Cbz40
The Grand Poobah
- Messages
- 31,387
- Reaction score
- 39
Players Looking To Impress At Senior Bowl
Rob Phillips
January 19, 2009 7:13 PM
IRVING, Texas - The NFL Draft is still 99 days away, but next week the Dallas Cowboys and the rest of the league will take a closer look at some of the nation's best college seniors at the 60th annual Senior Bowl.
Several members of the Cowboys' organization - scouting department, coaching staff and team executives - will make their annual trip to Mobile, Ala., to evaluate the North and South team rosters coached by the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars' staffs.
The draft process will intensify next month at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, which features both seniors and underclassmen. Thursday marked the final day underclassmen can declare early for the draft, and teams will receive an official entry list Monday once the three-day window for reconsideration ends.
For now, the Cowboys can focus on simply evaluating talent during the week-long practices in Mobile, followed by the Jan. 24 game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
"This is what makes it fun is to start putting the board together and evaluating the players, not worrying about our needs or anything like that," said Tom Ciskowski, the Cowboys' director of college and pro scouting. "Just trying to get the best players you can on the board."
There will be plenty to assess next week. Ciskowski estimated "93-95 percent" of the Senior Bowl's invitees get drafted each year. Last year, 31 of 32 teams drafted at least one participant.
Notable players who will attend include USC linebacker Rey Maualuga, Texas wide receiver Quan Cosby, Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry, LSU wide receiver Demetrius Byrd, Alabama safety Rashad Johnson and Cal linebacker Zack Follett. Several accomplished quarterbacks are scheduled to play, including Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, West Virginia's Pat White and Alabama's John Parker Wilson.
The Cowboys conducted a highly-successful draft in Ciskowski's first year replacing departed scouting director Jeff Ireland. Running backs Felix Jones and Tashard Choice could have prominent roles next year, provided Jones fully recovers from toe surgery, and cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick played more than expected because of injuries. Despite limited playing time, tight end Martellus Bennett also showed proof of becoming a viable receiving option.
Now the search for more young prospects continues in Mobile.
"It's just one piece of the puzzle, if you will," Ciskowski said, "because there's the combine, the individual workouts, interviews, our evaluations. There's a lot involved in the process."
Rob Phillips
January 19, 2009 7:13 PM
IRVING, Texas - The NFL Draft is still 99 days away, but next week the Dallas Cowboys and the rest of the league will take a closer look at some of the nation's best college seniors at the 60th annual Senior Bowl.
Several members of the Cowboys' organization - scouting department, coaching staff and team executives - will make their annual trip to Mobile, Ala., to evaluate the North and South team rosters coached by the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars' staffs.
The draft process will intensify next month at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, which features both seniors and underclassmen. Thursday marked the final day underclassmen can declare early for the draft, and teams will receive an official entry list Monday once the three-day window for reconsideration ends.
For now, the Cowboys can focus on simply evaluating talent during the week-long practices in Mobile, followed by the Jan. 24 game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
"This is what makes it fun is to start putting the board together and evaluating the players, not worrying about our needs or anything like that," said Tom Ciskowski, the Cowboys' director of college and pro scouting. "Just trying to get the best players you can on the board."
There will be plenty to assess next week. Ciskowski estimated "93-95 percent" of the Senior Bowl's invitees get drafted each year. Last year, 31 of 32 teams drafted at least one participant.
Notable players who will attend include USC linebacker Rey Maualuga, Texas wide receiver Quan Cosby, Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry, LSU wide receiver Demetrius Byrd, Alabama safety Rashad Johnson and Cal linebacker Zack Follett. Several accomplished quarterbacks are scheduled to play, including Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, West Virginia's Pat White and Alabama's John Parker Wilson.
The Cowboys conducted a highly-successful draft in Ciskowski's first year replacing departed scouting director Jeff Ireland. Running backs Felix Jones and Tashard Choice could have prominent roles next year, provided Jones fully recovers from toe surgery, and cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick played more than expected because of injuries. Despite limited playing time, tight end Martellus Bennett also showed proof of becoming a viable receiving option.
Now the search for more young prospects continues in Mobile.
"It's just one piece of the puzzle, if you will," Ciskowski said, "because there's the combine, the individual workouts, interviews, our evaluations. There's a lot involved in the process."