Cbz40
The Grand Poobah
- Messages
- 31,387
- Reaction score
- 39
Quick hits from Indy: Day 2
Gil Brandt
NFL.com Senior Analyst
NFL.com draft expert Gil Brandt is in Indianapolis at the 2007 Scouting Combine. While there, he will file daily reports for draft-hungry fans to read about. NFL Network will also provide live coverage of the combine and have daily wrap-ups on NFL Total Access.
INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 23, 2007) -- There were 101 players scheduled to come in, and 100 made it. Bret Smith, a wide receiver from Tennessee, was the only player not to show.
Last night, the only difference for the welcoming dinner for the players was the presence of Charley Casserly, who came in to speak to the group. He does a fantastic job of explaining what players need to know and need to do. He let the players know, for example, that no agent can get them drafted higher and how much they can help themselves by working out at the Combine, where there are so many more decision-makers than there are at the individual workouts.
Gene Upshaw and Roger Goodell last night met with 12 players from around the league, such as Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith, to talk about player conduct. There are 1,800 players in this league, and probably 1,750 never have any problems. It's the other 50 guys that make the other players, the ones with charities and great track records of public service, look bad.
There were over 100 players at the Reebok room last night. Quarterbacks Drew Stanton, Brady Quinn and JaMarcus Russell, running backs Marshawn Lynch and Adrian Peterson, and Buckeyes Troy Smith and Ted Gin were among the attendees. It is probably the most popular place to be, because the players can go up there, relax, have some snacks and share football stories. Some players, like Levi Brown, even made a return trip from the previous night.
There is a record media attendance for this event. 385 people picked up credentials so far -- that's more than last year's 350 with still two days to go. Just about every new coach (Cam Cameron, Wade Phillips, etc.) has visited the press area to visit with the media ... which of course the media loves.
In the NFL media room, we've had over 50 players here to be interviewed, including Troy Smith, JaMarcus Russell, Robert Meachem and Levi Brown. The media presence just keeps getting bigger and bigger. This has developed into a carnival-type event.
Quarterbacks
Tallest: Jordan Palmer, UTEP, 6-foot-5 5/8
Shortest: Reggie Ball, Georgia Tech 5-foot-10 5/8
Heaviest: JaMarcus Russell, LSU, 265 pounds
Lightest: James Pinkney, East Carolina, 208 pounds
Running backs
Tallest: Cory Anderson, Tennessee, 6-foot-2¼
Shortest: Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois, 5-foot-7½
Heaviest: Leron McClain, Alabama, 256 pounds
Lightest: Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois, 186 pounds
Wide receivers
Tallest: Matt Trannon, Michigan State, 6-foot-6
Shortest: Syndric Steptoe, Arizona, 5-foot-8 5/8
Heaviest: Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech, 239 pounds
Lightest: Yamon Figurs, Kansas State, 174 pounds
The special teams players worked out today, and here are some of the more important notes to keep in mind going forward.
Nick Leason of Virginia Tech was the best long snapper of the bunch.
Danny Sepulveda of Baylor was the best punter, averaging 44.58 on eight kicks. Reed Johnson, former director of player personnel for both the Broncos and the Falcons, said Sepuldeda did something he had never seen in 35 years. Sepuldeda holds the ball on the pop and can kick that way, which allows him to kick it end over end (like on field goals). He does this on directional kicks and on the pooch kicks designed to be downed inside the 20. For regular kicks, he'll boot it normally, but this quirk allows him to get good backspin on the ball when needed.
Later, Sepulveda he learned the technique from Darren Bennett, a former Australian Rules football player who became a Pro Bowl punter with the Chargers. (Bennett was named to the NFL's all-decade team for the 1990s even though he didn't enter the NFL until 1995.)
Adam Podlesh of Maryland was the second-best punter in workouts.
The best field goal kicker was Nick Folk of Arizona. He converted on 13 of 16 field goals. Justin Medlock of UCLA and Nathan Crosby of Colorado were the next best.
Historically, kickers do not kick well in the Dome. So bad performances here will not necessarily bury anybody's chances. Interestingly, the only kicker who was drafted last year was Stephen Gostkowski (Patriots -- Memphis), and he wasn't even invited to the Combine.
Texas Tech guard Manuel Ramirez bench-pressed 225 pounds 40 times. Texas guard Justin Blalock had 40 lifts.
Gil Brandt
NFL.com Senior Analyst
NFL.com draft expert Gil Brandt is in Indianapolis at the 2007 Scouting Combine. While there, he will file daily reports for draft-hungry fans to read about. NFL Network will also provide live coverage of the combine and have daily wrap-ups on NFL Total Access.
INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 23, 2007) -- There were 101 players scheduled to come in, and 100 made it. Bret Smith, a wide receiver from Tennessee, was the only player not to show.
Last night, the only difference for the welcoming dinner for the players was the presence of Charley Casserly, who came in to speak to the group. He does a fantastic job of explaining what players need to know and need to do. He let the players know, for example, that no agent can get them drafted higher and how much they can help themselves by working out at the Combine, where there are so many more decision-makers than there are at the individual workouts.
Gene Upshaw and Roger Goodell last night met with 12 players from around the league, such as Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith, to talk about player conduct. There are 1,800 players in this league, and probably 1,750 never have any problems. It's the other 50 guys that make the other players, the ones with charities and great track records of public service, look bad.
There were over 100 players at the Reebok room last night. Quarterbacks Drew Stanton, Brady Quinn and JaMarcus Russell, running backs Marshawn Lynch and Adrian Peterson, and Buckeyes Troy Smith and Ted Gin were among the attendees. It is probably the most popular place to be, because the players can go up there, relax, have some snacks and share football stories. Some players, like Levi Brown, even made a return trip from the previous night.
There is a record media attendance for this event. 385 people picked up credentials so far -- that's more than last year's 350 with still two days to go. Just about every new coach (Cam Cameron, Wade Phillips, etc.) has visited the press area to visit with the media ... which of course the media loves.
In the NFL media room, we've had over 50 players here to be interviewed, including Troy Smith, JaMarcus Russell, Robert Meachem and Levi Brown. The media presence just keeps getting bigger and bigger. This has developed into a carnival-type event.
Quarterbacks
Tallest: Jordan Palmer, UTEP, 6-foot-5 5/8
Shortest: Reggie Ball, Georgia Tech 5-foot-10 5/8
Heaviest: JaMarcus Russell, LSU, 265 pounds
Lightest: James Pinkney, East Carolina, 208 pounds
Running backs
Tallest: Cory Anderson, Tennessee, 6-foot-2¼
Shortest: Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois, 5-foot-7½
Heaviest: Leron McClain, Alabama, 256 pounds
Lightest: Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois, 186 pounds
Wide receivers
Tallest: Matt Trannon, Michigan State, 6-foot-6
Shortest: Syndric Steptoe, Arizona, 5-foot-8 5/8
Heaviest: Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech, 239 pounds
Lightest: Yamon Figurs, Kansas State, 174 pounds
The special teams players worked out today, and here are some of the more important notes to keep in mind going forward.
Nick Leason of Virginia Tech was the best long snapper of the bunch.
Danny Sepulveda of Baylor was the best punter, averaging 44.58 on eight kicks. Reed Johnson, former director of player personnel for both the Broncos and the Falcons, said Sepuldeda did something he had never seen in 35 years. Sepuldeda holds the ball on the pop and can kick that way, which allows him to kick it end over end (like on field goals). He does this on directional kicks and on the pooch kicks designed to be downed inside the 20. For regular kicks, he'll boot it normally, but this quirk allows him to get good backspin on the ball when needed.
Later, Sepulveda he learned the technique from Darren Bennett, a former Australian Rules football player who became a Pro Bowl punter with the Chargers. (Bennett was named to the NFL's all-decade team for the 1990s even though he didn't enter the NFL until 1995.)
Adam Podlesh of Maryland was the second-best punter in workouts.
The best field goal kicker was Nick Folk of Arizona. He converted on 13 of 16 field goals. Justin Medlock of UCLA and Nathan Crosby of Colorado were the next best.
Historically, kickers do not kick well in the Dome. So bad performances here will not necessarily bury anybody's chances. Interestingly, the only kicker who was drafted last year was Stephen Gostkowski (Patriots -- Memphis), and he wasn't even invited to the Combine.
Texas Tech guard Manuel Ramirez bench-pressed 225 pounds 40 times. Texas guard Justin Blalock had 40 lifts.
