2009 NFL Combine — Playmakers Unite. QBs, RBs, WRs.

With Michael Crabtree out of the NFL Combine mix, the prospects in perhaps the deepest wide receiver class in recent years had plenty to prove. A few took advantage of the opportunity to pull the focus onto themselves.

WRs. ACT FAST. No need to act. These guys can move. Last year, Dexter Jackson was the only WR to pull of a sub 4.3 40-yard dash. Johnny Knox from Abilene Christian clocked an unofficial 4.25 in the 40-yard dash (4.34 official), Deon Butler from Penn State did it in 4.26 (4.38), Mike Wallace from Ol’ Miss clipped a 4.28 (4.33) and Maryland standout WR, Darrius Heyward-Bey edged it out with a 4.29 (4.30). Like the supply of quality left tackles, the hoarding of WRs will probably begin in Round 1 of the draft contrary to the usual Round 2 assemblage.

Derrich’s Top 5 Wide Receivers PLAYER CLASS SCHOOL Michael Crabtree Soph Texas Tech Brian Robiske Senior Ohio State Jeremy Maclin Soph Missouri Percy Harvin Junior Florida Hakeem Nicks Junior North Carolina

Much to the chagrin of draft analysts, Michael Crabtree will have an opportunity to run his 40-yard dash during his pro day on March 26th. Hopefully he’ll heed their advice and just have the surgery…but don’t bet on it. Ranking the rest of the wide receiver class is about as easy as flipping a coin. I like Brian Robiske as the second choice and a great long-term selection. Nevermind that his father is the Atlanta Falcons WR coach…the knowledge of the game Brian has inherited from his father is only one of his weapons.

Jeremy Maclin and Percy Harvin are the sexy picks that cannot be ignored because of their playmaking abilities. Whether or not that translates into success at the next level remains to be seen. I believe that regardless of where they end up, those teams will have to come up with creative ways to get them the ball to get the greatest return. Thank goodness for the wildcat.

Hakeem Nicks is another wideout that, like Robiske, has all of the pure WR fundamental talents necessary to be successful in the NFL including the all-important ‘run after catch’ ability. He may have also had the best catch of the year in the Meineke Bowl.

If my list included six WRs, #6 would be Jarett Dillard from Rice. He’s easily a top consideration. He boasts the ‘go-get-it’ of Andre Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald. If you find it hard to believe, watch some film on the guy. If you’re still skeptical, perhaps you’ll find his group best 42.5″ vertical impressive.

QBs. CONTROVERSY? The only controversy this year is whether or not Matt Stafford or Mark Sanchez will be chosen first. Both are being criticized for their early exits from college. But when you consider the crop of guys coming next year — Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford — it may have been the best option for the two underclassmen.

Derrich’s Top 5 Quarterbacks PLAYER CLASS SCHOOL Matt Stafford Junior Georgia Mark Sanchez Junior USC Nate Davis Junior Ball State Brian Hoyer Senior Michigan State Josh Freeman Junior Kansas State

Matt Stafford has obvious pros including his fundamentals and laser, rocket arm, and he will likely be the first QB taken. Mark Sanchez has some great traits as well, but what’s more noticable is the cloud of inexperience hovering over him…with only 16 collegiate starts. Both ran similar times in the 40-yard dash: 4.84 on both attempts for Stafford, 4.88 and 4.97 for Sanchez.

As for Nate Davis of Ball State, I’ve referred to him before as a Swiss Army Knife…full of valuable tools. He has great awareness and field vision…a point guard on the football field. He’s got a powerful arm, but a weapon whose intensity he controls very well. He’s impressive with the long ball (even on the run), but more importantly he places the ball with precision in the short game.

Brian Hoyer from Michigan State is a huge question mark with great pro potential. His lackluster senior season has kept him under the radar. His biggest knock is his inconsistency, which may be a product of his lack of receiving targets. He had a solid, mistake-free East-West Shrine game. The 6’2″, 215-lb Hoyer is reportedly working with former Giants QB, Scott Brunner, who also worked with Joe Flacco last year. Josh Freeman from Kansas State will have more questions to answer…also under the radar as a product of his surroundings. But he’s got ideal size and tremendous arm strength, which he put on display at the NFL Combine.

Regardless of where they go in the draft, keep your eye on Brian Johnson from Utah, John Parker Wilson from Alabama, and Rhett Bomar from Sam Houston State. Pat White of West Virginia will work out as a QB and WR at his upcoming pro day on March 12. All of the talk about Pat White has been related to the wildcat formation. White threw the ball exceptionally well today, and he was able to run unofficial times of 4.50 and 4.49 in the 40-yard dash. With impressive post season play, Texas A&M QB Steven McGee has also been noticed…another wildcat prospect. McGee ran an unofficial time of 4.58 in the 40-yard dash.

