| 27 February 2010
Starting out this morning will be the 40-yard dash times the O-Linemen will be running up until they get to the position drills they'll ask they players to do.
O-Line 40-yard dashes don't really matter all that much but hey it's fun and it's a part of the workout.
First up that's of note, Bryan Bulaga offensive tackle from Iowa lays down an unofficial time of 5.26 in the 40-yard dash. Pretty average time for an offensive tackle though the official time will likely go up to a higher time. I have to emphasize that these are all unofficial times.
Next up Anthony Davis OT from Rutgers has stepped in and hunkered down into his stance to run the 40, unofficial time 5.38 Mayock states it's a disappointing player. Mayock also states on his own stop watch he had him in the 5.4 range.
Vladimir Ducasse, OL he has a big upper body, big chested doesn't look like his legs are as big as his upper body. Ducasse looks top heavy. Ducasse 5.21 40-yard dash unofficially.
Next up Mike Iupati OG from Idaho one of the highest rated guard prospects in nearly a decade. Iupati looks big and slender he's not fat at all, he's just another one of those big American Samoan prospects that are just naturally big and strong. Iupati a 5.26 for Iupati the average time they talk about for all of the O-Linemen is 5.31.
Next up Bruce Campbell from Maryland and he looks like a TE out there 6-6 314-pounds. Now if 40-yard dash times mattered for O-Linemen Campbell would be shooting up draft boards with this time. This may be a record for O-Linemen but I can't say so because the NFL Network doesn't say so. This time is one of those times that's as impressive if not more impressive than an WR, RB or DB running a 4.3 40-yard dash. Campbell's unofficial time as 4.76....again no misprint here and it might be a record for a 300-pound O-Linemen...4.76 40-yard dash, some LBs struggle to run that fast.
From there they immediately jump into the kick slide drill which measures footwork agility and ability to slide out wide in pass protection. How does an O-Lineman open up, and get wide with his feet in the pocket. You don't want to see an OT get beat on this drill by crossing his feet over, you want to see. This drill exposes slow feet, lazy hands and arms, and tightness in the hips. One of the key things I like to look for is where does an O-Lineman hold his hands when he's doing this drill, are they dangling out beside him trying to help him maintain balance or are they up tight so he can deliver the punch when he needs to. A lot of times you'll see O-Linemen who keep their hands down by their waist and I think it's important to keep them up in and tight to deliver the punch and win the battle of the hands.
Charles Brown OT from Southern Cal is first to have replay video shown of him doing the kick slide drill. Brown is a potential first round OT prospect and he measured in at 6-5 303-pounds this week 35 1/4 inch arms. Long arms just like you want to see an OT prospect. Brown is stiff coming out of the two point stance but he does a good job of keeping his arms up in and tight. This first thing I notice is Brown looks pretty up right coming out of his two point stance and he stays up right throughout the entire drill.
After Brown comes Bulaga who looks like he gets a false start on the drill. He looks better than he should because of the false start. Bulaga as well carries his hands in a good position and his foot work looks more natural than Brown's footwork. Coming out of a two-point stance is always more natural for an OT and not always a good indicator of natural pass protection skills. Bulaga looks more comfortable and less up right and stiff than Brown, he sinks his hips better. Bulaga's arms didn't measure as long as you'd like in an OT 33 1/4 inch arms on his 6-foot-5 frame two inches shorter than Brown.
Next up interior offensive line prospect Jeff Byers from USC OL07, Byers can play all three interior line spots and was rated as the number one high school prospect in the country by some publications. He was considered to be a can't miss five-star recruit from Colorado who never really lived up to his high school billing. Byers looks decently nimble for an interior O-Line prospect, not quite as quick as the OTs but quicker than a lot of OGs and Cs I've seen over the years.
Kyle Calloway from Iowa is up next OL08 and he's not as nimble as Bulaga protecting the left side of the line from the three point stance to start this drill out. Calloway is a little bit more flexible looking than Brown and is good with his hand technique as well. 6-6 323 33 1/4 inch arms....Mayock states you'd prefer that the cut off point for OTs with short arms be 33-inches so both Calloway and Bulaga are just over the minimum for arm length.
Bruce Campbell is just naturally quick and his right with his hips and arm length and size. Campbell had some of the longest arms of any of the prospects out there and he then follows it up with good footwork and fluidity. He also delivers the first real punch of the drill with his hands which are up in and tight. The punch sends the rusher wide so the QB can step up and deliver the football.
