Mel Kiper on ESPN 103.3

[Cbz40]

Over-hyped Longhorns is an annual thing.

They have legions of burnt-orange-clad followers who think that the school invited the game of football. I understand their winning tradition and all that, but it is possible that not every Longhorn is destined for greatness.

We go through this every year.

Aside from Priest Holmes and a very few others, show me a Longhorn and I'll show you an overrated player.

Oh, and I got Avery's bell tower reference. I thought it was funny. I guess I'm sick.

Chief I hope you aren't planning a trip to Austin anytime soon.

 

[HeHateMe]

A lot of the teams ahead of us have big needs on offense.

Merriman or Johnson will almost certainly be at 11.

One of them will be there.

 

[SMCowboy]

Over-hyped Longhorns is an annual thing.

They have legions of burnt-orange-clad followers who think that the school invited the game of football. I understand their winning tradition and all that, but it is possible that not every Longhorn is destined for greatness.

We go through this every year.

Aside from Priest Holmes and a very few others, show me a Longhorn and I'll show you an overrated player.

Oh, and I got Avery's bell tower reference. I thought it was funny. I guess I'm sick.

Well, I am not a Longhorn, I actually went to SWT. But, here are a few for you:
Priest Holmes
Ricky Williams (when he was playing)
Shaun Rogers
Roy Williams
Casey Hampton
Phil Dawson
Cedric Woodard
Derrick Dockery
Dan Neil

 

[Chief]

Well, I am not a Longhorn, I actually went to SWT.

We already know all about your career as the towel boy for SWT.

I said "Priest Holmes and a very few others."

You listed Priest Holmes and a very few others.

Thanks for having my back.

 

[Bizwah]

I have to agree with Chief, jterrel, and a few of the others.

DJ is a fine LB. But I'm not sure I'd take him at 11.

I really want to like him.....I really do....and I've seen a bunch of Texas games over the years. Johnson just isn't a physical enough. I think Jterrell hit the nail on the head.

Johnson is more of a finesse player. That doesn't mean he's a bad player. He's just not a slobber-knocker. I want a LB that can meet a 250 lb FB in the hole and stuff him. I just don't see that with DJ.

 

[lzppjb]

You listed Priest Holmes and a very few others.

Ok....he listed quite a few actually. Name that many sooners in the League that are that good. Or aggies. Or raiders.

 

[SMCowboy]

We already know all about your career as the towel boy for SWT.

I said "Priest Holmes and a very few others."

You listed Priest Holmes and a very few others.

Thanks for having my back.

Well, consdering that the only under-achievers, as you put it are:

Quentin Jammer, Leonard Davis, and Mike Williams. I would hardly say that all Longhorns are underachievers.

 

[lzppjb]

And he even left off:

Nathan Vasher
Cory Redding
Leonard Davis
Mike Williams
Marcus Tubbs

 

[The30YardSlant]

Ok....he listed quite a few actually. Name that many sooners in the League that are that good. Or aggies. Or raiders.

Actually, A&M has more good players in the NFL than Texas:

Dante Hall
Pat Williams
Aaron Glenn
Dat Nguyen
Sam Adams
Bethal Johnson
Ty Warren
Robert Ferguson
Jason Webster
Shane Lechlar

 

[Chief]

Well, consdering that the only under-achievers, as you put it are:

Quentin Jammer, Leonard Davis, and Mike Williams. I would hardly say that all Longhorns are underachievers.

Good.

Because I wouldn't say that either.

I said the vasty majority of them are overrated.

 

[lzppjb]

The "vast majority"?

blind.

 

[Dough Boy]

I'm not going to get into the UT vs OU players, but thanks for the clips. I still like Merriman at 11 b/c OLB/DE is our biggest need. That being said, DJ is a heck of a player. I think he is better suited to play ILB in the 3-4 ala Kendrell Bell. Johnson has top instincts all most Roy William'sesck... On some of the clips, his reaction time is very impressive. I think by playing him at Weak backer in the 4-3 and ILB in the 3-4, he will cause havoc for other teams. With Dat leaving, clearly DJ is better than James.

If Merriman is gone at 11 and I would take DJ at 11 and get either Justin Tuck at 20 or Demarcus Ware at 42. Ware checked in at the combine at 6"4' - 251lbs and ran a 4.56 forty. Plus watching the Sr Bowl practices, he can speed rush as well as come inside or underneath the tackle. He has a quick first step.

