Year: 2012

Oklahoma/Texas Tech

stevenlourie Uncategorized

Spotlight #1: Oklahoma DE Ronnell Lewis

Spotlight #2: Oklahoma TE James Hanna 

1st quarter

13:32: Ryan Broyles with good hustle with a run block on a long run. James Hanna with a good job blocking to open the initial hole.

12:40: Lewis doesn’t go down on a cut block, gets pressure, forces the throw.

11:34: Lewis was one of several closing on the quarterback, forcing a quick throw.

8:18: Lewis has a guy blow past him on a long run. He needs to close quicker.

6:46: Hanna with a good pass block.

0:36: Hanna allows a pressure in pass protection.

2nd quarter

14:13: Lewis not fooled by a trick play, tackle for loss.

12:07: Lewis disengages and falls on a guy who already slipped.

10:57: Broyles fumbles. This is the 2nd straight week he’s done that.

9:07: Lewis is one of several who hits the quarterback as he throws, forcing intentional grounding. Lewis was slow off the snap, but rebounded.

6:40: Lewis explodes in for a tackle for loss on a slow developing play.

6:02: Lewis gets a hand in the quarterback’s face.

3:20: Lewis unblocked on a tackle for no gain, dragged a yard or two and could have been a tackle for loss.

 

3rd quarter

11:12: Hanna struggles in pass protection, gets one on one assignments and needs help.

8:14: Lewis throws his man, gets into the backfield on 4th and 1 in Texas Tech field goal range. Tackle for loss, no conversion. He gets the first hit and brings him down.

7:31: Landry Jones under pressure, throws an off balanced throw, picked off.

0:08: Hanna starts out blocking, disengages, runs a route, catches one open short, powers forward a through a defender for the first down.

4th quarter

12:12: Lewis gets a hand in the quarterback’s face, forces quicker release.

11:21: Jones almost has another pick under pressure.

10:03: Lewis helps Frank Alexander on a sack and a near forced fumble, quarterback was down first.

7:10: Hanna can’t hold onto one after a hit against tight double coverage.

1:19: Hanna makes a tough catch for a good chunk of yardage, laying out for it.

1:10: Hanna in the seam, catches a touchdown for 22 yards. Ryan Broyles flagged for unnecessary roughness after the touchdown for retaliating.

0:00: This game was Oklahoma’s first loss and a huge upset, considering Texas Tech was unranked at the time and undefeated Oklahoma was a legitimate National Championship contender. As you can expect, Landry Jones didn’t play well. He was 30 of 55 for 412 yards, 5 touchdowns, and a pick. Not awful, but not as good as he had been and not good enough to win.

Jones didn’t have a lot of help. He was under pressure a lot and really didn’t respond to the pressure well, throwing one off balance pick and almost a 2nd. His receivers also dropped a lot of passes, including the normally sure handed Ryan Broyles. Broyles dropped 2 passes and also fumbled for the 2nd week in a row. He also had an unnecessary roughness penalty in a key time. He also had a great run block and 7 catches for 84 yards, but that was one of his lowest yardage totals of the last 2 years and not great considering Oklahoma threw 55 times. Broyles is still underrated in my book, but this game was very uncharacteristic for him.

Another receiver who dropped a pass for Jones was James Hanna. Hanna was targeted 4 times and he wasn’t targeted at all until the 2nd half. He dropped one of those targeted, but it was a tough catch against double coverage. He also made up for it with an amazing catch where he laid out for a big gain. He also had a 22 yard touchdown and a short catch that he took for a first down with a powerful run after. It wasn’t the best receiving day with 3 catches for 49 yards and a score, considering how much Oklahoma passed, but he showed some promise as a receiver. On the season, he had 25 catches for 363 yards and 2 touchdowns. This is after 18 catches for 292 yards and 7 touchdowns last year. Considering the offense he’s in, those numbers aren’t great, but he has some upside as a receiver.

As a blocker, there was some good and bad. He started out really well in both run and pass blocking, but declined as the game went on in both phases of the game. At 6-4 243, he’s not the biggest guy and he needs to add more functional strength and become a better blocker at the next level. He could get drafted late as an h-back or pass catching tight end.

Defensively, both of Oklahoma’s defensive ends had good games and got consistent pressure. Frank Alexander once again looked better than Ronnell Lewis. Alexander is about 15 pounds bigger and has been a better pass rusher this season, consistently getting more pressure against a tougher matchup (he’s normally the right end, taking on left tackles). His stats are also better. On the season, Alexander had 51 tackles, 18 for loss, and 8.5 sacks. He absolutely abused Andrew Datko earlier this season. Datko was a first round pick potentially before he got hurt. Lewis has 60 tackles, 13 for loss, and 5.5 sacks, though he’s missed 2 games with injury, but that should hurt his draft stock as well.

Alexander looks like an early 2nd round pick, while Lewis is a 2nd or 3rd rounder, a fringe guy. He’s probably a 3-4 guy solely as a rush linebacker at 6-4 243, but he could also play 4-3 outside linebacker, which he also played in college. He got a good game, but not as good as Alexander, and really looked slow off the snap at point. He doesn’t have the quickest first step and I wonder how he’d do against left tackles.

 

Oklahoma/Texas

stevenlourie Uncategorized

Spotlight #1: Oklahoma QB Landry Jones

Spotlight #2: Oklahoma OLB Travis Lewis 

1st quarter

14:42: On the first play of the game from scrimmage, Jones goes deep and completes it to Broyles for 40 yards. Great run after the catch by Broyles too.

13:51: Jones completes it for 10.

13:28: Jones completes it for another 14. He’s really moving the ball well early, but he hasn’t made an amazing throws yet.

12:28: Jones on a 4 yard slant to Kenny Stills on 2nd and 13.

12:17: Jones throws an inaccurate fade to a well covered man. Not the best decision.

10:45: Lewis drops in coverage with a tight end and covers him well.

10:21: Lewis takes a bad angle on an outside run and doesn’t show a lot of effort after getting blocked.

9:26: Jones under pressure, takes a hit, and just throws the ball away. Good strength getting that one off.

9:20: Jones to Stills for a short gain, Stills is able to get a few more on a nice spin off. 3rd and 2 now.

8:46: Jones audibles, moves a man over the left and then hits him wide open on 3rd and 2 for the first.

8:22: Jones short to Stills, complete.

7:13: Jones flushed from the pocket under pressure and he has to throw it away, incomplete out of the back of the end zone. Oklahoma will settle for a field goal again.

7:02: Lewis covers a short man.

6:35: Lewis takes a good angle on an outside run and gets in on the tackle.

5:02: Lewis tackles a receiver on the outside after a big gain on a pass to the flat.

4:32: Lewis has a tackle broken. It wasn’t really poor tackling, but the running back is so strong.

1:59: Jones throws deep to a double teamed Ryan Broyles, who Texas is using bracket coverage on. Jones overthrew it anyway.

1:52: Jones goes short this time to an open man, who is able to get the first after the catch.

1:20: Jones fakes the handoff to the running back and then hits the running back open in space for a nice pickup and a first down.

0:11: Jones throws a touchdown, but it’s called back on an illegal formation.

2nd quarter

14:56: Jones pump fakes to a screen, defensive back bites just enough for a man to get wide open in the end zone and Jones hits him, touchdown.

13:52: Tony Jefferson with his 4th interception in just over a game. The sophomore is a future top safety prospect and playing like it.

12:41: Jones on 1st and 25 with a miscommunication with his receiver and an ugly incompletion.

12:37: Jones incomplete out of bounds.

12:33: Wow. Jones on 3rd and 25 throws a perfect spiral and he gets the first deep. This wasn’t a great play after catch by his receiver or anything, this was all throw by Jones on an NFL type play, 4 deep routes against man coverage.

11:48: Jones throws the fade to Kenny Stills, who catches it at its apex, but he’s not able to hang onto it. Tough catch, tough throw.