RBs. MORE THAN ONE RINGER…AND A LUCKY ONE. There are a handful of solid runners in this draft. Perhaps the most promising — and my favorite — is Donald Brown from University of Connecticut. With the stats to back up his NFL roster spot, his biggest question mark going into the NFL Combine was his speed. Not anymore. Brown ran a pair of unofficial 4.48s (4.51 official) to go along with his 41.5″ vertical jump (#1) and 10’5″ broad jump (#2).

Chris “Beanie” Wells showed his leg strength by leaping 10’8″ (#1) in the broad jump. He unnecessarily made 5 more attempts only to fall short of his personal best. That may have tired his legs for the vertical jump and 40-yard dash, which was slower than even he anticipated. Despite the NFL Combine numbers, the biggest concern surrounding Wells is his durability. There’s no doubt in his playmaking ability. He’ll probably be better off in a two-back offense.

Derrich’s Top 5 Running Backs PLAYER CLASS SCHOOL Donald Brown Junior Connecticut Chris Wells Junior Ohio State Lesean McCoy Soph Pitt Gartrell Johnson Senior Colorado State Knowshon Moreno Soph Georgia

Lesean McCoy is a tremendously talented runner. I previously referenced the Tron light bike scene (starting at about 1:08) to describe his running style. We’ve seen him time and time again turn nothing into something. And he has super awesome hands. I really wish he would have stayed back another season, so hopefully he proves me wrong. He didn’t perform in the NFL Combine due to illness.

Gartrell Johnson might be the next Marion Barber III. He’s built like a freight train, and moves like one too. Don’t confuse that analogy with straight line, downhill running. He has excellent lateral ability as well. Gartrell ran a 4.71 and 4.77 unofficially in the 40-yard dash. At the end of the season he pounded his way to 285 yards rushing and had 90 yards receiving in the New Mexico Bowl. He also achieved 6.3 yards/carry in the 2009 East-West Shrine Game.

Knowshon Moreno has alot of expectations to be the immediate homerun hitter coming out of the draft. In fact, many draft analysts believe he’ll be the first RB taken. He’s got an amazing work ethic that translates into his on-field performances: a very tough finisher. He also boasts great hands. Knowshon sprinted the 40-yard dash in an unofficial 4.55 seconds and he threw 225 lbs up 25 times (T-6th).

One RB most would expect in any top 5 list is Shonn Greene from Iowa. Despite running a respectable and unofficial 4.65 and 4.63 in the 40-yard dash, a 37″ vertical jump, and shedding some weight for the NFL Combine, I can’t help but think of Ron Dayne…NFL Ron Dayne. Not good. Another noteworthy RB that just doesn’t do it for me is Javon Ringer. If anyone proves me wrong, I really hope it’s Javon.

Ian Johnson of Boise State and Marlon Lucky from Nebraska have also made late arguments to be noticed. Marlon Lucky surprised alot of people in the 2009 East-West Shrine Game with his bursts — 9.7 yards/carry, 1 score and an offensive MVP award. He ran 4.59 and 4.55 unofficially in the 40-yard dash. And with 75 receptions in 2007, he can catch a little too. As far as Ian Johnson is concerned…the only thing I’m concerned about is whether or not he’ll be able to transition from blue to green turf. That’s a joke. Ian ran 4.38 and 4.44 unofficially in the 40-yard dash.

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5 Unsexy Heisman Candidates for 2008

It’s hard to criticize the purpose and prestige of the Heisman Trophy without sounding disrespectful of John W. Heisman and the Downtown Athletic Club (DAC). I think the word I’m looking for is “disappointed”. With the obvious nepotism influence from all the media exposure today, the top candidates are assigned some degree of “the right stuff at the right time”. It just seems that all of the variables that go into picking the best college football player have been abandoned…it’s now the “which quarterback is kicking ass on the team with the best record” award. Boooring. As a fan of Big 12 teams, this shouldn’t pose a problem for me. But it does.

So where’s the objectivity? Who’s to say the candidate’s team record is even a variable? The DAC doesn’t…not really. Ok. A winning record helps…and should help as it is often a reflection of the candidates’ accomplishments. But use NFL Barry Sanders as an example. He’s arguably one the best running backs ever…top 3 or 5. But the Lions were horrible and yet no one ignored the fact that Barry was a great player on a mediocre team.

I digress…a little.

RECORD, SCHMECORD. If you go back to previous Heisman winner team records, there are a handful of players that won the prestigious award with more than 2 losses.

