Plankton
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 12,260
- Reaction score
- 18,651
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/02/28/...oku-julien-davenport-taywan-taylor-brad-kaaya
When Mark Richt was hired at Miami 15 months ago, his coaching staff took stock of the roster. One player, specifically, stood out as exciting and promising, but also perplexing. David Njoku is the son of Nigerian immigrants and product of a small New Jersey high school. He was a national champion high jumper (personal best: 7' 1"). A high school wide receiver, Njoku packed nearly 30 pounds to his 6' 4" frame during his redshirt year in 2014, so coaches gave him a No. 50 jersey and tried him at outside linebacker. And then it was decided he should be a tight end. He had 21 catches as a redshirt freshman, before Richt and his staff arrived.
“One of the first drills in spring ball, he catches a ball in the flat, turned and just took off down the sideline and I said, ‘I think we have something special,’ ” says Miami’s tight end coach Todd Hartley. “The natural bend and flexibility and athleticism and twitch—he has it all.”
Bend, flexibility, athleticism and twitch—welcome to combine week. As the festivities kick off in Indianapolis, get ready to incorporate these words into your vocabulary (along with: ceiling, football IQ, motor, road grader, second gear and upside). The combine is the marquee event of draft season, and in Indy, stock is contingent on measurables. It’s important to remember that a player’s draft stock is still fluid (fluid, by the way, is another favored scouting term, especially pertaining to hip movement.) Tom Brady famously labored through a 5.28-second 40-yard dash in 2000. One year later, Drew Brees’ height concerned scouts, as did his accuracy during the combine throwing session. NaVorro Bowman, Vontaze Burfict and Terrell Suggs were all considered to have had mediocre combine performances.
When Mark Richt was hired at Miami 15 months ago, his coaching staff took stock of the roster. One player, specifically, stood out as exciting and promising, but also perplexing. David Njoku is the son of Nigerian immigrants and product of a small New Jersey high school. He was a national champion high jumper (personal best: 7' 1"). A high school wide receiver, Njoku packed nearly 30 pounds to his 6' 4" frame during his redshirt year in 2014, so coaches gave him a No. 50 jersey and tried him at outside linebacker. And then it was decided he should be a tight end. He had 21 catches as a redshirt freshman, before Richt and his staff arrived.
“One of the first drills in spring ball, he catches a ball in the flat, turned and just took off down the sideline and I said, ‘I think we have something special,’ ” says Miami’s tight end coach Todd Hartley. “The natural bend and flexibility and athleticism and twitch—he has it all.”
Bend, flexibility, athleticism and twitch—welcome to combine week. As the festivities kick off in Indianapolis, get ready to incorporate these words into your vocabulary (along with: ceiling, football IQ, motor, road grader, second gear and upside). The combine is the marquee event of draft season, and in Indy, stock is contingent on measurables. It’s important to remember that a player’s draft stock is still fluid (fluid, by the way, is another favored scouting term, especially pertaining to hip movement.) Tom Brady famously labored through a 5.28-second 40-yard dash in 2000. One year later, Drew Brees’ height concerned scouts, as did his accuracy during the combine throwing session. NaVorro Bowman, Vontaze Burfict and Terrell Suggs were all considered to have had mediocre combine performances.