11:43: Jones redeems himself this time with a throw to Ryan Broyles in the front corner of the end zone. Broyles, another potential high pick, had great position and does a great job and going low for the ball and keeping it in the end zone.

9:24: Jones has a pass dropped by Stills and batted up in the air and almost intercepted. This should have been a catch.

9:17: Jones throws it short on first down.

8:59: Jones checks down to the back, who takes it for a fresh set of downs.

8:49: Jones under pressure, throws against his body off his back foot for a screen that goes for 20 yards.

8:32: Jones throws into tight coverage, hits the receiver in the hands, but the hit after catch knocks the ball out. Jones’ mechanics and accuracy are awesome.

8:28: Jones under pressure throws a very inaccurate ball out of bounds. It looked like he was trying to set up a check down, but panicked and completely overthrew him.

8:01: Jones under pressure, sacked, goes down very easily on this one.

6:13: Jones underthrows a guy on a medium to deep route.

4:53: Lewis with great closing speed on a tackle, but he isn’t able to bring him down himself. He does enough to slow him up for someone else to tackle him for a short gain on a play that could have been a lot more without Lewis’ speed.

2:29: Jones with a completion on a short slant. He throws a lot of short stuff, but he’s been impressive on intermediate and deep routes as well and he’s shown great accuracy and footwork.

1:08: Jones dumps off under pressure and the receiver is able to take the ball, make some moves, and get some big yards.

0:45: Jones deep to Ryan Broyles.

0:31: Jones to Stills on a fade in the corner of the end zone. Jones has 305 yards and it’s not even halftime. More importantly, he’s spreading the ball around. He’s got great receivers, but he’s making them look better and not locking onto targets.

3rd quarter

14:41: Lewis in on a tackle again.

13:35: Lewis with a quarterback pressure on a blitz on a play in which the quarterback fumbles for 6 points for Oklahoma.

11:48: Jones throws to the back in the flat, but it doesn’t go anywhere.

11:26: Jones not on the same page with Stills deep and it’s overthrown and closer to a Longhorn than anyone.

11:20: Jones on 3rd and 21, makes a nice completion, but it’s short of the sticks. Smart, safe move with a 41-10 lead.

1:39: Jones complete against the sideline to yet another new receiver. He’s completed passes to 9 different receivers tonight.

1:10: Jones complete underneath. They’re not holding back. They’re going to let him keep throwing.

0:46: Broyles with the completion short from Jones.

0:16: Jones goes deep and could have had a completion if it wasn’t for a pass interference penalty, thought it might have been a bit overthrown anyway. Jones throws a pretty spiral deep.

4th quarter

14:30: Jones puts one in a decent spot, a little high, on a deep throw, but it’s off the receivers’ hands.

14:11: Jones completes one on 3rd and 4 near the sideline for a first.

14:08: Jones has a ball batted down at the line.

13:16: Jones incomplete deep to a well covered Ryan Broyles.

12:30: Lewis takes a poor angle to the ball carrier. He heads up field, but if he had continued to the sideline, he could have gotten a tackle and made the gain a lot shorter.

9:16: Lewis in on a tackle far from the line of scrimmage.

6:39: Landry Jones has been pulled with a 55-10 lead.

0:00: I will be revisiting Matt Barkley next week, but for now, I’d say Landry Jones is better than him. Jones doesn’t have the strongest arm, but he has good arm strength and excellent accuracy and footwork. He doesn’t go deep a lot, but when he does, he looks good on deep and intermediate routes. He throws a lot of short stuff in Oklahoma’s system, but he’s not just a short stuff guy. He has great receivers around him, but he makes them look better and he spreads the ball really well. Despite not finishing this game in a huge blowout, Jones went 31 of 50 for 367 yards and 3 touchdowns and he had over 300 yards at halftime, when this game was already over basically. I’d say Jones looks better than Sam Bradford did in his junior year at Oklahoma.

As for Travis Lewis, he flashed at times with great speed and excellent closing speed, but his motor and the angles he takes towards the ball carrier aren’t great. He has great stats and showed great toughness coming back from a broken foot so fast and he looked very healthy in this game. He’s a bit undersized, but he drops into coverage extremely well. He can stay on the field on all 3 downs and do a little bit of everything, but discipline is a weakness for this first round caliber player.

Oklahoma State/Texas A&M

stevenlourie Uncategorized

Spotlight #1: Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon 

Spotlight #2: Texas A&M WR Jeff Fuller 

1st quarter

14:11: Jeff Fuller is targeted for the first time tonight. Ryan Tannehill’s pass sails on him. No chance for Fuller. Fuller is tall, but not that tall.

11:30: Blackmon drops a pass on the sideline. He needs to make that catch.

11:23: Blackmon holds on to this one. Catch short in coverage. Blanketed and can’t make the first. 3rd and 1.

11:02: Blackmon catches the ball on the flat and runs for the first down.

4:55: Blackmon is getting pissed at his quarterback for not getting him the ball.

3:03: Not Jeff Fuller, but Ryan Swope is another junior receiver for Texas A&M. The slot receiver had as many catches as Fuller did last year, 72, and he leads the team this year with 14 in 2 games. He’s got 2 catches tonight, both out of the slot, and shows nice moves in the open field. He could be someone to watch in the future.

2:49: Fuller drops a pass now. This one was bad.

0:50: Blackmon gets the target this time, but quarterback Brandon Weeden makes a bad decision throwing to him. Blackmon is double covered and completely blanketed. No chance and almost picked. Bad on Blackmon for not being able to get separation here. The cornerback ran with him the whole time.

2nd quarter

13:06: Ryan Swope again with the catch. Jeff Fuller isn’t doing anything, but Swope is.

12:45: Fuller targeted, unable to come up with the catch. It would have been a tough catch, but he should have made that, even with a guy breathing down his neck.

11:11: Swope with his 4th catch of the game.  He’s been Texas A&M’s best receiver tonight, by far, over Jeff Fuller. He’s been getting open underneath and showing soft hands.

10:34: Fuller finally does something. He goes over the middle and makes a big touchdown catch. He attacks the football with a defender on him and snatches the ball out of there. Excellent catch. 17 yard touchdown.

10:22: Blackmon does something. Weeden with perfect timing with Blackmon on a slant. Weeden threads the ball between two defenders perfectly and Blackmon shows his speed on the run after catch. 20 yard catch for Blackmon.

7:15: Fuller catches the ball on a curl route, but accidentally steps out of bounds before he can go anywhere with the ball.

6:20: Tannehill looking for Fuller, but the ball is inaccurate out of bounds. No chance for him.

1:08: Weeden finds Justin Blackmon down field matched up with a safety over the middle of the field for a pretty big gain.

 

3rd quarter

14:52: Blackmon with the poor effort on an outside run block, just lets his man get free to tackle the ball carrier on a sweep play.

14:27: Blackmon targeted, but unable to come up with the ball. He wasn’t open against double coverage. He did give it his best effort, but it was a very tough ball to catch.

13:37: Blackmon much better on this outside run block, keeps his man sealed off inside to open an outside seam for the runner.

11:13: Jeff Fuller catches a first down dump off for 6 yards.

9:15: Blackmon catches the ball over the middle of the field against loose man-to-man coverage. When he’s been single covered tonight, he’s burned them. However, Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator has done an amazing job of making Blackmon a relative non-factor with double coverages. He has 5 catches for 69 yards.

7:33: Justin Blackmon catches a touchdown in the front corner of the end zone. Nice job catching it and staying in bounds, but he doesn’t bring the ball to his chest after catching it. He leaves it out and it gets knocked out, out of bounds when he’s hit. Poor fundamentals there. Still a nice touchdown grab.

6:09: Blackmon cuts across the field and gets open for a short catch followed by a nice run for a first down. He’s a very physical runner.

