Owen Schmitt FB West Virginia
STRENGTHS
Owen is a big, powerful kid who likes the physical part of the game of football. By this, I mean he likes to hit. He has good speed and shows strong hands, but most of all, this kid loves to block. It looks to me like he could be used as a Fullback or H-Back -- perhaps even as a TE on the line. Don’t get me wrong: blocking is not the only thing this kid can do. He shows a little bit of lateral agility when he runs through the tackles along with good vision. He does a solid job of catching the ball out of the backfield. Owen is a “jack-of-all-trades, ace of none” type of guy. He reminds me a lot of Mike Alstott except that Mike was not as good a blocker as Owen is.
NEEDS TO IMPROVE
Owen is not as athletic as most NFL players. He does not do things in a smooth or pretty way. Everything Owen is able to accomplish on the field is because of his effort, heart and passion to play the game. So if you’re looking for a pretty boy to block for you, then I suggest you look someplace else because when Owen starts to rumble, there is thunder in the jungle.
TALENT BOARD ROUND 2
When you look in the dictionary for the definition of a Football player, I suspect that Owens’s face will be the first thing you see. Owen will be a match-up nightmare. Even though he is small in stature, I believe because of his strength, passion, intelligence and work ethic that he will be an excellent TE in-line blocker. Owen will move the chains for you. He will move them when you need him to run for those two yards on third down or catch the ball for a five-yard pick up. I will not be surprised at all to see Owen chosen in the latter part of the first round. The only reason I have not put a 1st round grade on him is because I am not sure how good his hands are for the NFL level. His team does not throw him the ball that much. I don’t know how far past the line of scrimmage that he is comfortable catching the ball. That doesn’t mean I would not pick Owen early in this draft because in Owens’s case, you are drafting something that most NFL teams and players do not have very much of in today’s game. You are drafting his passion to play football and to hit someone -- anyone, something -- at anytime and for any reason. I’m going to call him Owen (Thunder) Schmitt because like I said before, when Owen starts to rumble, there is thunder in the jungle.
- Drew Boylhart (thehuddlereport.com)