• Ricky Williams — Texas, 9-3 (1998)
• Ty Detmer — BYU, 10-3 (1990)
• Tim Brown — Notre Dame, 8-4 (1987)
• Bo Jackson — Auburn, 8-4 (1985)
• Marcus Allen — USC, 9-3 (1981)
• Paul Hornung — Notre Dame, 2-8 (1956)

PRO “ACCOMPLISHMENTS”. Don’t even get me started on this one. I’m not the only one who’s ever spouted the words “Heisman curse”. Only 8 Heisman winners are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. However, to the credit of previous Heisman campaigns there have been a bunch of finalists that have flourished at the next level. Just check out the finalists the year Herschel Walker won the Heisman (1982). I will admit that I’m placing too much focus on pro potential when the award is for the best college player. But it helps (a little) get the point across.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Jason White. Eric Crouch. Chris Weinke. Danny Wuerffel. Forget the ones that are still in “the league” struggling or have been subjected to bench warming duties. Ok, ok…back to the pro potential argument, but you get the point.

WHO ELSE IS THERE? The Heisman Class of 2005 may be the exception. The two best college players were arguably Reggie Bush and Vince Young. They were certainly two of the most exciting to watch.

Ok, Mr. Know-It-All. Who do you like for Heisman consideration this year?

[1] MICHAEL CRABTREE, WR — Texas Tech. Hate the Red [over]Raiders all you want. Michael Crabtree is already a top consideration…just the most underappreciated one. He’s got T.O.’s strength (head-to-head with physical corners, breaking tackles), Andre Johnson’s “go get it”, and a dabble of Lynn Swann’s grace. Forget that Texas Tech passes a bunch more than most teams; his numbers don’t overshadow his talent. Just watch him and you’ll agree. I’ll try not to hold this against him.

84 receptions, 1,072 yards, 18 TDs

[2] BRIAN JOHNSON, QB — Utah. If there’s a solid, pro-ready QB in college football, it’s Brian Johnson. He willed the Utes to win in big game situations. No matter what you think of TCU and BYU, they still provided big pressure situations for Johnson. And he came through. I realize it’s tough to compare his accomplishments to the three Big 12 QBs…and Tim Tebow. No doubt those guys have impressed with their big numbers and “will his team to win” performances. Brian Johnson has done the same with what he’s got. And I’d put my chips on the ability of Johnson at the next level.

2,636 yards, 24 TDs, 68.3% completion pct

[3] NATE DAVIS, QB — Ball State. If there’s another solid, pro-ready QB in college football, it’s Nate Davis. He has great awareness and field vision…a point guard on the football field. He’s got a powerful arm, but a weapon whose intensity he controls very well. He’s impressive with the long ball (even on the run), but more importantly he places the ball with precision in the short game. He’s like a Swiss Army knife. And as a bonus, the first NFL team to call Nate Davis up to their roster also get mobility. Not normally something I really care about, but I like the fact that he is a pass-first, pass-second QB. Surely some video geek doing nothing in his dorm can hook Nate up with a proper highlight video. His performance against Indiana is as good as it gets for now.

3,095 yards, 25 TDs, 67.3% completion pct

[4] PAT WHITE, QB — West Virginia. Pat White is the closest thing to the Heisman norm as dictated by recent winners. Pat White is a QB with a great set of abilities including great arm strength and accuracy. But he’s not afraid to tuck it up and run. In last week’s win over Louisville, White rushed for 200 yards breaking the QB rushing record of former Missouri QB Brad Smith (4,292). He’s obviously a product of the system Rich Rodriguez left behind. Don’t get me wrong…he has the tools to play QB at the next level. Unfortunately his predecessors have either experienced short-lived lives as QBs or have proven that a move to WR have been beneficial.

1,226 passing yards, 17 passing TDs, 65.4% completion pct, 786 rishing yards, 7 rushing TDs

[5] LESEAN “SHADY” McCOY, RB — Pitt. This guy is the real McCoy (that was too easy). Seriously, though, if you’ve never seen Lesean run the ball, you’re missing out. The best way to describe his running style is…um…imagine the light bike scene in Tron (about 1:08). That should do it. Lesean McCoy broke Tony Dorsett’s freshman rushing TD record (14) and rushed for over 110 yards per game. Going into tonight’s Backyard Brawl against West Virginia, he’s already chalked up 16 scores. He’s only a sophomore. So, if he doesn’t catch your attention this season, he will in the future.

1,125 yards, 18 TDs, 5.0 yards/carry

I know none of these guys will win. The current Heisman Trophy candidates are all great athletes and have been effective leaders for each of their respective teams. Without taking anything away from their accomplishments, I just believe that the purpose of the Heisman Trophy has been lost over the years as TV coverage favors the sexier teams in the bigger conferences. For those of us disenchanted college football fans, I really don’t care who wins the award anymore.

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