5:12: Blackmon catches it in the flat, avoids a couple tackles, and almost gets the first on 1st and 10. The ball was thrown high by Weeden and Blackmon had to go up and get it.

3:12: Jeff Fuller and a defensive back both catch the ball and the defensive back rips the ball out of his hands for the interception. If you’re the receiver there, you have to come up with that ball. You don’t let the defensive back steal it out of your hands.

2:59: Blackmon catches it over the middle of the field and then runs backwards for a few yards trying to break the back one, but almost loses first down yardage. He went way too far back there. He needs to know when to give up and head up field on a play like that.

1:51: Blackmon catches the ball in space and has an easy touchdown, but loses the ball untouched before he gets a touchdown. He needs to take the ball and tuck it away. He keeps running with the ball out like a loaf of bread. Very poor fundamentals. He should have had 7. Instead A&M gets the ball back. Absolutely inexcusable.

4th quarter

14:11: Weeden looking for Blackmon in the end zone, but Blackmon is blanketed and Weeden is inaccurate on the pass. Blackmon had position and could have made the catch, but Weeden didn’t put it in the right spot.

10:43: Oklahoma State wide receiver Josh Cooper with his 11th catch of the night, 1 more than Blackmon. He’s been impressive tonight as their #2 receiver. He’s more of an underneath guy, but with now 25 catches on the season and 68 last season, he could be a late round pick.

7:13: Blackmon catches the high ball in the flat on 3rd and goal and has blockers in front of him, but a big hit keeps him out of the end zone.

6:16: Jeff Fuller with just his 4th catch of the today, short of the first down and goes nowhere after the catch. He’s been a relative non-factor. Maybe his hamstring problem is slowing him down.

6:03: Fuller targeted, but unable to come up with the low ball in the flat.

5:58: Fuller targeted again, but it’s on a throw just tipped at the line that falls very short.

5:21: Fuller has his 5th catch on a short catch on 2nd and 5 for the 1st. Oklahoma State is playing a zone prevent defense right now so they’re just giving him short gain.

5:03: Jeff Fuller unable to make the deep catch with Broderick Brown blanketing him once again. The hamstring might be part of the problem, but Brodrick Brown isn’t helping. The 5-8 cornerback is somehow outplaying the 6-4 receiver. Brown is a mere junior and given his size, I doubt he leaves early. He’s having a right game, but the demand for 5-8 cornerbacks in the NFL is pretty small.

2:43: Fuller having a nice drive and is able to get his 2nd touchdown of the night on a short 4 yard score.

0:00: This was supposed to be a matchup between stud wide receivers. I came away disappointed with both of them. Jeff Fuller was battling a hamstring injury, which could have explained his 6 catch, 55 yards, 2 touchdown performance. He dropped a pass and just couldn’t get a lot of separation. Slot receiver Ryan Swope looked better than him as he has for the entire season. Swope leads the team in receptions and could be a late round pick.

Justin Blackmon had better stats, with 11 catches for 123 yards and a score, but he fumbled in the red zone which cost them 7 points and he dropped a pass. Texas A&M clearly frustrated him with double coverage and he became very frustrated with his quarterback for not getting him the ball, which led to quarterback Brandon Weeden trying to force things to him when he wasn’t open on several occasions. He also almost dropped a 2nd touchdown. He needs to improve his fundamentals and carry the ball in a safer way and avoid mental lapses. Also, unwarranted frustration with your quarterback is never a good thing. He’s obviously very talented, but this wasn’t his best game. 11 catches isn’t that impressive when you consider that Oklahoma State threw 60 times and had 47 completions.

This game also had mid round prospects at quarterback in Brandon Weeden and Ryan Tannehill. I wasn’t particularly impressed with either of them, but I thought Brandon Weeden had the better game. Tannehill had a very poor 2nd half. However, Weeden is 27 years old and a former minor league baseball pitcher. That’s definitely going to hurt his stock.

 

Oklahoma State/Oklahoma

stevenlourie Uncategorized

Spotlight #1: Oklahoma State OT Levy Adcock

Spotlight #2: Oklahoma OT Donald Stephenson 

1st quarter

12:39: Adcock goes down on a run block, but his man doesn’t.

12:15: Adcock with a whiffed cut block. He’s been on Frank Alexander early in this one.

11:18: Adcock allows a tackle for loss or no gain on 3rd down and short, not converted.

9:43: Justin Blackmon with a great catch that won’t count because it was out of bounds. There was no way to bring this in, but he showed great leaping ability and hands to catch it in traffic.

6:55: Undersized 5-8 junior cornerback Brodrick Brown picks off Landry Jones in the end zone for his 5th pick of the year. Jones did force it into coverage, but just a great individual effort by Brown to rip the ball out of the receiver’s hands.

6:34: Adcock beat by Alexander, needs help from the back.

0:32: Stephenson with holding.

2nd quarter

4:42: Landry Jones strip sacked by an unblocked blitzing linebacker, taken back to the one by Stephenson’s man Blatnick.

3:48: Stephenson does a good job blocking one-on-one for a long period of time for Landry Jones backed up against his own goal line. I’ve been impressed with this kid. One sack allowed all season, good size at 6-6 305. Not sure why he’s a late rounder.

3:43: You could copy and paste what I just said, more good, long blocking one-on-one for Stephenson against the goal line.

1:59: Weeden has been well protected in this game, but Ronnell Lewis is hurt and Frank Alexander has missed a good chunk of this game. He’s back and he’s given Adcock trouble early in the first quarter.

 

3rd quarter

13:17: Blackmon does a nice job going up and almost making a catch despite pass interference. Another play that doesn’t show on the stat sheet with him. What will show on the stat sheet: 9 catches for 94 yards in just over a half.

11:56: Jones with a fumble, returned for a touchdown. This time Jones wasn’t even touched.

6:47: Jones sacked, but on a safety blitz from the opposite side of Stephenson.

5:23: Adcock with a great block on Alexander on a long touchdown run by Jeremy Smith. 37 yards, 41-3 Oklahoma State.

4th quarter

10:45: Stephenson, off balance, slips when locked on with a man, allows Oklahoma State to get a stop for a small gain.

8:15: Landry Jones picked off again.

0:00: I don’t think anyone saw this coming. Oklahoma State had been dominated in the Bedlam game for about a decade, but they came in as the higher ranked team so obviously it wasn’t unrealistic to foresee them winning. However, not like this. Oklahoma State erased years of struggled with a 44-10 win over Oklahoma here. Oklahoma State won this game in two ways, by dominating on offense and by dominating on defense. It was that simple.

First to the offense, Oklahoma State has an offense that, coming in, averaged roughly 50 points per game and this is without really dominating in the trenches. They’re more of an air it out team. Tonight, they were able to dominate in the trenches. You can imagine how scary that made them. The reason for their domination in the trenches had a lot to do with injuries on Oklahoma’s defensive line. Ronnell Lewis was done for the season before this game and Frank Alexander left in the 1st quarter with an injury and wasn’t the same when he came back.

This isn’t to take anything away from Oklahoma State’s offensive line. They played extremely well. Brandon Weeden had all day to pass, wasn’t sacked once, and was only touched maybe once or twice. They also paved the way on the ground for Oklahoma State to uncharacteristically run for 254 yards and 4 scores on 33 carries.

Left tackle Levy Adcock had had a bit of a rough senior season coming into this game. He’s had trouble with speed rushers and that caused him to drop from the late 1st round range to the 2nd or maybe 3rd round as teams would be looking at him more as a right tackle or guard. However, tonight he dominated Frank Alexander, though you have to wonder how much of that had to do with Alexander’s injury. Alexander was winning the matchup before he left midway through the first. Still, Adcock did a good job and this game will help his stock. Oklahoma State center Grant Garner did a very good job as well. He looks like a late rounder, but he showed good run blocking ability even with the ankle injury he’s been playing through for weeks. He’s a tough, gritty kid.

