach Antoine Sharpe says Archer certainly backs up that home-run style when he clocked electronically a 4.29 40-yard dash.

8. Benardrick McKinney, Mississippi State, LB: One of the breakout stars of 2012 in the SEC, the 6-5 McKinney made 102 tackles last season to earn a spot on the Freshman All-SEC team. McKinney, another one of the unheralded recruits who has blossomed in the Dan Mullen era, arrived at MSU two years ago as a 216-pound former QB. Now he's a 240-pounder with a 41.5-inch vertical, up 3.5 inches from last year. He also can do 30 pull-ups, almost double his total from a year ago, according to Bulldogs strength coach Matt Balis.

9. Chris Borland, Wisconsin, LB: The 5-11, 245-pound linebacker -- the 2009 Big Ten Freshman of the Year -- has had a knack for turning heads from the days even before he was a Badger. In fact, former Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema once told me he remembered noticing Borland in one of the Badgers camps. "I'm watching him and he had about five interceptions in about an hour and half of 7-on-7," said Bielema.

Badgers' backer Chris Borland can rip off a standing back flip at will. (USATSI) Borland does a standstill box jump of 51 inches, said strength coach Evan Simon. "He can also do a standing back flip at will and one time landed one in the splits for fun. He is as solid as two rocks and one of the hardest workers you'll find."

Not only that, Badger insiders say Borland has also been known to kick 40-yard field goals, practice catching balls either with one hand or behind his back out of the jugs gun and can throw the ball about 50 yards on a line.

10. Ryan Carrethers, Arkansas State, DT: A 2012 First Team All-Sun Belt Conference player, Carrethers certainly seems like he could be a force at any league in college football. The redshirt senior, who will be playing for his fourth head coach this fall, isn't just some sloppy, bad-body guy. His 16 percent body fat for a guy measuring in at 6-2, 332 is impressive. As are his 400-pound power clean, his 664-pound squat and 400-pound incline bench press.

"Ryan was a state champion heavyweight wrestler in Tennessee his senior year, which has translated to him being a fantastic defensive lineman that has started for three years on the championship Red Wolves teams," said Jeff Pitman, Arkansas State's strength coach. "Ryan can more than hang with former all freak team members I have coached. Examples are Daryn Colledge at Boise State and Nate Solder at the University of Colorado. Both [players] have had great NFL careers."

Dri Archer is an amazing player, dude has amazing speed, and he's so short you lose him easily. Saw him play once when Kent State beat Bowling Green this past year(dadburn them), I was a fan.

 

[I_am_1z]

He got kicked off Iowa and is playing who knows where


actually here we go, with a mid-post google, I found out what happened to Marcus Coker

Marcus Coker transfers to Stony Brook

he plays for the Seawolves

Only if the 49ers needed a RB

 

[4lifer9er]

NOthing wrong with having an embarrassment of riches, esp at the rb position.

Coker sounds smart as he is looking to double major in physics and astronomy, prolly effed up and sounds like he is willing to learn from his mistake. Figure he won't be looking to join the draft until the 2015 year, Hunter will be gone, Gore most likely would be gone, that would leave us with Lattimore(WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO) and LMJ.. Not bad to have another RB in there possibly. By that time I think we would hope to know what we have in LMJ and Lattimore should just be starting to scratch the starting lineup.

 

[cyorgan]

Not gonna lie, you guys are kinda loaded at RB right now. Someone mentioned Clowney earlier. He'll go #1. Bridgewater is quite overrated IMO. He looks the part but he's not a complete QB and will need to sit at least a year before moving on.

It's a foregone conclusion that the Jags will be getting the #1 pick with Buffalo, Oakland, Tennessee, and Arizona picking after that.

I'd be focusing on that Secondary and WR position if I were you. Crabtree has been streaky as a #1 and now is coming off that ACL, then you've got Manningham who's a #2 at best, who knows how much more Boldin has in the tank TBH, and then you have a bunch of #3 or #4 WR's.