JMO - but DJ will be a heck of a player. The same knocks on his game, where the same knocks as LaVar Arrington had coming out.

 

[jterrell]

No...Terrell was wrong. Weinke won it that year.

Of course...I guess you could replace Heupel's name with Weinke.

You are correct, Mea Culpa.
You could of course use Weinke, Ron Dayne or Eric Crouch as well as Jason White(after this season) which is probably why Heupel came to mind.

 

[jterrell]

He had a really good strip against Jason White where he caught him from behind (some big accomplishment : ) and punched the ball out. He also made some other good plays in that game, and was obviously the horns best player. But I agree that I never saw him make any big hits. He was consistantly blocked on all of Adrian Peterson's big runs.

Hmm pretty much matches my scouting report to a tee huh?

I m not a Horns basher or lover so feel pretty balanced on Horns and well the guy is a finesse player period. He does make big plays but so did Dexter Coakley.
We just cut him for not being big and physical enough.

UT is a great school and 6th street can be a lot of fun. Austin a very nice city and if I didn't live in the Dallas area Austin would be the next choice.

Unfortunately none of that makes Derrick Johnson deliver big hits. Unless you are a tea sip that considers a 180 pound QB sliding down to avoid contact a knock out shot. We have seen the kind of hits RW and Woody delivered on the pro level. We know what hard hits are. We also what kind of hits Coryatt made in college. DJ doesn't hit like that. He doesn't get that power from his legs.

 

[jterrell]

Anybody that didn't play for Texas.

I really like Merriman if he is there.

Dallas targets for me would be:
a. Merriman
b. Trade down if you get value to match chart
c. Antrel Rolle(I believe he can play free safety as a rookie like Eugene Wilson and Henry did)
d. Marcus Spears
e. Alex Barron

All the guys I suggest fit the 3-4 or 4-3, would start day 1, would be impact players IMO. Are big and strong for their position.

I would love DJ at 20 or even be aboard in the 16 or lower range if we trade down there. I rate him about the 17th best prospect in the draft but probably about 20th best in our defense.

 

[wick]

Hmm pretty much matches my scouting report to a tee huh?

Unfortunately none of that makes Derrick Johnson deliver big hits. Unless you are a tea sip that considers a 180 pound QB sliding down to avoid contact a knock out shot. We have seen the kind of hits RW and Woody delivered on the pro level. We know what hard hits are. We also what kind of hits Coryatt made in college. DJ doesn't hit like that. He doesn't get that power from his legs.

Go look at the posted clips earlier in the thread, specifically the goalline play against Baylor and the sideline play against Kansas. Johnson can hit. More importantly, he brings his man down to the ground as well and as often as any player in college over the past four years. And he forces turnovers. He might not be the first choice for an NFL Films presentation, but he does the things that help teams win as well or better than any defensive prospect in this draft.

 

[Dough Boy]

Go look at the posted clips earlier in the thread, specifically the goalline play against Baylor and the sideline play against Kansas. Johnson can hit. More importantly, he brings his man down to the ground as well and as often as any player in college over the past four years. And he forces turnovers. He might not be the first choice for an NFL Films presentation, but he does the things that help teams win as well or better than any defensive prospect in this draft.

I agree...

Johnson does not make big hits but he is a text book tackler. He should not be penalized for getting his man to the ground. There are no big hits, because he hits low, wraps up and takes the man down. Most NFL personal talk about the lack of text book tackling.

 

[lzppjb]

He does make big plays but so did Dexter Coakley.
We just cut him for not being big and physical enough.

Coakley 5'10" 231 < DJ 6'2 1/2" 242

DJ will get bigger with an NFL caliber S&C program as well.

 

[lzppjb]

I would post the clip of him absolutely blowing up Paulus (is that the QB from Washington a few years ago?), but I can't seem to find it. He's known for his speed and hitting ability around the Big12.

 

[tyke1doe]

Yes, let's judge players based on one game. Larry Brown is the greatest conerback of all time.

Longhorn bias? Hell yes. But it's not biased to set the record straight on all this bull**** being flung around about DJ. Not a big hitter? Who will you trust on that one? A guy that saw a couple games, or one that saw his entire career?

But neither did Larry Brown have a stellar college career like DJ is suppose to have had.

If he's among the top players in the country (which Larry Brown was not) you would expect him to play big on a big stage.

He didn't and that worries me.

But nice way to twist an obscure comparison.