Brandon Weeden didn’t have to do much in this one, uncharacteristically. He went 24 of 36 for 217 yards, no touchdowns, and no picks. He had a pretty cushy game as he had all day in the pocket. His favorite target was once again Justin Blackmon, who had 10 catches for 95 yards. Blackmon also made a spectacular catch out of bounds and almost made an awesome catch against obvious contact that drew a pass interference penalty deep downfield. Blackmon came out with the seniors tonight so it looks like he’s NFL bound. As for Weeden, this game doesn’t change my opinion of him. He’s got talent, but he’s erratic and has problems with decision making. That would be fine if he was 22, but he’s 28. I don’t think he has much NFL value.

As I said earlier, Oklahoma State also dominated on defense. They had 5 takeaways, 3 fumbles, and 2 picks. 4 of those takeaways were Landry Jones’ fault. Jones really did not have a good game. He went 37 of 50 for 250 yards, no touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and 2 fumbles. One fumble he was under heavy pressure, but the other just slipped. Both of the picks were his fault.

Jones really has not looked good since Ryan Broyles went down. In 4 games without him, he’s 2-2, going 103 of 182 (56.6%) for 1208 yards (6.6 YPA), 2 touchdowns, and 5 picks. Oklahoma has also recently started taking him out of the game on the goal line and replacing him with Blake Bell. That is a compliment to Bell, a powerful runner, but also an indictment on Jones’ abilities. You don’t take your quarterback out of the game in the most important spot if you don’t have complete confidence in him.

It’s really looking like he’s been piggybacked by Broyles for 3 years. He doesn’t have the best arm, the best footwork, the best accuracy, the best leadership ability, and he’s played in a relatively easy offense to lead at Oklahoma. Right now, I wouldn’t call him a first round pick.

Jones was under pressure a lot more tonight than normal, which is part of why he struggled, but it’s not any excuse. He’ll be under pressure in the NFL too. Jones, who had taken 5 sacks all season (more of why he’s a fair weather quarterback), took 3 sacks, all of which came on a blitz. He didn’t show good pocket presence. He also took a few hits and was pretty consistently pressured.

The best of Oklahoma’s offensive lineman was left tackle Donald Stephenson. Stephenson had a tough matchup with Oklahoma State’s Jamie Blatnick, who had 7 sacks and 10 tackles for loss coming in, but didn’t surrender a sack and for the most part won his battled with Blatnick. Stephenson has only allowed 1 sack all season and looked good once again. He’s the left tackle for a prominent university and has good size at 6-6 305. I’m confused as to why he isn’t anything more than a late rounder. He looks like a mid rounder at worst to me. This game will hurt Blatnick a bit. He looks like a mid to late rounder.

Finally, Oklahoma had a few defensive players who didn’t have good games. I mentioned Frank Alexander. Alexander had been having an awesome season to this point and gets a bit of a pass from me as he had a tough matchup and was playing hurt in this one, but he didn’t play well here. He remains an early 2nd rounder. Travis Lewis played poorly as well, part of how Oklahoma State was able to uncharacteristically dominant on the ground. Lewis has not had a good season and could go as late as the 3rd round now in a stacked linebacker class. Oklahoma cornerback Jamell Fleming had a poor game. He was picked on early and often. He couldn’t cover Justin Blackmon at all and also gave up a couple of completions even when he wasn’t on Blackmon. As a late rounder, this performance hurts him.

 

Oklahoma/Kansas State

stevenlourie Uncategorized

Spotlight #1: Oklahoma WR Ryan Broyles

Spotlight #2: Oklahoma DE Frank Alexander 

1st quarter

14:32: Broyles catches one in the flat, can’t do much with it.

12:24: Broyles wide open in space after a play fake, good speed, able to catch it and make the lunge for the end zone, but just steps out of bounds.

11:03: Alexander just misses a deflection at the line.

10:06: Broyles with a sizeable punt return in space, but it’s brought back by a hold away from the ball.

8:19: Broyles does a nice job of catching a low underthrow by Landry Jones.

4:36: Broyles catches a nice throw in a tight window for 27 over the middle.

4:21: Broyles catches a short one, can’t do much with it.

3:52: Broyles catches a short underneath pass.

2:31: Alexander pushed around on a run play.

1:06: Alexander with a very nice pass rush against a double team.

0:39: Alexander whiffs on an unblocked tackle up the middle.

2nd quarter

14:46: Broyles may be small, but a nice block after another receiver catches a short pass helps the play go for a few more yards after the catch.

14:15: Broyles takes a short one for a few yards. Nice run after.

13:40: Kansas State cornerback Nigel Malone with his 5th pick of the year. He’s made a few nice plays today and covered Kenny Stills well, though he was not on Stills here. Malone is a junior and at 5-10 175, he’s unlikely to come out early, especially since he’s only been at Kansas State for this year. He was a JuCo transfer. A note on Landry Jones, he really stared down his receiver here, leading to the pick. Bad play.

12:54: Alexander can’t chase down a guy off the edge.

12:32: Broyles catches one short, good play in space for a first down and more. 16 yards.

12:17: Broyles short for 4 yards.

6:24: Alexander can’t change direction in the open field as Kansas State’s mobile quarterback jukes him out.

5:05: Quarterback run to Alexander’s side. Small gain after a tackle by stud sophomore safety Tony Jefferson.

3:21: Broyles catches one short for a first, can’t do anything afterwards as the defense was right there.

2:03: Malone with his 2nd pick of the game, his 6th of the season, this time he was covering Kenny Stills. Bad throw by Jones and a great play by Malone again. Malone is having a great game, 2 picks and Kenny Stills has been held to 2 receptions.

1:17: Alexander can’t quite recover a fumble on the sideline in bounds. Nice effort, but nothing to show for it.

0:19: Alexander into the backfield, gets in on a combined short tackle from behind. The back fumbled on this play

0:14: Broyles can’t pick up the ball in the air in time to catch it deep. He was also well covered.

0:10: Broyles jammed well at the line. He is small.

 

3rd quarter

11:58: Alexander inside move and a sack.

10:54: Broyles targeted, but nice play by the defensive back to bat it out.

10:22: Broyles catches it in space, nice run after, especially his tightrope alone the sideline to score a touchdown. 29 yards.

9:33: Alexander disengages, can’t quite make the ankle tackle on the quarterback.

6:18: Broyles 11 yards on a slant. Caught it in stride well.

4:21: Sack by Oklahoma’s other defensive end, Ronnell Lewis. The former linebacker is making plays today. He projects as a 3-4 outside linebacker at the next level.

2:05: Jones underthrown to Broyles, incomplete.

1:59: Broyles goes up and gets one in stride against tough coverage. He catches it well. A natural pass catcher, he doesn’t use his body first to catch. He uses his hands.

0:55: Alexander hits the quarterback as he throws.

0:48: Alexander in on a sack with Tony Jefferson, who was a blitzing safety.

4th quarter

14:11: Alexander gets into the backfield, but Kansas State’s mobile quarterback dodges the sack.

13:47: Alexander double teamed, a good job to get off the block. Oklahoma is up 51-17 so Alexander is getting a chance to show his pass rushing abilities on every play. He looks good.

11:44: Broyles gets the short pass and takes it for a solid gain and a first down.

11:03: Oklahoma has a huge lead, but Broyles doesn’t care, he still gives it his all blocking downfield with a strong motor on a long touchdown run by Oklahoma’s fullback.

0:00: I always love discovering new players I had never heard of. Nigel Malone did a great job in this game, picking off 2 of Landry Jones’ passes, to give him 6 on the year, 2nd in the FBS. He also did a solid job on Kenny Stills, limiting him to 4 catches, his lowest total of the season. Malone may be undersized, but if he has a good senior season as a good finish to this sack, he could be a fairly high draft pick.