 

[deep9er]

Not gonna lie, you guys are kinda loaded at RB right now. Someone mentioned Clowney earlier. He'll go #1. Bridgewater is quite overrated IMO. He looks the part but he's not a complete QB and will need to sit at least a year before moving on.

It's a foregone conclusion that the Jags will be getting the #1 pick with Buffalo, Oakland, Tennessee, and Arizona picking after that.

I'd be focusing on that Secondary and WR position if I were you. Crabtree has been streaky as a #1 and now is coming off that ACL, then you've got Manningham who's a #2 at best, who knows how much more Boldin has in the tank TBH, and then you have a bunch of #3 or #4 WR's.

if we went purely on Need, yeah, WR and CB would lead. there's no doubt Baalke and staff already know this, and not worried they'll miss it the entire off-season (free agency and draft).

 

[BINGO]

Not gonna lie, you guys are kinda loaded at RB right now. Someone mentioned Clowney earlier. He'll go #1. Bridgewater is quite overrated IMO. He looks the part but he's not a complete QB and will need to sit at least a year before moving on.

It's a foregone conclusion that the Jags will be getting the #1 pick with Buffalo, Oakland, Tennessee, and Arizona picking after that.

I'd be focusing on that Secondary and WR position if I were you. Crabtree has been streaky as a #1 and now is coming off that ACL, then you've got Manningham who's a #2 at best, who knows how much more Boldin has in the tank TBH, and then you have a bunch of #3 or #4 WR's.

That's what the concensus feeling is around this issue. Even before the draft in April, I was calling for Tavon Austin or Cordarelle Patterson. Those were the only two receivers I wanted in the first round. Unfortunately, the Rams offer to trade up that high was way too much for us. We didn't panick when he was off the board, we had a chance to land Patterson. Unfortunately, we botched that opportunity by drafting the wrong player/position.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Not gonna lie, you guys are kinda loaded at RB right now. Someone mentioned Clowney earlier. He'll go #1. Bridgewater is quite overrated IMO. He looks the part but he's not a complete QB and will need to sit at least a year before moving on.

It's a foregone conclusion that the Jags will be getting the #1 pick with Buffalo, Oakland, Tennessee, and Arizona picking after that.

I'd be focusing on that Secondary and WR position if I were you. Crabtree has been streaky as a #1 and now is coming off that ACL, then you've got Manningham who's a #2 at best, who knows how much more Boldin has in the tank TBH, and then you have a bunch of #3 or #4 WR's.

I'd be fine with that

Jaguars would take a QB and then Jadeveon Clowney will be ours hahhahahahahaaa

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Only if the 49ers needed a RB

perhaps, he could be a major steal, he doesn't appear to be on a lot of radars right now, I've seen him projected as a 7th round pick to even undrafted

 

[NinerSickness]

NS, it is absolutely ridiculous that we have similar opinions on 95% of the prospects.
We agreed on everything. Hopkins is my favorite receiver in the draft because he
catches everything with his hands. Away from his body, above him, below.... Mingo
is in a dog fight to even start in Cleveland. Too situational and isn't guaranteed to be
a starter and with the LSU D line, should've been better. Hankins would've been great for you.

The guy the 9ers need to draft next year is Nix. I would be pissed if you did but I'd give up
a 3rd plus your 1st or even the Chiefs selection for Alex and move up. You have enough
depth to do it.

Nix was #1 on my wish list before he announced he wouldn't be declaring for the 2013 draft. With another good year, I think he might be out of the Niners' range in the ''14 draft; but I can hope.

Where we differ is that I like Jamie Collins for an outside backer for the Hawks but PC
thought there was enough depth and with solid starters in Wags and KJ, didn't draft an OLB.
Collins has versatility that I wanted.

That's actually where I like him: OLB. But I questioned his ability to hold up against the run in a 3-4. The Pats say they're going to use him as a DE, and I think that's kind of a waste of such a high pick because I doubt he can be a 3-down player on the line.

If I were you, I'd have a slight concern about your 2 - 5 tech's (depending on JS health) and NT.
Maybe you can enlighten me on your confidence because you are the expert of your squad.

