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Prospects to Watch, And why Omar Jacobs is Overrated
These are prospects that have been especially impressive IMO (EDIT: this is not a ranking of prospects of any sort; just some random players who have impressed me)
QB - Jay Cutler - Vandy
QB - Brodie Croyle - Alabama; has ideal mechanics and one of the strongest arms in college football
QB - Charlie Whitehurst - Clemson; needs to learn how to manage the game better for the NFL as he's not effiecient in making reads, but physical skills are amazing
QB - Darell Hackney - UAB; has an absolute cannon and very tough. from what i've read, he is an undrafted FA type right now, but i'd bet that he'll get drafted. i think he'll surprise people
RB - DeAngelo Williams - Memphis; best Sr. RB in the nation
RB - P.J. Daniels - GT; he will run you over as many know, but what many underestimate is he ability to juke u out of your shoes; although he's not built like Steven Jackson at all, he reminds me of him with his combination of power and quick feet; i think this guy will surprise many in the NFL (EDIT: I'm not saying Steven Jackson and PJ Daniels run similarly, cause IMO they're far from similar in terms of running style. just saying they're both somewhat unique with their combination of power and quick feet)
WR - Jason Avant - Michigan
TE - Matt Herian - Nebraska
OT - Marcus McNeil - Auburn; many already know this guy is amazing, but i think he's the best lineman in the natoin - better than D'brick Ferguson (but nothing against Ferguson). In all the plays I've watched him this year and last, i;ve never seen him miss his assignment, except for when he goes downfield to block, an area which he can improve upon. for his size, he moves unbelievably well
OT - Andrew Whitworth - LSU; extremely physical
OT - Daryn Colledge - Boise St
DE - Darryl Tapp - VaTech; very powerful. although he's undersized he's a very solid run supporter but he's known as a pass-rusher
DE - Elvis Dumerville - Louisville; his lack of height will hurt his draft staus, but this guy's obviously a true football player. even though he's small he can still run both through and around lineman
DT- Larry Dibbles - Texas; more physical than teammate DT Rodrique Wright. IMO will be a solid NFL DT. he's an undersized overachiever
DT - Jesse Mahelona - Tennessee
LB - Demeco Ryans - Alabama
LB - Will Derting - Wash St
CB/S - Jason Allen
Underclassmen:
QB - Chris Leak - Florida (2007)
RB - Reggie Bush - USC (2007); enough said
RB - Lorenzo Booker - Fla St
WR - James Banks - transfer from Tenn to Carson-Newman (2007); had problems as a teammate on Tennesse, but his raw talent is impressive; 2 years ago, he was Tennessee's leading WR
DT/DE - Ray McDonald - Florida (2007); this guy's inconsistent, but sometimes he just blows up plays that makes you say wow. He can move real well for DT or DE, and can add weight if needed. he just got injured this past week i think
DE - Loren Howard - transfer from NWestrn to AZ St (2007); injuries have bothered him but when healthy, i think he's the best DE in college football. His intensity is like that of Matt Roth, but what truly separates him is his combinatoin of quickness and raw power
LB - Ahamd Brooks - Virginia (2007); will most likely be a high 1st-rd pick this year
LB - Philip Wheeler - GT (2008); this guy right now as a sophomore is unkown to many, but in 2 years he will be one of the top LB prospects in the nation. he's extremely explosive
LB - Nick Roach - Northwestern (2007); very athletic and when Sr ILB Adam Kadela leaves, Roach will begin to get the deserving attention
Overrated Players:
DE - Eric Henderson - GaTech; this guy is small, not that quick, and is often taken out of the play real early as he can't disengage when lineman get their hands on him. he is a tough player though
QB - Omar Jacobs - Bowling Green; i've never seen a more overhyped small-school QB than Omar Jacobs. The guy is well-built for his position and he's obviously an effective college QB. But beyond that he is far from special. The hype around this kid results completely from him being a product of his spread offense, QB-friendly system and his charisma on the field.