With Stills well covered by Malone, Landry Jones leaned on Ryan Broyles early and often and Broyles didn’t let him down. Broyles caught 14 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown. He caught a lot of short stuff and was able to use his open field abilities to get a lot of yards after the catch. He’s a natural receiver and looks very fluid. He knows how to get open inside and he’s got solid speed.

He might not have the size or the athleticism to be a #1 receiver at the next level, but he can be a nice possession #2 receiver or a slot receiver and he has return ability as well. He also showed an impressive motor and a lot of fight as a run blocker. He’s small and might have some trouble with jams at the line, but I think his motor makes up for this some. I would be very surprised if he wasn’t a productive player at the next level.

Powered by Ryan Broyles, Landry Jones went 35 of 47 for 505 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 2 picks. However, as I mentioned, a lot of Jones’ stuff went short to Broyles. In fact, he was just 5-11 on throws on 15+ all night and he did have those 2 ugly picks. He’s got a lot to work on, but he’s still in the running to be the 2nd quarterback off the board behind Andrew Luck, though after a rough week against Texas Tech and this game, his stock is slipping just a bit.

On the defensive side of the ball, Frank Alexander showed great pass rush ability. For some reason, the stat sheet doesn’t show it, but he was in on at least one sack. He also had a quarterback hit and a sack that was missed because Kansas State has one of the most mobile quarterbacks in college football. He has 7.5 sacks on the season and got consistent pressure in this one and showed impressive pass rushing moves. However, he did struggle against the run, which makes sense because he’s just 255 pounds. There’s no denying his pass rushing ability with 7.5 sacks this year and 7.5 last year, but he might just be a 3-4 linebacker at the next level and we didn’t see him in coverage at all in this one. I’d say he’s a 2nd rounder.

 

Oklahoma/Baylor

stevenlourie Uncategorized

 

Spotlight #1: Baylor RB Terrance Ganaway 

Spotlight #2: Baylor DT Nicolas Jean-Baptiste 

1st quarter

14:56: Ganaway takes the ball on the delay, not going anywhere, stuffed at the line.

14:18: Robert Griffin hits Kendall Wright perfectly in stride downfield for a 70 yard touchdown, called back because of penalty.

14:10: Frank Alexander bursts into the backfield and gets a tackle for loss on a designed quarterback run.

13:28: Ganaway with a nice pass block.

12:48: Ganaway tackles for loss as the Oklahoma front gets penetration with multiple guys. Frank Alexander in there again.

12:01: Ganaway looked a bit lost in pass protection. He couldn’t find a pass rusher to chip him.

11:56: Ganaway to the outside, not going anywhere. Not a speed guy. Don’t know why he’s trying to run outside against Oklahoma’s speedy first.

10:56: Alexander having an excellent start, QB hit to force an incompletion.

10:43: Oklahoma’s front 7 is playing awesome. Baylor tries an outside run with a wide receiver, tackled for loss, Alexander in on it among others.

7:16: Alexander gets in on a combined sack. He’s having a hell of a game and we’re only 8 minutes into it.

6:28: Griffin feeling the pressure, had throw to Kendall Wright almost picked by Travis Lewis, but Wright breaks it up. Alexander is in Griffin’s head.

4:37: Ganaway finally gets a positive gain, given an inside carry, picks up a few, dragging a guy a bit as he goes.

4:10: Ganaway runs for a few to the outside away from Frank Alexander, gain wiped out by penalty.

4:00: Ganaway with a powerful inside run, taken down by facemask, penalty on Oklahoma.

3:11: Ganaway with a decent lead block on a designed quarterback run. This is key because he may get converted to fullback at the next level.

0:58: Jean-Baptiste gets pressure on the quarterback, almost sacks him, but the quarterback avoided it and NJB couldn’t recover.

0:10: Ganaway takes a late handoff for a loss of a couple.

2nd quarter

8:36: Nicolas Jean-Baptiste with a sack. NJB was benched to start the game and forced into action after injury to one of Baylor’s defensive linemen. Getting benched seems to have lit a fire under him as two plays later after the injury he gets a sack.

7:39: Kendall Wright takes a slant and uses his awesome open field abilities, quickness and power, to get a huge gain, 55 yards.

7:22: Ganaway explodes through a big hole for a sizeable gain.

7:14: Ganaway takes it up the middle, powers through for a 15 yard touchdown, breaking 2 arm tackles in the process.

2:24: Robert Griffin hits a receiver in stride deep for a 69 yard quick strike touchdown. Griffin’s deep ball accuracy is amazing. It’s also worth noting this was off play action. He’s had most of his touchdowns off play action this season.

2:11: Jean-Baptiste pancaked.

1:03: Jean-Baptiste gets pressure on the quarterback, forced him to flee the pocket and not convert 3rd and 5 on a quarterback run.

 

3rd quarter

12:54: Nowhere to go for Ganaway, Frank Alexander, again, gets into the backfield for a combined tackle for loss.

10:38: Ganaway up the middle for a few.

10:19: Ganaway powers up the middle to convert 3rd and 1 against a stacked box.

10:04: Ganaway with a nice chip block.

9:53: Griffin has an awesome deep throw against tight coverage dropped.

6:46: Robert Griffin throws a dart, off his receivers’ hands, but it takes a bounce off the first receivers’ hands about 20 yards into the hands of a wide open Kendall Wright, who takes it and scores 87 yards. Awesome awareness and hustle to stay with the play by Wright. I love this kid. It’s worth noting that this is Baylor’s 3rd touchdown drive of a minute or less in this game, their 17th of the season. Amazing.

6:26: NJB does a good job of staying with a spinning ball carrier in the backfield, tackle for loss or no gain. Nice job of not letting the ball carrier break his tackle.

4:45: NJB is on tonight. 2nd sack of the night. Knocks down the center with power and stays with the quarterback to finish him off. Getting benched really lit a fire under him as he’s having his best game of the season.

3:38: Alexander almost gets another sack, Griffin feels the pressure, steps up and completes it.

3:23: Powerful inside run by Ganaway for 11 yards.

2:41: Ganaway does some bouncing around in the backfield, not going anywhere.

4th quarter

13:59: Ganaway with a great pass block.

13:26: Griffin does a great job after a badly botched snap by the Baylor center of getting the ball tracked down, getting out of the tackle box and throwing it past the line of scrimmage, incomplete, to save about 20 yards.

13:19: Travis Lewis with a facemask penalty. He’s had issues with penalties this year.

12:50: Ganaway up the middle, breaks a couple of tackles, 11 yard touchdown run.

10:29: NJB gets into the backfield on a play where Baylor gets a tackle for loss.

9:45: Landry Jones with two straight bad overthrows on 3rd and 4th down in the red zone. He also has a pick tonight. I have not been impressed.

9:28: Ganaway does a solid job blocking and recovering in the backfield. Griffin did hold the ball a long time so Ganaway technically allowed a pressure. The ball could have been picked on the throw.

8:44: Ganaway with a solid lead block for Robert Griffin on a quarterback scramble.

8:24: NJB shows good athleticism to get outside the tackle box to almost get a tackle, but just misses. He looked a little off balance and fell trying to get the tackle on the back.

6:25: NJB gets pressure and a hand in Landry Jones’ face. Nice job by Jones of still completing it.

5:20: Ganaway with another nice block. I’ve been really impressed with this part of his game.

4:50: Ganaway with a couple up the middle.

4:06: Griffin with a rare mistake, an errant lateral, out of bounds for a loss of a few.

1:23: NJB gets pressure, but slips, tripped up from behind by an offensive lineman, but missed by the official.

0:46: Ganaway powers it up the middle for a few. Good power run and a nice spin move as well.

0:08: Game winning touchdown by Robert Griffin. Enough said.