Depth on the DL was actually my #2 concern last season (#1 was WR because I thought Moss was washed up). That's why I was extremely happy the Niners got Tank Carradine at 40 because they're going to use him as a guy with his hand in the dirt. As long as he's healthy, I like the DE depth a lot more since he'd be able to spell both JSmith and Ray McDonald.

NT is another story. They plan on using Glenn Dorsey at NT, and I like that; I think he's better than Sopoaga was last year. But behind him, there's nobody. They have Ian Williams & some guys who will be lucky to make the team. This is why I've been hoping all offseason the Niners snag Richard Seymour for 1 year. He can play some snaps all along the line & even start anywhere if there's an injury. I still remember how pissed I was when he was picked 1 pick ahead of Andre Carter in 2001. If the Niners stick with the NTs they have now, they'd better hope they stay healthy. They're both young, but Dorsey had a season-ending calf injury last year, so that's a concern.

Some of my way-too-early favourites for the 2014 draft (as far as bang for yer buck goes; I can be obvious & say Clowney, but that's obvious) are:

Nix
Antonio Richardson
C - James Stone (I'm not a Vols fan, but nobody seems to have noticed Stone, and Richardson looks like he could be every bit as good as the other tackles in this obscene tackle class)
Will Sutton
Ronald Powell (curious to see if he can bounce back from injury. He was lookin' pretty good before he got hurt. Fellow Gator Dominique Easley is an interesting prospect too).
Bradley Roby (this one is obvious, but I really, really like Roby. That kind of quickness & willingness to hit is rare IMO. Should be a top 10 pick).

Looks like Marqise Lee & Sammy Watkins are the best WRs in this next draft. I'm not sure what I think of 'em yet. I'll be keeping a close eye. Jerry Rice's cousin Jordan Matthews looks like a pretty good WR prospect too.

 

[BINGO]

Devin Gardner - QB - Wolverines

Michigan is certain they have the right QB to run their pro-style offense in junior Devin Gardner.

Gardner is an athletic specimen, spending plenty of time at receiver during his career and flashing mobility as a ball carrier in the red zone, but it is his natural ability as a passer that stands out. He displays poised pocket movement at times, but that success versus pressure needs to be consistent. Gardner did work with renowned quarterback guru George Whitfield Jr. this offseason.
Source: MLive

Jul 11 - 8:40 AM

 

[BINGO]

Two scouts prefer Kouandjio over 2013 OTs

Former NFL personnel man John Middlekauff spoke with two scouts who prefer Alabama junior T Cyrus Kouandjio over the top three tackles selected in April's draft.

Those three tackles were Eric Fisher, Luke Joeckel, and Lane Johnson. Kouandjio, who turns 20 in two weeks, took over at left tackle for Alabama last year and was arguably their second best offensive lineman. The Crimson Tide lost plenty of talent to the NFL, but Kouandjio is a consistent piece on the blind side and could be a member of the big three tackles in the 2014 draft, along with Jake Matthews and Taylor Lewan.
Source: John Middlekauff on Twitter

Jul 9 - 12:35 PM

 

[BINGO]

Report: OLB Barr ran a 4.47 forty for scouts

Former NFL personnel man John Middlekauff tweeted UCLA senior OLB Anthony Barr ran a 4.47 forty for scouts during spring workouts.

That is pretty good. Barr is a former running back who recently made the transition to defensive pass rusher. That position switch has paid huge dividends thus far, and we can only expect Barr to improve during his final season with the Bruins.
Source: John Middlekauff on Twitter

Jul 9 - 3:43 PM

 

[NinerSickness]

Report: OLB Barr ran a 4.47 forty for scouts

Former NFL personnel man John Middlekauff tweeted UCLA senior OLB Anthony Barr ran a 4.47 forty for scouts during spring workouts.

That is pretty good. Barr is a former running back who recently made the transition to defensive pass rusher. That position switch has paid huge dividends thus far, and we can only expect Barr to improve during his final season with the Bruins.
Source: John Middlekauff on Twitter

Jul 9 - 3:43 PM

I'm still skeptical of anyone wearing a Bruins' uniform.