If you watch him play, he is not too accurate, his timing is not necessarily impressive (he way too often underthrows the deep ball for an elite QB prospect, or he throws a little behind his target), and his arm (to some people's surprise) is really not that strong at all.
Jacobs falls into the category of Timmy Chang, BJ Symons, Josh Harris (former Bowling Green QB), etc. All these guys were extremely effective college QB's b/c of their system who lacked NFL ability. In fact, do u guys remember 6'3, 238 lb. Josh Harris from a few years ago? remember how high some people were on this kid? His Sr year he threw for over 3,800 yds, rushed for 830 yds, completed 66% of his passes, 27 TD's and 12 ints. He was a late-rd draft pick. Now, quietly, he is out of the NFL.
While Jacobs obviously has impressive statistics, this does not mean that much. It can be deceiving. For example, for anyone who saw the Bowling Green vs Boise St game, Boise St.'s defense made Jacobs look extremely unimpressive. Jacobs forced way too many passes. He telegraphed his throws and obviously had a hard time checking down his reads against Boise St's zone D. He threw into traffic way too often. Overall, he played a very bad game. Yet, if you look at his stats from that game, they're pretty impressive: 18-36, 220 yds, 3 TD's, 0 ints. But, anyone who watched the game knows Jacobs' stats here don't reflect the true game he played as he played much worse than his stats would indicate.
Lastly, (and i saved this for last b/c to some people it's not important at all) his release is maybe the most unorthodox i've ever seen for a supposed Heisman-contender/NFL QB prospect. It's extremely long and inefficient. Not to mention, he practicly releases the ball on his shoulder, increasing the chance for the ball to be batted down at the line.
But, anyway, completely disregarding his atrocious release, he does not have much upside for the NFL. I have read that he can be a 1st rd draft pick next year if not his year, but i wholeheartedly disagree. In fact, whether he goes to the draft this year or next, he should not be a 1st-day pick. I expect his stock to fall during pre-draft workouts, etc. and i would be surprised if he is anything other than a late-rd pick.
These are prospects that have been especially impressive IMO (EDIT: this is not a ranking of prospects of any sort; just some random players who have impressed me)
QB - Jay Cutler - Vandy
QB - Brodie Croyle - Alabama; has ideal mechanics and one of the strongest arms in college football
QB - Charlie Whitehurst - Clemson; needs to learn how to manage the game better for the NFL as he's not effiecient in making reads, but physical skills are amazing
QB - Darell Hackney - UAB; has an absolute cannon and very tough. from what i've read, he is an undrafted FA type right now, but i'd bet that he'll get drafted. i think he'll surprise people
RB - DeAngelo Williams - Memphis; best Sr. RB in the nation
RB - P.J. Daniels - GT; he will run you over as many know, but what many underestimate is he ability to juke u out of your shoes; although he's not built like Steven Jackson at all, he reminds me of him with his combination of power and quick feet; i think this guy will surprise many in the NFL (EDIT: I'm not saying Steven Jackson and PJ Daniels run similarly, cause IMO they're far from similar in terms of running style. just saying they're both somewhat unique with their combination of power and quick feet)
WR - Jason Avant - Michigan
TE - Matt Herian - Nebraska
OT - Marcus McNeil - Auburn; many already know this guy is amazing, but i think he's the best lineman in the natoin - better than D'brick Ferguson (but nothing against Ferguson). In all the plays I've watched him this year and last, i;ve never seen him miss his assignment, except for when he goes downfield to block, an area which he can improve upon. for his size, he moves unbelievably well
OT - Andrew Whitworth - LSU; extremely physical
OT - Daryn Colledge - Boise St
DE - Darryl Tapp - VaTech; very powerful. although he's undersized he's a very solid run supporter but he's known as a pass-rusher
DE - Elvis Dumerville - Louisville; his lack of height will hurt his draft staus, but this guy's obviously a true football player. even though he's small he can still run both through and around lineman
