Joe Staley
LT – Central Michigan
Workout Details:
6-5 7/8, 304 pounds. Ran the 40-yard dash in 4.82. He also had a 32-inch vertical jump, 9-foot-4 long jump, 4.42 short shuttle and 7.09 three-cone drill. 27 reps.
Synopsis:
Staley is a small school left tackle who was highly regarded as an athletic tight end out of Rockford, Michigan. He committed early to Central Michigan – on the final day of the University of Michigan Football Camp in the summer of 2002, weighing a mere 199lbs and measuring 6’4. A track athlete, he ran the 200m at the Division 1 State Championship, recording a time of 21.9 seconds, which is only 2.5 seconds slower than Michael Johnson’s world record. By the middle of his senior year at high school, he had added 25lbs and when he joined Central Michigan in the spring of 2003, as an all state tight end, he weighed 239lbs and when the decision came down from new head coach Brian Kelly to switch him to tackle, after his freshman season at tight end, he was a very disgruntled 255lbs. When he switched to left tackle from the right side, as a junior, he was 6’5 and 271. Replacing Adam Kieft, he put on 25lbs of muscle and dominated at the small school level for two years, really opening the eyes of the scouts at the Chippewa’s Pro Day in 2006 where he amazed onlookers by running a 4.70 at 303lbs. In fact, Staley says that a Falcons senior scout had him electronically timed at 4.67, but apparently told him that he would be better off going with the 4.70 as no-one would believe him that a 300lb man ran a sub 4.7. A very solid senior year set him up as a top 60 pick, but the subsequent work done both at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, on the interview circuit and at the weigh in, in Indianapolis, where he flashed a sculpted body with just 11% body fat, and at his subsequent Pro Day, have him climbing the boards quicker than perhaps any prospect out there. Originally tabbed as a very likely pick for us at #40, it’s now not inconceivable that he’ll come off the board with the 9th overall pick, a meteoric rise.
Background:
Staley attended Rockford High in Rockford, Michigan. He started as a junior and then again as a senior. In between junior and senior years, Staley plumped for Central Michigan. He shared time at the position with Nate Korthuis, Jason Emery, Chris Morris and Dan Marshall. The latter three were all specifically blocking tight ends, but Korthius, who backed up Staley, and Staley himself were the main threats catching the ball. He was a Grand Rapids Press Dream Team member and ranked No. 13 overall prospect by the Detroit Free Press on its Fab 50 squad and No. 49 on the Detroit News Blue Chip list. Advance newspapers added him to its all-area team. The prep tight end caught 24 passes for 559 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior. In track, he set three school records in the 200-meters (21.9), 4x100 (42.5), and 4x200 (1:27) relay teams. He placed sixth in the state in the 200-meters to earn all-state honors, as the team finished fourth in the state finals in the 4x100, fourth in 4x200,and sixth in 4x400 (43.1).
On committing to Central Michigan, which he did after attending a University of Michigan Football Camp, Staley said;
"They offered me a scholarship on the Wednesday of camp, and I committed to them Friday. I committed early so that I could focus on my senior season at Rockford," he added. "I really had Central as my top team from the start. I like their system and facilities, and felt real comfortable with their coaching staff."
What the Chippewa’s were getting in Staley the tight end was a player with great speed and outstanding hands;
"He has really blossomed into an outstanding athlete," Rockford football coach Ralph Munger said of Staley. "He has the ability to run, and he has very soft hands - he has excellent hands for a receiver. Plus he is very coachable, and that had to weigh in to (Central head coach Mike) DeBord's decision to get him committed in the early signing period."
Staley was accused locally of committing too early and not waiting for offers from bigger schools, including the interested Wolverines. But he stood on his decision, claiming that having committed would actually help and not hinder him, so that he wasn't worried about the recruiting process, wouldn’t be inundated with calls and letters and home visits and that he could simply concentrate on his football. During that senior year, he was instrumental in the teams’ 9-0 record, catching the game winning 61 yard touchdown pass from Andrew Wertz to beat Conchitas and making a season high 5-158 and 2 scores against neighbouring Portwood.