Selvish Capers OT from West Virginia 6-foot-4 308 34-inch arms is the worst one I've seen go yet. He seems slow and out of place doesn't look comfortable doing this drill. His hands are carried very low and he doesn't look very balanced as he runs through the drill. His punch is late and just not powerful.
Next up from Texas Tech Brandon Carter who is an interior line prospect just that fire plug looking player. Big barrel chest, squatty and stout he is one of the bigger guard prospects out here, 6-foot-6 329 pounds he is all upper body. He looks pretty quick in his slide and he delivers a good punch. Pretty average feet decent quickness for a offensive guard he looks like a decent left guard prospect.
Erik Cook from New Mexico looks all out of place all out of sorts. He gets beat cleanly he's the first guy I've seen get beaten cleanly all day. Granted he's snapping the ball from center and it's a little more complicated for him to get out there, but overall he just look like he can operate well in space. No quickness in his feet at all, he's just beat from the start on this play.
Anthony Davis from Rutgers is up next and he looks as good or better than Bruce Campbell who to this point has looked the best. Davis is fluid with his hips and quick with his feet and never really gives up any ground. He stay pretty square throughout and his hands are in a good spot as well. The good O-Linemen are starting to cycle through here and Davis is one of the better prospects and it's evident in this drill.
Chris Degeare from Wake Forest up next and he's not quite as good as the others, the lower round prospects are starting to be weeded out from the better prospects. Degeare looks like an interior prospect the whole way not really a natural mover or athlete here.
Vladimir Ducasse is up next and he looks probably the best I've seen all day to this point he's square on the rusher through out he just naturally moves into position and has the best set of any of the players I've seen. Talk about putting him at guard may be a bit premature based on how natural and fluid he looks and his hands are up in and tight. Ducasse may wind up being a tackle first and foremost. A report I heard indicated a scout asked him about playing guard in the NFL and he didn't seem to be to keen on the idea. If that's the case then Ducasse is going to do a lot today to reduce any fears that he's not quick enough or nimble enough to play OT.
Mike Iupati rounds out the O-Linemen in group one...he looks pretty good out there, the best of all the guard prospects. I think this is why Mayock thinks that Iupati can eventually line up at OT instead of just guard because he is a natural athlete. He has the tools to play it the size the quick feet the balance the agility. His technique is right and he flows through the drill without much problem. 6-foot-5 331-pounds with 34 1/2 inch arms it's rumored that the Dallas Cowboys are said to be highly interested in Iupati and may take him with their first pick in the first round of the draft. I don't think there is anyway Iupati gets out of the first round of this draft he is just too good of a player.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX end of group one OL kick slide drills.
Lateral quickness drill you sorta squat and take short choppy steps in a very small area to and try to move side to side as quick as possible. Good for interior line prospects because it shows how they can deal with quick DTs that try to attack in a one gap scheme. Again you want the player to have their hands up and in nice and tight...in close to the body and the elbows slightly bent to be able to deliver the punch and win that battle at the POA.
First to go is Ciron Black from LSU and he immediately sets the tone for the drill, good technique good balance auhe mirrors "the defender" from side to side. Black looks really good at this drill and since I didn't see him in the kick slide drill I think he looks the part here. 6-foot-4 327-pounds Black looks like a good offensive guard prospect even though he's played OT throughout his career. An All SEC performer he doesn't have the ideal height, ideal arm length to be a tackle, but I think he may project well as a guard. We'll have to follow Black's progress through the drills today.
Dorian Brooks from James Madison another interior O-Line prospect, not quite as good as Black in this drill. Just not as naturally quick in the way he chops his feet and mirrors "the defender". Doesn't really show me anything here on this drill, he isn't bad but he isn't on the same level as Black.
Charles Brown from Southern Cal again, still not looking all that impressive. He's sliding more than he's chopping his feet to move he doesn't look natural in this drill at all. Really not seeing it from Brown to this point in the combine, not seeing the justification for him to be thought of as a first round prospect. He's not really executing the drill properly with his footwork he's sliding and sliding which to me makes him look all the more unnatural as a OT prospect.
Bryan Bulaga is right up there with Black on this drill he keeps a narrow and quick base in his footwork, hands up high and tight. A narrow quick base allows the player to keep his balance and not get spread out to far to either one side. Bulaga sits high and tight and sinks his hips well, he looks far more natural than Charles Brown at this drill. I have to wonder if Bulaga has the ability to play guard because he looks more natural at this than he did the OT drills. Plus his arm length may be more suited for him sitting in at the guard position.form teh
Mike Iupati lines up across from Jeff Byers, Byers is the one that's executing the drill but I can't help but notice just how fast Iupati is. I know I'm supposed to be looking at Byers, but Iupati just make Byers look slow afoot. Iupati is literally fast for a big man and I can't wait to see him in this drill. Byers again not that fluid not very balanced he's no where near comfortable in this drill. I don't know what it is with the USC kids today but they don't look good compared to the rest of the top notch prospects. Brown and Byers both look like they may be a product of the USC hype machine again rather than actual legit prospects for where their draft standing is.