DT- Larry Dibbles - Texas; more physical than teammate DT Rodrique Wright. IMO will be a solid NFL DT. he's an undersized overachiever
DT - Jesse Mahelona - Tennessee
LB - Demeco Ryans - Alabama
LB - Will Derting - Wash St
CB/S - Jason Allen
Underclassmen:
QB - Chris Leak - Florida (2007)
RB - Reggie Bush - USC (2007); enough said
RB - Lorenzo Booker - Fla St
WR - James Banks - transfer from Tenn to Carson-Newman (2007); had problems as a teammate on Tennesse, but his raw talent is impressive; 2 years ago, he was Tennessee's leading WR
DT/DE - Ray McDonald - Florida (2007); this guy's inconsistent, but sometimes he just blows up plays that makes you say wow. He can move real well for DT or DE, and can add weight if needed. he just got injured this past week i think
DE - Loren Howard - transfer from NWestrn to AZ St (2007); injuries have bothered him but when healthy, i think he's the best DE in college football. His intensity is like that of Matt Roth, but what truly separates him is his combinatoin of quickness and raw power
LB - Ahamd Brooks - Virginia (2007); will most likely be a high 1st-rd pick this year
LB - Philip Wheeler - GT (2008); this guy right now as a sophomore is unkown to many, but in 2 years he will be one of the top LB prospects in the nation. he's extremely explosive
LB - Nick Roach - Northwestern (2007); very athletic and when Sr ILB Adam Kadela leaves, Roach will begin to get the deserving attention
Overrated Players:
DE - Eric Henderson - GaTech; this guy is small, not that quick, and is often taken out of the play real early as he can't disengage when lineman get their hands on him. he is a tough player though
QB - Omar Jacobs - Bowling Green; i've never seen a more overhyped small-school QB than Omar Jacobs. The guy is well-built for his position and he's obviously an effective college QB. But beyond that he is far from special. The hype around this kid results completely from him being a product of his spread offense, QB-friendly system and his charisma on the field.
If you watch him play, he is not too accurate, his timing is not necessarily impressive (he way too often underthrows the deep ball for an elite QB prospect, or he throws a little behind his target), and his arm (to some people's surprise) is really not that strong at all.
Jacobs falls into the category of Timmy Chang, BJ Symons, Josh Harris (former Bowling Green QB), etc. All these guys were extremely effective college QB's b/c of their system who lacked NFL ability. In fact, do u guys remember 6'3, 238 lb. Josh Harris from a few years ago? remember how high some people were on this kid? His Sr year he threw for over 3,800 yds, rushed for 830 yds, completed 66% of his passes, 27 TD's and 12 ints. He was a late-rd draft pick. Now, quietly, he is out of the NFL.
While Jacobs obviously has impressive statistics, this does not mean that much. It can be deceiving. For example, for anyone who saw the Bowling Green vs Boise St game, Boise St.'s defense made Jacobs look extremely unimpressive. Jacobs forced way too many passes. He telegraphed his throws and obviously had a hard time checking down his reads against Boise St's zone D. He threw into traffic way too often. Overall, he played a very bad game. Yet, if you look at his stats from that game, they're pretty impressive: 18-36, 220 yds, 3 TD's, 0 ints. But, anyone who watched the game knows Jacobs' stats here don't reflect the true game he played as he played much worse than his stats would indicate.
Lastly, (and i saved this for last b/c to some people it's not important at all) his release is maybe the most unorthodox i've ever seen for a supposed Heisman-contender/NFL QB prospect. It's extremely long and inefficient. Not to mention, he practicly releases the ball on his shoulder, increasing the chance for the ball to be batted down at the line.
But, anyway, completely disregarding his atrocious release, he does not have much upside for the NFL. I have read that he can be a 1st rd draft pick next year if not his year, but i wholeheartedly disagree. In fact, whether he goes to the draft this year or next, he should not be a 1st-day pick. I expect his stock to fall during pre-draft workouts, etc. and i would be surprised if he is anything other than a late-rd pick.
:shakeno:
