I like the idea. Little guys with great burst have a place in the league. The WR from Appalachian St. that plays for Philly has turned out nicely. Also, Sproles, the RB from San Diego (Kansas St) is only 5'8" if he has platform shoes on.
At the risk of hijacking the thread, I'd like to throw another name out there: Dace Richardson. He's a 6'6" 300+ lbs. OL from Iowa. He had a terrible showing at the combine, when he ran 5.7 in the 40.
Obviously, as a Hawkeye fan, this is a homer pick, but the guy can really block. He started at LT as a TRUE FRESHMAN for coach Ferentz (note: this is unheard of at Iowa. Neither Bulaga or Gallery pulled that off until they were soph's). Knee injuries have really held him back. In fact, a year and a half ago, we all thought Dace was done with football because of the reconstructive surgery on his left knee. He beat the odds and ALL of the coaches' expectations and made it back. He started the 1st game this season as the RT (Calloway was suspended for 1st game). When Calloway came back he played LG, next to Brian Bulaga and OUTPLAYED Bulaga.
He also played a little RG during the year. He is an extremely good run-blocker. His knee has heeled and was named a mid-season All-American. He's a very good OLineman.
So what happened? He breaks his leg/ankle in the first few minutes of the Michigan State game in mid-October. He gets his leg set, works hard and actually makes it back to start in the Orange bowl 8 weeks later. If you watched the game, Iowa totally dominated the Georgia Tech DLine (OK, so... maybe not that difficult a task, but still). Derrick Morgan was held in check (maybe only 2 tackles - no sacks) with Dace's help.
Why did he run so slow? I really don't know. I suppose the fact that he broke his ankle in October had something to do with it. Maybe he'll be "normal" by Iowa's pro day. Anyway, this guy is a real talent. No one is talking about him for anything but UFA because of his injuries, but he would be a REAL VALUE as an UFA because of his experience, technique and because he's so versatile. He's played all 4 non-center OLine positions in college and could be a terrific addition to our OLine. Did I mention that he was a team Leader and one of Ferentz's all-time favorites at Iowa?