0:00: The big story in this game was Robert Griffin versus Landry Jones. Andrew Luck is well…Andrew Luck. Matt Barkley is playing very well at USC so it looks like it’s going to be between Griffin and Jones to be the 3rd quarterback off the board, should both declare. In my opinion, Griffin got the better of this matchup.

Griffin was 21 of 34 for 479 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no picks and also ran for another 72 yards, and that’s including a couple sacks he took. He did this against a tougher defense. Oklahoma has 3 guys up front that could get drafted in the first 2 rounds this season (Alexander, Ronnell Lewis, and Travis Lewis). Baylor will be lucky to get 3 guys drafted, period, for their stop unit. Griffin’s numbers could have been better as he had a 70 yard touchdown called back by holding and another big gain downfield and potential touchdown dropped by his receiver. It’s crazy that Griffin could have had at least close to 600 yards and 6 touchdowns passing had a couple things gone his way.

Griffin has tremendous deep accuracy and is putting up a legitimate Heisman worthy season, especially after a signature upside win here over Landry Jones and Oklahoma, in which he led the game winning drive. On the year, Griffin is completing 72.9% of his passes for an average of 10.6 per and 33 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions. His stats aren’t quite as good as they were to start the season, but he’s played tougher competition now that he’s in Big 12 play and still played well.

He’s mobile, athletic, and a tremendous character and leader on and off the field. Away from the football field, he’s also a former All-American hurdler and already a college graduate working on a Master’s Degree. He’s got a cannon arm and tremendous pocket presence. He’s playing behind clearly the worst offensive line of any of the top 4 quarterbacks in this draft class, taking 22 sacks already. Landry Jones, Andrew Luck, and Matt Barkley have combined for 21. However, Griffin hasn’t gotten frazzled, making great throws under pressure and producing behind a poor offensive line.

Landry Jones’ stat line wasn’t nearly as impressive in this one as Griffin’s was. Jones, the loser in this matchup, was 36 of 51 for 446 yards, no touchdowns, and a pick, though it’s worth noting the only reason he didn’t have a touchdown is because Oklahoma ran for all 5 of their scores on the goal line. Against a weaker defense, he simply didn’t play as well and got upset in the process. Jones doesn’t have Griffin’s leadership, athleticism, or arm strength, nor does he have Griffin’s numbers. On the year, he’s completing 65.3% of his passes for an average of 8.6 YPA, 28 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He’s got more experience than Griffin, but that’s the only thing he has over him. He’s also playing in a system that bloats stats more than Griffin’s does.

The way I see this quarterback class, it’s Luck, Barkley, Griffin, and Jones. This makes sense. Luck does have the head-to-head win over Barkley and Griffin over Jones. Griffin doesn’t have the experience that Luck, Barkley, and Jones have (all 3 year starters), but he’s almost just as good as Luck and Barkley and better than Jones. Griffin would likely be a top 5 pick should he declare this year. If he returns, which he could in order to complete his Master’s, he would be the early favorite to be the #1 pick in a weaker quarterback class in 2013.

Griffin didn’t do this all by himself. Griffin has 3 great receivers in Kendall Wright, Terrance Jones, and Tevin Reese, though for comparison’s sake, Jones has a good receiving corps as well. All 3 of those receivers caught touchdowns, long touchdowns, and Williams’ was the game winner. Wright is likely the only of those 3 to come out this year, though Jones, a junior, could come out, but probably won’t, especially if Griffin doesn’t either.

Wright was the star of the star other than Griffin. He caught 8 passes for 207 yards and a score. That score was a 87 yard catch off the hands of another Baylor receiver. Call it luck, but you have to credit Wright for staying in position. He also had a 55 gain with the majority of it coming after the catch. The athletic 5-11 190 pound receiver could run in the 4.3s and has great functional speed and quickness. He’s got great hands and is deadly in the open field with both speed and power moves. He’s also a high character hustle player. A 4 year contributor, the senior is having a career year with 89 catches for 1281 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s an early 2nd rounder in my book.

Baylor also has Terrance Ganaway on offense. Ganaway is a big 6-0 240 pounder who some are projecting to fullback at the next level. For this reason, it is very good that he showed himself to be a solid blocker, both pass and run blocking, in this one. Ganaway didn’t look too bad running the ball either. He struggled early to get to the outside against Oklahoma’s speed, but once he started going north to south, he really looked good. He’s a physical, powerful runner who could be a nice short yardage back at the next level. He had 60 yards and 2 scores on 16 carries in the game and has 949 yards and 12 scores on 164 carries on the season. He looks like an early to mid day 3 pick.

I mentioned Oklahoma’s front 7 on several occasions in this writeup, but let’s get more in depth on them. Frank Alexander (DE/OLB), Ronnell Lewis (OLB/DE), and Travis Lewis (OLB/MLB) all could get drafted in the first 2 rounds. Alexander had the best game of the 3. He was especially impressive early when he was making a big play on every other snap. He didn’t keep that up all game, but he finished with 5 tackles, 3.5 for loss, and a sack, along with a quarterback hit and numerous quarterback pressures.

On the year, Alexander has 45 tackles, 17 for loss, and 8.5 sacks. The 6-3 257 pounder has 2 years of good production and looks like a borderline first rounder as either a 4-3 defensive end or 3-4 outside linebacker. He could stand to bulk up another 5-10 pounds if he can do so without sacrificing speed and quickness. In my opinion, he’s more impressive than his counterpart, Ronnell Lewis, who often gets rated higher.

Lewis left this game early with an injury. The 6-2 244 pound defensive end shifted down from linebacker this season. His experience at linebacker will help him get drafted as a 3-4 outside linebacker. He’s a day 2 pick in my book. On the year, he has 60 tackles, 13 for loss, and 5.5 sacks. Travis Lewis is the 3rd impressive front 7 player for Oklahoma. He really hasn’t looked the same after a broken foot earlier this season and he’s also had trouble with penalties this year. Once a potential first round, Lewis looks like a 2nd rounder now. The 6-1 230 pound linebacker has 67 tackles, but just 2.5 for loss.

As I mentioned earlier, Baylor doesn’t have nearly the defense that Oklahoma says. Nicolas Jean-Baptiste might be their most talented player, but he didn’t even make the start. NJB is a big, physical 6-1 330 nose tackle prospect who had a very good junior season next to eventual first round pick Phil Taylor. However, the coaching staff was not impressed with his play of late and benched him for this one. When injury struck a Baylor defensive line, NJB was forced into action and made the most of it.

He showed great power, but at times didn’t look like a 330 pounder. He’s nimble for his size. He had 3 tackles, 2 for loss, and 2 sacks on the game. If he can play like this always, he’ll be a good 3-4 or 4-3 nose tackle at the next level, but there are concerns about his discipline and motivation. One plus, he did play a good amount of snaps in this one so he’s got good durability for someone his size. Someone will take a flier on him late.

 

OJ Atogwe Redskins

stevenlourie Uncategorized

 

Daniel Synder overpaid a 30+ year old? That never happens… 5 years 26 million is way too much for Atogwe, especially for a terrible team like the Redskins that needs to rebuild. It’s not like a veteran safety, though a need, was the missing piece to this puzzle. Right now, the Redskins puzzle looks like some fat kid ate half of it.

Grade: D

 

Ohio State/Miami

stevenlourie Uncategorized

 

Spotlight #1: Ohio State C Mike Brewster

Spotlight #2: Miami WR Travis Benjamin 

1st quarter

12:27: Brewster getting excellent push on every play, especially this one. There’s a reason why he’s the top center in this class.

11:11: Travis Benjamin takes nothing and turns it into a 24 yard return. He’s so fast.

3:20: Miami interception thanks to a tip up by Sean Spence, Miami’s middle linebacker. Spence, a great coverage linebacker and the heart and soul of Miami’s defense, is currently a day 2 pick.

1:55: Everything Brewster has done today has been picture perfect, great snap, great hand use, pushing his man back.