Calloway looks more fluid than Byers and more in control during this drill another OT prospect who is quick with his feet and in control through the drill. The guys who take big wide sliding steps are the ones you can tell aren't comfortable doing this drill, the short steps show that they have quick feet. That's exactly what you want to see, quick short feet that show good balance and control. You want the players to be churning dirt on this drill and it's evident so far the players who are dirt churners.
Bruce Campbell from Maryland continues to show why he's one of the better prospects at the combine. He's another natural athlete who just smoothy executes the drills. Campbell is a natural pass protector and you can see it in his feet in his hips and his balance. He may not be the strongest run blocker in this class but what you want in an NFL LT is a pass protector first and a run blocker second, especially with the emphasis on speed from the 3-4 OLBs and the under-sized DEs with speed off the edge in the 4-3 defense. There are not a lot of Reggie White type of DEs in the NFL right now they're all speed guys and Campbell looks like he can succeed well against the speed rushers in the league.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX End of Group ONE's workout
Group two offensive linemen the top prospects laying down unofficial 40-yard dash times today.
Russell Okung considered by most to be the top overall OT prospect in the NFL draft, a likely Top-10 pick lays down a pretty solid time 5.19 in the 40-yard dash. Okung is being talked about ad naseum for how well he played against Brian Orakpo from Texas last year. Orakpo as you know was a top notch pass rusher for the Redskins in 2009. Okung is a good run blocker good pass blocker and has the all important mean streak in him, he's not afraid to get dirty and nasty in a game.
Mitch Petrus the former walk on full back who tied the bench press record yesterday with 45 reps at 225-pounds runs a 5.29 40-yard dash. Petrus is a guy you like because he's worked so hard to get where he's at. Now whether all that can translate to the next level remains to be seen but he'll be one to keep an eye on. Look at more tape on him to see where he is at amongst the other guards and then ask if he can play center maybe on down the line.
Maurkice Pouncey center from Florida measured out at 6-foot-4 304-pounds could be a first round player at the center position. Mike Mayock really likes him a lot the highest rated center in the draft. Won the Rimington award given to the nation's best center and is talked about highly throughout scouting circles. Pouncey runs a pretty good time a 5.23 40-yard dash as they cut to Lovie Smith sitting in the stands taking in the players. Not a surprise to see Smith watching the O-Linemen run through their drills today given the Bears' need for an O-Linemen.
Up next is the prospect we sought out as a NFL Combine focus player a player who the Bears have been looking at. Rodger Saffold from Indiana measured in officially at 6-foot-4 316-pounds with 33 5/8 inch arms he put up 27 reps on the 225-pound bench yesterday. Saffold Mayock offers up is probably the guy that helped himself the most at the college all-star games he attended. He pounded on guys from the guard position and really proved himself well. Not a bad 40-yard dash time 5.22 from Saffold can't wait to see him work in the drills to really get an idea of where he's at as a prospect. I'll watch some tape on Saffold and watch just how good he is.
Offensive tackle from Oklahoma, Trent Williams another one of those top-7 guys out there at the OT spot. Williams will likely be off the board in the first round. Guys that are in that next group of prospects after the seven are the players like Saffold. Williams blisters the 40-yard dash track, flat lays it down Bruce Campbell style, 4.82 40-yard dash...HELLOOOOOOO that's moving for a big man. 6-foot-4 315-poundsd 34 1/4 inch arms 23 reps on the bench. O-Line coach from OU states that out of Phil Loadholdt and Duke Robinson who came out last year and then add in Williams, Williams is the best prospect of the three.
Checking with the D-Linemen height and weights going on today obviously paying attention to some of the third round level pass rushers that are out there.
Austen Lane comes in as advertised no cheating on his height or weight 6-6 276-pounds that's the type of measurements you want in a DE. I'd love to go back and watch the film on this kid to see where he measures up in the game but finding a Murray State football game isn't that easy to do.
Greg Hardy from Ole Miss, a big DE prospect 6-4 281-pounds that's almost arguably three-technique one gap penetrator DT type. That's big for a DE I'd be interested to see what he runs the 40-yard dash at at that weight.
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