He left Rockwood as a senior and attended the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association East West All-Star Game at Spartan Stadium, where he impressed the watching coaches with his dedication to working out, to lifting and his precision route running and athleticism. He even played part of the game at WR. The plan on attending CMU was to redshirt him, allowing him to continue to muscle up and add weight;
"I really want to contribute. I know I have a lot of work ahead of me because I know the intensity level in college is a couple of levels up. I am excited to get going."
But the plan failed. He and diminutive halfback Jerry Seymour ended up playing. Coach DeBord justified his reasons to play Staley as;
"Joe is a big-time football player. He's got great speed and can catch the ball. I'm glad he's going to be with us for the next four years. I've coached a lot of tight ends when I was at Michigan and this kid is the fastest guy [at the position] I’ve ever been around. We just had to get him playing."
But at the end of Staley’s freshman year, where he caught 11 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown at a ridiculously healthy 26 yards a catch average, DeBord was fired and new head coach Brian Kelly brought his spread offense to the Chippewa’s and, seeing that one of his finest athletes, albeit one that was gaining weight quickly, was set to play a very marginal role in his plans, decided to shift him to the offensive line. He was told to strive for two things - all-conference status and a big gut, according to team-mate Adam Kieft, now with the Bengals;
"He's not quite a BUB yet, because he hasn't gotten fat yet. BUB stands for Big Ugly Bellies, and he doesn't really have one yet. That's a long standing tradition here that's older than me."
Immediately pencilled in as the starting RT, Staley admitted he was less than enthusiastic to find out the Central Michigan football coaching staff wanted him to change positions;
"When the coaches told me I was moving to offensive tackle I was a little upset. At first I was a little down, because when they told me I was switching I weighed only about 250 pounds, but they said that I would put some weight on in the off-season and that has worked out. I’ve added 25 pounds of muscle, and I’m now 6-foot-5, 275 pounds."
But Kelly was thrilled with his play and when Kieft graduated, Staley, a natural because of his athleticism, was switched to the left side, after 11 starts on the right.
"He's going to make lots of money as an offensive tackle in the NFL," Kelly said. "There's not many guys like him on any level. Tight ends are a dime a dozen, but left tackles that do what he does, there's a market for them." Kelly needed to do some serious convincing for Staley to embrace the change. "I told him, 'Look, you've got to trust me on this,' " Kelly said. "It was difficult, but I was able to pull on some past success with some other (Grand Valley) players from Rockford. I told him to go ahead and call Dan and Tom Hosford, and ask them about what we did for them."
So what about his amazing weight gain? Staley credits CMU coaches Jeff Quinn, the Chippewas' associate head coach and offensive line coach, and Paul Longo, CMU's nationally respected strength and conditioning the coach, with helping the transformation. Staley's gained strength the old-fashioned way, through hard work, conditioning and diet, specifically through eating "meat, leaves and berries". It left him with a sculpted body, which impressed scouts and coaches in Mobile, a body with very little body fat and the coaching staff were full of compliments about how he knuckled down to the task, showing "commitment and discipline" to get his body the right way;
"He takes care of his body. That kind of commitment tells you a lot about a kid."
In fact Coach Kelly called Staley the "poster child" for his CMU football program;
"I think Joe Staley, more than anything else, is kind of where we are as a program," Kelly said. "The kids are investing in the program. He was a tight end, we asked him to play tackle, we asked him to go from 245 to 300 pounds and do it the right way. He has done that, and now he's a guy who has a chance to be very successful."
He started all 11 games at LT in 2005 and then attended the senior testing day that I mentioned earlier. A stat from that day that I find fascinating is that Staley ripped 28 reps of 225 on the bench that day, which was one LESS than he did at the Combine. In essence, he really didn’t get any stronger during that year when he knew he was on NFL watch lists and was being talked up as a day 1 pick, especially when he’d added 75lbs of bulk and muscle to his body in 4 years. Has he maxed out physically? At that pro day, Staley's 40-yard time was faster than the times posted by the 42 offensive linemen who ran at the 2006 Combine.
He again started all 11 games as a senior as the team put more of an emphasis on the passing attack in 2006. Staley earned All-Mid American Conference honours while manning the left tackle position. Even though All-MAC offensive linemen Ghiaciuc and Adam Kieft graduated, Staley more than filled the leadership void up front, guiding an offense that ranked No. 22 in the nation in passing (245.93 yards per game) and No. 23 in scoring (29.71 points per game). He even caught one pass, but it was good for a 3-yard loss. He finished his career by starting 39 of 46 games for the Chippewas. He was invited to the Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl and it was in Mobile that he finally had the chance to go up against big time defenders. He did pretty well, described variously as;
"Smooth in his pass protection, but can windup at times."
"Excelled in zone blocking today. Really showed the ability to work his way down the line, hook defenders, and drive them laterally down the field; and overall testament to his athletic ability"
"At times can look like an albatross winding up for takeoff"
"Slides very well in pass protection and the athleticism shown so far this week would make one believe he could easily play the blindside at the next level."
NFL.com’s Pat Kirwan had this to say: "Next stop was the offensive and defensive line drills to see what the big men look like for the 2007 draft. The first man to jump out at me was Joe Staley, a 6-6, 300-pound tackle from Central Michigan. As I walked towards him he reminded me of a young Jon Runyan - a big athlete with a nasty streak. He's strong enough right now, but when he grows into his frame and continues to move away from the tight end body he came to college with, he will be a 10-year starter in this league. Staley's techniques are good and his competitive nature is better."
His interest was piqued and he watched Staley the following day as well:
"Central Michigan left tackle: Staley was adequate on Monday, shaky on Tuesday by his own admission to me and an absolute stud on Wednesday. Defenders bull rushed him, took a few turns at the speed rush and some tried to cross his face. Staley demonstrated movement skills, attitude and, most importantly, the desire to compete. Chase Pittman from LSU was his main competition all day, and he responded in a big way. Staley caught the eye of many coaches."
He departed Mobile as a probable late 1, early 2 and went down to Houston to prepare for the Combine and his pro day, fully intending to do the full range of tests, only to pull his right hamstring and sit out all the agility tests;
"I'm really upset I'm not doing everything at the combine," the Central Michigan left offensive tackle said after weighing in at 305 pounds and 6-foot-5 7/8 inches Thursday. "I really wanted to run here. I wanted to show my athleticism off. I can really run, and I wanted to impress the NFL teams. It was going to be icing on the cake as far as my senior year went."
Considering how so many athletes baulk at the mere mention of a full Combine workout, that’s good to hear. The scouts love that attitude. He conducted 40 interviews in Indianapolis before heading back to Rockford to work out and then stepped up to his pro day to confirm the legend of 2006, turning up in great shape. His vertical and broad jump at 32" and 9'4" are both excellent numbers at 6'6" and 306 pounds. He runs a 4.78, but also a 1.64 at the 10 yard split. His short shuttle he does in 4.40 seconds, which is outstanding for a big man. To put that in perspective, Lorenzo Booker ran his in 4.37. Greg Olsen’s was 4.41. Jarvis Moss's was 4.41. His 3 cone time was even better. At 7.09 seconds, it was as fast as Sidney Rice, Marshawn Lynch, and Adrian Peterson......at 6'6" and 306 pounds. One long-time NFL scout has been quoted as saying that his pro day, including position drills, was the best pro day he has ever seen an offensive lineman have.