2nd quarter

12:11: Brewster opens up another big run by the running back. Jordan Hall has 65 yards on 6 carries mostly running inside thanks to Michael Brewster. Brewster is definitely winning his matchup with Miami defensive tackle Marcus Forston, a borderline first round pick.

8:19: Great 2nd level block by Brewster on a broken play turned first down by the Ohio State running back. Nice play by the running back too, breaking a couple tackles.

3:34: Benjamin doesn’t even have a target tonight, but he has a decent kick return here.

 

3rd quarter

14:46: Fake end around to Benjamin, then Benjamin catches the ball on the flat and turns it into a 7 yard gain.

3:43: Brewster hasn’t had to move a lot, but he moves pretty well.

1:15: Brewster had to run outside and block an outside rusher. He didn’t do very well. This is the first time tonight he’s struggled.

0:42: Brewster had an amazing first half, but he’s struggled a bit in the 2nd half. Here he allows a tackle for a loss. Miami’s defensive line is getting much more push in the 2nd half than it was in the first.

0:11: Lamar Miller has been the most impressive player on the field tonight. He has 167 yards on 21 carries through 3 quarters. He’s 5-11 215 and has homerun hitter speed. He’s very patient and very shifty. He’s only a redshirt sophomore, but he could be a first round pick when he comes out if he keeps this up. Along with Michael Dyer and Marcus Lattimore, he could form one of the best RB classes in a while in 2013.

4th quarter

14:53: Travis Benjamin catches the ball on the flat and is able to convert the short first down. He was wide open, however, and didn’t particularly show his game breaking and tackle breaking ability. He’s not having a great night. However, it’s his first game back and his quarterback Jacory Harris isn’t having a good night either with as many interceptions as completions for 10+ yards (2). Lamar Miller has been their offense.

0:00: Travis Benjamin didn’t do much at all. We’ll have to see how this continues. A lot of that can be blamed on missing two games and poor quarterback class, but at the same time, he was a borderline prospect coming into this game. I think if he gets drafted, it’ll be as a kick returner. Michael Brewster, meanwhile, backed up his 1st round grade. He was phenomenal in his matchup with Marcus Forston, who could see his stock slip following this game.

Meanwhile, Lamar Miller had a coming out party of sorts. He had 26 carries for 184 yards. He runs with power. He runs with speed. He’s shifty and smart. Pass catching and pass blocking are the only flaws in his game right now. I won’t spotlight him this season because he’s a redshirt sophomore and I prefer to focus on guys that are likely coming out this year. However, it could make sense for him to declare this season. He wouldn’t have to compete with Michael Dyer and Marcus Lattimore and most of the players who declare as redshirt sophomores are running backs because of how short their shelf lives are. 

 

Offensive Tackles 2012

stevenlourie Uncategorized

Updated 4/4/12 

QB RB FB WR TE OT G C DE RLB DT NT 3-4 DE OLB MLB CB S K P 

Scoring System

100 Once in a decade prospect 
95-99 Elite talent 
90-95 Solid top 10 pick 
85-90 Solid first round pick 
80-85 Late 1st-early 2nd 
75-80 Solid 2nd round pick 
70-75 Solid 3rd round pick 
65-70 3rd-4th round pick 
60-65 4th-5th round pick 
55-60 5th round pick 
50-55 6th round pick 
45-50 7th round pick 
40-45 Undrafted, invite to training camp 
<40 No NFL Future

  

1. Matt Kalil (USC) 97

2. Riley Reiff (Iowa) 89

3. Jonathan Martin (Stanford) 86

4. Mike Adams (Ohio State) 79

5. Bobby Massie (Mississippi) 76

6. Mitchell Schwartz (California) 71

7. Matt McCants (UAB) 70

8. Donald Stephenson (Oklahoma) 68

9. Nate Potter (Boise State) 68

10. Zebrie Sanders (Florida State) 67

11. Brandon Mosley (Auburn) 66

12. Jeff Allen (Illinois) 62

13. Andrew Datko (Florida State) 59

14. Levy Adcock (Oklahoma State) 58

15. Tom Compton (South Dakota) 57

16. Lamar Holmes (Southern Mississippi) 57

17. Joe Long (Wayne State) 48

18. Marcel Jones (Nebraska) 47

 

 

Offensive Tackles

stevenlourie Uncategorized

 

QB RB WR TE OT G C NT DT 3-4 DE DE RLB OLB MLB CB S K P

Updated 4/17/10 

100 Once in a decade prospect 

95-99 Elite talent 

90-95 Solid top 10 pick 

85-90 Solid first round pick 

80-85 Late 1st-early 2nd 

75-80 Solid 2nd round pick 

70-75 Solid 3rd round pick 

65-70 3rd-4th round pick 

60-65 4th-5th round pick 

55-60 5th round pick 

50-55 6th round pick 

45-50 7th round pick 

40-45 Undrafted, invite to training camp 

30-40 Career practice squader 

20-30 No NFL future 

0-20 No football future 

 

1. Russell Okung (Oklahoma State) 98

He’s got excellent footwork and good zone versatility. He has the agility, athleticism, and footwork to be an elite zone blocking left tackle, but he also has good strength, though not elite, and can take down defensive ends one-on-one. His footwork is his best attribute and he is strong as a run blocker and as a pass blocker.

2. Charles Brown (USC) 88                  

2/25/10: He needed to measure in at over 300 to get drafted in the first round and after measuring in at 303, the former blocking tight end looks like a future franchise left tackle. The Seahawks may consider him at 14. He also had 35 ¼ inch arms which is good and I think, in terms of pure footwork, he’s the best left tackle in the draft class.

A former blocking tight end, who I believe will need to weigh in at least at 300 pounds to get drafted in the first round. Very few offensive tackles ever get drafted in the 1st round at less than 300 pounds. His first weigh in will be at the Senior Bowl next week so we’ll see how he weighs in. If he can bulk up to 305-310 pounds he could be a dominant left tackle at the next level. He has amazing footwork for his age and experience in a zone style blocking scheme at USC so he is going to be one of the more coveted left tackles by teams who use zone blocking schemes. 

3. Bruce Campbell (Maryland) 87                       

2/27/10: The 6-6 314 pound left tackle just ran a 4.78. In all honesty, this barely moves him up in my book, but after running a 4.78, measuring in with 36 inch arms, jumping 38 inches, and benching 225 pounds 34 times, Campbell has been the star of the combine. He should buy his house in Oakland now because I know somewhere Al Davis just shit his diaper.

2/25/10: After measuring in at 6-6 314 with 36 ¼ inch arms and benching 225 pounds 34 times, Campbell is making his case as the most athletic NFL draft prospect. If he runs a sub 5 at the combine, Al Davis could pull the trigger on him at 8. He still has questions about inconsistency and injuries in his past, but I think he’s shedding the label of “soft.”

If scouts can look past his history of injuries, he could get drafted in the top ten, but I don’t think they will be able to, so he could slip. He’d be best fit in a zone blocking scheme and he has amazing athleticism, but I haven’t seen it brought out of him enough yet for me to consider him a top ten pick. However, that 4.95 40 at 6-7 315 could turn heads, especially Al Davis’ head, unless he can’t turn his head without it falling off.

4. Bryan Bulaga (Iowa) 86

A very athletic offensive tackle who has had some trouble with injuries in the past, but he has the ability to play both left and right tackle at the next level. He moves well for his size and has big upside, but too often gets knocked over and doesn’t use his size with good leverage.

5. Trent Williams (Oklahoma State) 81                   

2/27/10: Again, speed doesn’t mean much for offensive tackles, but his 4.82 40 at 6-5 315 shows his athleticism. I think he could still drop because of lack of a true position, but the athleticism and upside is there for him to be a left tackle in this league. 

Too much of a tweener for me to consider him as a true first round prospect, even with his good athleticism and track record of awards in college. He isn’t a good enough pass blocker at this point to be a longterm left tackle, but he’s not enough of a big mauling run blocking to be a right tackle. His best fit would probably be as a zone blocking run tackle at this point, but with his upside he could do a lot more.

6. Anthony Davis (Rutgers) 79                

3/15/10: How can I lower his stock if he didn’t do anything? Well simply that, he did nothing. He didn’t show up to his Pro Day, canceling at the last minute (Andre Smith anyone?). He needed to be in shape for his Pro Day after showing up out of shape to The Combine, but he didn’t even show up to the Pro Day, probably because he was even more out of shape. This show he lacks commitment (bailing at the last minute) and work ethic (being out of shape). Neither of those things are good for an offensive lineman. This guy might as well have BUST stamped across his forehead. The Bills would be making a colossal mistake drafting him at 9, but I would not be surprised if that happened.

2/25/10: How does a 323 pound tackle bench 225 pounds a mere 21 times. There were already questions about his work ethic coming into this week and now the Andre Smith comparisons seem to be becoming more and more accurate. The upside is there, but is anything else?

He’s that Jason Peters type left tackle, overrated against the pass, but a huge mauler against the run. He’s only 20 years old and is still inexperienced at the left tackle position and has huge upside as a pass blocker, but right now the 330 pound tackle’s best attribute is his mauling run blocking and ability to use his large frame to his advantage.

7. Jason Fox (Miami) 78

Purely a zone blocking left tackle at the next level, but he’s got good upside. He could have been a first round pick before injuries struck him late in the season. However, there are enough teams using zone blocking schemes in the NFL this year for him to get drafted early in the 2nd round unless his injuries don’t check out as fine at the combine.

 

8. Mike Johnson (Alabama) 78

He probably wouldn’t be a top 10 tackle without his ability to play guard, but he’s an amazing run blocker. He blocked for Glen Coffee in 2008 and Mark Ingram in 2009. He’s not a big mauling run blocker, but his technique is amazing and he should be drafted in the 2nd or maybe 3rd round as a right tackle or right guard.

9. Ciron Black (LSU) 76

1/30/10: Looked very sluggish, just like most of the South’s offensive line, and could not keep up with the speed hustle rushers of the North’s defensive line. He really struggled at left tackle when put there which I think rule out an hope of him playing there in the NFL, and he wasn’t physically dominant at right tackle either. On several plays, his weight seemed to get in the way of the ball carrier.

A highly decorated offensive tackle that doesn’t have the athleticism or pass blocking skills to be a left tackle longterm because he’ll be burnt too often, but his strengths against the run could get him drafted in the 2nd round as a right tackle. He may be the best pure right tackle in this draft class.

10. Adam Ulatoski (Texas) 71

A very good athlete at 6-8 310 who uses his size well to stop the pass rush, but he’s not thick enough and doesn’t play with enough leverage to be an elite run blocking tackle. He’s heavily decorated in college, but a bit of a project.

11. Kyle Calloway (Iowa) 70

One of the toughest offensive linemen in college football. He’s a guy that always brings his A game to the field and he has a phenomenal work ethic. He does have one off the field blip in terms of character, a DUI on his scooter last March, but I actually consider that a single minor isolated incident and that shouldn’t affect his stock much. As long as a player follows the law, I don’t care what he does in his spare time, as long as he’s 100% football when he needs to be. Calloway is 100% football when he needs to be, and I don’t think he’ll have any more issues with the law. He’s not much of a pass blocker, but he’s a tough gritty tenacious run blocker. He should be one of the first true right tackles off the board.

12. Jared Veldheer (Hillsdale) 68                 

2/27/10: Did not disappoint athletically running a 5.09 40, for what it matters since he’s an offensive tackle. He is one of the more intriguing small school kids and has really shown his athleticism and skills in workouts and drills this week.

One of the most athletic tackles in this draft class, with a 5.09 40 at 6-8 310. He didn’t have a high level of competition playing for Division II Hillsdale, but he was the most dominant left tackle in all of Division II from the moment he stepped on the field and he never missed a start from week 1 of his freshman year. He’s a very intriguing prospect with good upside. He looked good at the combine and is drawing a few premature comparisons to Jared Gaither

13. Roger Saffold (Indiana) 64

He showed great athleticism as a left tackle at the combine and was one of the better athletic tackles at Indiana for the last 3 years. In left tackle class that is weak in the 2nd-3rd round range, he could go as early as the 2nd round.

14. Sam Young (Notre Dame) 64

1/27/10: After measuring in at 305 pounds, 25 less than he was listed, and a very low number for someone trying to make a name for himself as a mauling right tackle, Young has been really bad in practice. His coaches have been yelling at him all week and he’s just not getting the memo.

He should have declared last year and could have been a 1st round pick as a left tackle. However, this year, he was really exposed at the left tackle position for Notre Dame as part of one of the worst offensive lines in the country. He could still be drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round as a big run blocking right tackle because of his athleticism and his run blocking skills. He has good upside.

15. OT Selvish Capers (West Virginia) 63           

2/25/10: He did a good job putting on more bulk, going from 294 at the end of the season to 303 at his Senior Bowl to 308 now, but after benching 225 pounds a mere 19 times, questions about his ability to be a dominant physical tackle in the draft are still there. He also looked bad in the Senior Bowl game so his stock appears to be dropping pretty fast right now.

1/30/10: As bad as Ed Wang was, Capers might have actually been worse. He couldn’t block anything. Once the defender took out his hands, he couldn’t do anything. He let Koa Misi run straight past him, as if he didn’t even notice him, on one play that resulted in a Tim Tebow fumble. He has great athleticism at 6-5 304 with long arms and a 4.9 40, but he’s not a starting caliber offensive tackle at the next level. He seems destined to be a Raider.

1/26/10: Listed at 290 so weighing in at 304 helps. Long arms also suggest there is room to bulk.

Al Davis could fall in love with Capers and draft him in the 2nd round. He’s 6-6 290, but is projected to run a low 4.9 40. Though that doesn’t actually mean much for a tackle, it does show his athleticism. He’s very raw, but if he puts on 10 pounds, he’d be a great fit for a zone blocking scheme. He has experience in West Virginia’s run heavy offense so if he bulks up enough, he could be a solid run blocker in the NFL, in addition to being good against speed rushers. He could be a nice swing tackle, capable of playing both left and right tackle, in a zone blocking scheme.

16. Tony Washington (Abilene Christian) 61

Another athletic small school tackle with good long arms and a proven track record of success at a small school level. He looked good at the combine and could take advantage of a weak left tackle class to get himself drafted in the 3rd.

17. Zane Beadles (Utah) 58

He’s a very smart tackle who has played everything from left tackle to right tackle to guard. He should be able to play both guard positions as well as right tackle at the next level. He projects as a depth right tackle longterm, but he can provide valuable depth at several positions.

18. Mike Tepper (California) 56

An athletic left tackle who struggles a bit in pass protection. He was never dominant in college, but he should be a solid depth guy in the NFL as a swing tackle. He’s too much of a tweener to go before the 5th though. He is not strong enough as a run blocker to be a consistent starting right tackle in the league either, but the athleticism is there, though not enough to consider him a top prospect or anything like that.

19. Kyle Jolly (North Carolina) 54

A fairly standard left tackle anchor in college, but he didn’t show good athleticism at the combine so he may have to make the switch to right tackle where he wouldn’t be anything special or even really a future starting caliber prospect. 

20. Derek Hardman (Eastern Kentucky) 53

21. Ed Wang (Virginia Tech) 51

22. Chris Scott (Tennessee) 51

23. Chris Marinelli (Stanford) 50

24. Dennis Landholt (Penn State) 47

25. Andrew Tyshovntsky (Fordham) 46

26. Cole Pemberton (Colorado State) 43