Tape:
I watched some more of Staley last night - had only seen him play once (don't get a lot of Central Michigan games out this way) - and whilst I came away mightily impressed with his footwork and his ability to ride and end out because of his foot speed, he seems to me to be a little susceptible to inside moves and his hand placement can be very patchy. What he does do, which I like, is a) flash consistently solid technique and b) understand how to use angles. His base is excellent, really solid, a real technicians base and his kick slide and his understanding of where to be, where to keep the defender on outside moves, is very solid. And he's big in the hips department. He looks like he's heavy with child. That's one hell of a base. He possesses good vision at the 2nd level, but again, inconsistent hands. What you just can't avoid is how quickly he fires off the ball and how well he pulls from LT. He occasionally plays a little high when on the move, IMO, and when you watch a Joe Thomas use his hands down the field and then see a Staley, it’s like night and day and he's really going to need some attention to detail in hand placement and balance when working on the move. The numbers don't lie on tape either; he's very proficient at changing direction, he has good hips and generally keeps a good base. At times I think he gets a little mechanical in his set up, almost as though, because he's still relatively new to the position, that he's working it through his mind. As CK has said elsewhere, he really does have the athletic ability of a Willie Roaf and that’s evident on the tape. He's a quick twitch player, an absolute planet theory type. In pass pro, he has everything that you look for, although I note with caution a couple of points. Firstly that whilst his movement off the ball and his ability to kick and mirror is outstanding, I sense that a canny DE could work that to his advantage by selling him out and then spinning him inside. He's almost too keen on occasion to kick out and I wonder how susceptible he is to inside moves. As a run blocker, he's strong and can drive a guy back, but a lot of his power comes from below his waist and he was matched up against a much smaller Wildcat end. Just how proficient he'll be getting push against the bigger right ends in the game is a question mark. I'd like to see him get stronger, I'm concerned about that inability to lift more, despite the long arms, in a year; I’m concerned he falls into that workout warrior category; and whilst he has outstanding feet and movement ability, I'd be a little frightened in taking him at 9. I really want to se him in the Michigan game and am awaiting a tape, but generally he looked a very fine prospect, but with some clearly defined issues – all workable, in terms of strength and hand technique – and I'd conclude, based on the little film I've seen of him, that 9 might be a tad high for him, although it wouldn't surprise me. With Cam's love of the run game, I'm not certain that year 1 benefits from Staley would be great, especially considering the front office comments about getting a guy who can contribute immediately. As good a feet as I've seen, mind, and a the pulling power and speed of a V8 tractor.
Miami Interest:
Very strong. At least two interviews that we know of, Hudson Houck attending the Chippewa’s Pro Day and plenty of scuttlebutt in the local press that he’s our target at left tackle ahead of more seasoned names such as Levi Brown. But remember, a lot of other teams like him. The Lions have talked extensively with him and even told Staley at the combine he would be the team's pick in round two if Thomas isn't their guy. Things have moved on from there, but the point remains.
LT – Central Michigan
Workout Details:
6-5 7/8, 304 pounds. Ran the 40-yard dash in 4.82. He also had a 32-inch vertical jump, 9-foot-4 long jump, 4.42 short shuttle and 7.09 three-cone drill. 27 reps.
Synopsis:
Staley is a small school left tackle who was highly regarded as an athletic tight end out of Rockford, Michigan. He committed early to Central Michigan – on the final day of the University of Michigan Football Camp in the summer of 2002, weighing a mere 199lbs and measuring 6’4. A track athlete, he ran the 200m at the Division 1 State Championship, recording a time of 21.9 seconds, which is only 2.5 seconds slower than Michael Johnson’s world record. By the middle of his senior year at high school, he had added 25lbs and when he joined Central Michigan in the spring of 2003, as an all state tight end, he weighed 239lbs and when the decision came down from new head coach Brian Kelly to switch him to tackle, after his freshman season at tight end, he was a very disgruntled 255lbs. When he switched to left tackle from the right side, as a junior, he was 6’5 and 271. Replacing Adam Kieft, he put on 25lbs of muscle and dominated at the small school level for two years, really opening the eyes of the scouts at the Chippewa’s Pro Day in 2006 where he amazed onlookers by running a 4.70 at 303lbs. In fact, Staley says that a Falcons senior scout had him electronically timed at 4.67, but apparently told him that he would be better off going with the 4.70 as no-one would believe him that a 300lb man ran a sub 4.7. A very solid senior year set him up as a top 60 pick, but the subsequent work done both at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, on the interview circuit and at the weigh in, in Indianapolis, where he flashed a sculpted body with just 11% body fat, and at his subsequent Pro Day, have him climbing the boards quicker than perhaps any prospect out there. Originally tabbed as a very likely pick for us at #40, it’s now not inconceivable that he’ll come off the board with the 9th overall pick, a meteoric rise.
Background:
Staley attended Rockford High in Rockford, Michigan. He started as a junior and then again as a senior. In between junior and senior years, Staley plumped for Central Michigan. He shared time at the position with Nate Korthuis, Jason Emery, Chris Morris and Dan Marshall. The latter three were all specifically blocking tight ends, but Korthius, who backed up Staley, and Staley himself were the main threats catching the ball. He was a Grand Rapids Press Dream Team member and ranked No. 13 overall prospect by the Detroit Free Press on its Fab 50 squad and No. 49 on the Detroit News Blue Chip list. Advance newspapers added him to its all-area team. The prep tight end caught 24 passes for 559 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior. In track, he set three school records in the 200-meters (21.9), 4x100 (42.5), and 4x200 (1:27) relay teams. He placed sixth in the state in the 200-meters to earn all-state honors, as the team finished fourth in the state finals in the 4x100, fourth in 4x200,and sixth in 4x400 (43.1).
On committing to Central Michigan, which he did after attending a University of Michigan Football Camp, Staley said;
"They offered me a scholarship on the Wednesday of camp, and I committed to them Friday. I committed early so that I could focus on my senior season at Rockford," he added. "I really had Central as my top team from the start. I like their system and facilities, and felt real comfortable with their coaching staff."
What the Chippewa’s were getting in Staley the tight end was a player with great speed and outstanding hands;
"He has really blossomed into an outstanding athlete," Rockford football coach Ralph Munger said of Staley. "He has the ability to run, and he has very soft hands - he has excellent hands for a receiver. Plus he is very coachable, and that had to weigh in to (Central head coach Mike) DeBord's decision to get him committed in the early signing period."
Staley was accused locally of committing too early and not waiting for offers from bigger schools, including the interested Wolverines. But he stood on his decision, claiming that having committed would actually help and not hinder him, so that he wasn't worried about the recruiting process, wouldn’t be inundated with calls and letters and home visits and that he could simply concentrate on his football. During that senior year, he was instrumental in the teams’ 9-0 record, catching the game winning 61 yard touchdown pass from Andrew Wertz to beat Conchitas and making a season high 5-158 and 2 scores against neighbouring Portwood.
He left Rockwood as a senior and attended the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association East West All-Star Game at Spartan Stadium, where he impressed the watching coaches with his dedication to working out, to lifting and his precision route running and athleticism. He even played part of the game at WR. The plan on attending CMU was to redshirt him, allowing him to continue to muscle up and add weight;
"I really want to contribute. I know I have a lot of work ahead of me because I know the intensity level in college is a couple of levels up. I am excited to get going."
But the plan failed. He and diminutive halfback Jerry Seymour ended up playing. Coach DeBord justified his reasons to play Staley as;
"Joe is a big-time football player. He's got great speed and can catch the ball. I'm glad he's going to be with us for the next four years. I've coached a lot of tight ends when I was at Michigan and this kid is the fastest guy [at the position] I’ve ever been around. We just had to get him playing."
But at the end of Staley’s freshman year, where he caught 11 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown at a ridiculously healthy 26 yards a catch average, DeBord was fired and new head coach Brian Kelly brought his spread offense to the Chippewa’s and, seeing that one of his finest athletes, albeit one that was gaining weight quickly, was set to play a very marginal role in his plans, decided to shift him to the offensive line. He was told to strive for two things - all-conference status and a big gut, according to team-mate Adam Kieft, now with the Bengals;
"He's not quite a BUB yet, because he hasn't gotten fat yet. BUB stands for Big Ugly Bellies, and he doesn't really have one yet. That's a long standing tradition here that's older than me."
Immediately pencilled in as the starting RT, Staley admitted he was less than enthusiastic to find out the Central Michigan football coaching staff wanted him to change positions;
"When the coaches told me I was moving to offensive tackle I was a little upset. At first I was a little down, because when they told me I was switching I weighed only about 250 pounds, but they said that I would put some weight on in the off-season and that has worked out. I’ve added 25 pounds of muscle, and I’m now 6-foot-5, 275 pounds."
But Kelly was thrilled with his play and when Kieft graduated, Staley, a natural because of his athleticism, was switched to the left side, after 11 starts on the right.
"He's going to make lots of money as an offensive tackle in the NFL," Kelly said. "There's not many guys like him on any level. Tight ends are a dime a dozen, but left tackles that do what he does, there's a market for them." Kelly needed to do some serious convincing for Staley to embrace the change. "I told him, 'Look, you've got to trust me on this,' " Kelly said. "It was difficult, but I was able to pull on some past success with some other (Grand Valley) players from Rockford. I told him to go ahead and call Dan and Tom Hosford, and ask them about what we did for them."
So what about his amazing weight gain? Staley credits CMU coaches Jeff Quinn, the Chippewas' associate head coach and offensive line coach, and Paul Longo, CMU's nationally respected strength and conditioning the coach, with helping the transformation. Staley's gained strength the old-fashioned way, through hard work, conditioning and diet, specifically through eating "meat, leaves and berries". It left him with a sculpted body, which impressed scouts and coaches in Mobile, a body with very little body fat and the coaching staff were full of compliments about how he knuckled down to the task, showing "commitment and discipline" to get his body the right way;
"He takes care of his body. That kind of commitment tells you a lot about a kid."
In fact Coach Kelly called Staley the "poster child" for his CMU football program;
"I think Joe Staley, more than anything else, is kind of where we are as a program," Kelly said. "The kids are investing in the program. He was a tight end, we asked him to play tackle, we asked him to go from 245 to 300 pounds and do it the right way. He has done that, and now he's a guy who has a chance to be very successful."
He started all 11 games at LT in 2005 and then attended the senior testing day that I mentioned earlier. A stat from that day that I find fascinating is that Staley ripped 28 reps of 225 on the bench that day, which was one LESS than he did at the Combine. In essence, he really didn’t get any stronger during that year when he knew he was on NFL watch lists and was being talked up as a day 1 pick, especially when he’d added 75lbs of bulk and muscle to his body in 4 years. Has he maxed out physically? At that pro day, Staley's 40-yard time was faster than the times posted by the 42 offensive linemen who ran at the 2006 Combine.
He again started all 11 games as a senior as the team put more of an emphasis on the passing attack in 2006. Staley earned All-Mid American Conference honours while manning the left tackle position. Even though All-MAC offensive linemen Ghiaciuc and Adam Kieft graduated, Staley more than filled the leadership void up front, guiding an offense that ranked No. 22 in the nation in passing (245.93 yards per game) and No. 23 in scoring (29.71 points per game). He even caught one pass, but it was good for a 3-yard loss. He finished his career by starting 39 of 46 games for the Chippewas. He was invited to the Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl and it was in Mobile that he finally had the chance to go up against big time defenders. He did pretty well, described variously as;
"Smooth in his pass protection, but can windup at times."
"Excelled in zone blocking today. Really showed the ability to work his way down the line, hook defenders, and drive them laterally down the field; and overall testament to his athletic ability"
"At times can look like an albatross winding up for takeoff"
"Slides very well in pass protection and the athleticism shown so far this week would make one believe he could easily play the blindside at the next level."
NFL.com’s Pat Kirwan had this to say: "Next stop was the offensive and defensive line drills to see what the big men look like for the 2007 draft. The first man to jump out at me was Joe Staley, a 6-6, 300-pound tackle from Central Michigan. As I walked towards him he reminded me of a young Jon Runyan - a big athlete with a nasty streak. He's strong enough right now, but when he grows into his frame and continues to move away from the tight end body he came to college with, he will be a 10-year starter in this league. Staley's techniques are good and his competitive nature is better."
His interest was piqued and he watched Staley the following day as well:
"Central Michigan left tackle: Staley was adequate on Monday, shaky on Tuesday by his own admission to me and an absolute stud on Wednesday. Defenders bull rushed him, took a few turns at the speed rush and some tried to cross his face. Staley demonstrated movement skills, attitude and, most importantly, the desire to compete. Chase Pittman from LSU was his main competition all day, and he responded in a big way. Staley caught the eye of many coaches."
He departed Mobile as a probable late 1, early 2 and went down to Houston to prepare for the Combine and his pro day, fully intending to do the full range of tests, only to pull his right hamstring and sit out all the agility tests;
"I'm really upset I'm not doing everything at the combine," the Central Michigan left offensive tackle said after weighing in at 305 pounds and 6-foot-5 7/8 inches Thursday. "I really wanted to run here. I wanted to show my athleticism off. I can really run, and I wanted to impress the NFL teams. It was going to be icing on the cake as far as my senior year went."
Considering how so many athletes baulk at the mere mention of a full Combine workout, that’s good to hear. The scouts love that attitude. He conducted 40 interviews in Indianapolis before heading back to Rockford to work out and then stepped up to his pro day to confirm the legend of 2006, turning up in great shape. His vertical and broad jump at 32" and 9'4" are both excellent numbers at 6'6" and 306 pounds. He runs a 4.78, but also a 1.64 at the 10 yard split. His short shuttle he does in 4.40 seconds, which is outstanding for a big man. To put that in perspective, Lorenzo Booker ran his in 4.37. Greg Olsen’s was 4.41. Jarvis Moss's was 4.41. His 3 cone time was even better. At 7.09 seconds, it was as fast as Sidney Rice, Marshawn Lynch, and Adrian Peterson......at 6'6" and 306 pounds. One long-time NFL scout has been quoted as saying that his pro day, including position drills, was the best pro day he has ever seen an offensive lineman have.
Tape:
I watched some more of Staley last night - had only seen him play once (don't get a lot of Central Michigan games out this way) - and whilst I came away mightily impressed with his footwork and his ability to ride and end out because of his foot speed, he seems to me to be a little susceptible to inside moves and his hand placement can be very patchy. What he does do, which I like, is a) flash consistently solid technique and b) understand how to use angles. His base is excellent, really solid, a real technicians base and his kick slide and his understanding of where to be, where to keep the defender on outside moves, is very solid. And he's big in the hips department. He looks like he's heavy with child. That's one hell of a base. He possesses good vision at the 2nd level, but again, inconsistent hands. What you just can't avoid is how quickly he fires off the ball and how well he pulls from LT. He occasionally plays a little high when on the move, IMO, and when you watch a Joe Thomas use his hands down the field and then see a Staley, it’s like night and day and he's really going to need some attention to detail in hand placement and balance when working on the move. The numbers don't lie on tape either; he's very proficient at changing direction, he has good hips and generally keeps a good base. At times I think he gets a little mechanical in his set up, almost as though, because he's still relatively new to the position, that he's working it through his mind. As CK has said elsewhere, he really does have the athletic ability of a Willie Roaf and that’s evident on the tape. He's a quick twitch player, an absolute planet theory type. In pass pro, he has everything that you look for, although I note with caution a couple of points. Firstly that whilst his movement off the ball and his ability to kick and mirror is outstanding, I sense that a canny DE could work that to his advantage by selling him out and then spinning him inside. He's almost too keen on occasion to kick out and I wonder how susceptible he is to inside moves. As a run blocker, he's strong and can drive a guy back, but a lot of his power comes from below his waist and he was matched up against a much smaller Wildcat end. Just how proficient he'll be getting push against the bigger right ends in the game is a question mark. I'd like to see him get stronger, I'm concerned about that inability to lift more, despite the long arms, in a year; I’m concerned he falls into that workout warrior category; and whilst he has outstanding feet and movement ability, I'd be a little frightened in taking him at 9. I really want to se him in the Michigan game and am awaiting a tape, but generally he looked a very fine prospect, but with some clearly defined issues – all workable, in terms of strength and hand technique – and I'd conclude, based on the little film I've seen of him, that 9 might be a tad high for him, although it wouldn't surprise me. With Cam's love of the run game, I'm not certain that year 1 benefits from Staley would be great, especially considering the front office comments about getting a guy who can contribute immediately. As good a feet as I've seen, mind, and a the pulling power and speed of a V8 tractor.
Miami Interest:
Very strong. At least two interviews that we know of, Hudson Houck attending the Chippewa’s Pro Day and plenty of scuttlebutt in the local press that he’s our target at left tackle ahead of more seasoned names such as Levi Brown. But remember, a lot of other teams like him. The Lions have talked extensively with him and even told Staley at the combine he would be the team's pick in round two if Thomas isn't their guy. Things have moved on from there, but the point remains.
