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Q&A: Breaking down the Gators’ NFL Combine prospects with Daniel Jeremiah of Move The Sticks
by Ben Volin
http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/gato...ects-with-daniel-jeremiah-of-move-the-sticks/
Jeremiah scouted for the Ravens and Browns for 6 years
The Gators have a school-record 10 players attending this weekend’s NFL Combine, which starts today in Indianapolis, and frankly, we’ve been spending way too much time discussing one guy, someone named Tim Tebow.
So today we’re paying attention to the other Gators, and breaking down the film for us is Daniel Jeremiah, who unlike certain NFL Draft analysts, is actually a former scout, having worked six years with the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns earlier this decade.
Jeremiah watches dozens of hours of film now not for the NFL, but for his popular Web site MoveTheSticks.com (and @MoveTheSticks is quickly becoming my favorite Twitter feed). He was kind enough to help us break down Florida’s NFL prospects in plain, coach-speak-free English, and give us some insight into how the Gators and Urban Meyer are perceived in the NFL.
Jeremiah’s is just one’s man opinion, but here is his overall verdict – the Gators are loaded with NFL talent, Florida’s two rookies from 2009 give the Gators a lot of credibility, and one player may have to switch to H-back – but not the one you think.
Here is our conversation, in Q&A form:
Did Brandon Spikes hurt himself by coming back to UF for his senior year?
Daniel Jeremiah: I don’t think so. When you really study him, if he came out last year, you would have seen some of his deficiencies with some of his stiffness. The people that are attracted to his positive qualities would have been the same thing as last year to this year. The only reason he maybe could have come out was it was a weaker draft last year.
What do you mean by stiffness?
DJ: He’s got stiff hips. When he gets isolated with athletic backs, he’s stiff, he has a tough time re-directing and making the tackle. He’s not a fluid player. He’s really really physical, really strong, he’s just not a fluid athlete in terms of changing direction.
Spikes/Tim Casey Gator Country
Is he a mike or a will (middle or weakside linebacker)?
DJ: I think he’s a mike all the way. I think he’s a perfect fit in a 3-4 because he can bang inside. When you’re a 3-4 inside linebacker you usually have to be able to take on guards, and you have to be big and strong to be able to do that. I think in a 4-3 mike he maybe doesn’t have the ideal range. It would be tough but he could play it.
Do you hear about character issues with Spikes? Everyone calls him the “Tim Tebow of the defense,” but he had a few odd incidents – The eye gouge, skipping the BCS championship ceremony and SEC media days, shutting off the media in August.
DJ: During the fall when the scouts went in there, that’s what Urban was telling everybody – “As much as Tebow means to the offense with the leadership, Spikes means it to the defense,” and raved about his leadership qualities and how he brings up the play of everybody around him. So some of the goofy decisions he’s made maybe, but it’s going to be offset by the Florida head coach, and everybody there kind of raves about his leadership.
Does Urban have credibility with the NFL?
DJ: I think all these teams have relationships with these coaches, so it does hold some weight when you say a guy is running meetings and getting players over to facility to do all that kind of stuff. That holds a lot of weight
Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy helped a lot too.
DJ: Yeah exactly. They’ve had a pretty bad run of gators in the NFL. For last year to have two guys hit was huge.
Carlos Dunlap – People always talk about his inconsistency and motor problems. Do you see the same thing?
Dunlap is still viewed as an elite defensive end/AP
DJ: I don’t know that I necessarily see him taking plays off, as much as I just see him playing really high. When his leverage is messed up he plays high and then he loses early in the down. Offensive lineman gets into him, the play’s over. For me moreso than an effort issue, I think it’s a technique issue. He needs to get his pads down, he needs to come off the ball. When he stands straight up he gets tied up and the play’s over.
I think you tweeted once that Calais Campbell’s success as a rookie this year in Arizona is going to help Dunlap?
DJ: Yeah, (Campbell’s) last year in school, he just kind of disappeared for large stretches, and then he’d have two or three flashes and then just disappear. It’s the same thing with Dunlap. You’ll see 2-3 big time plays and you just see him disappear in games. So the good thing for him was Campbell was a really good pro, so that will be in the back of every scout’s mind. But on the down side, people compare him to Jamaal Anderson, who was the same type of player coming out of Arkansas, with all the physical tools, and he was kind of a bust in Atlanta.
Dunlap, will the DUI hurt him?
DJ: I don’t think the DUI will really hurt him. He was contrite about it. It was a serious issue, but for the most part that’s not going to affect his draft status too much.
Aaron Heranndez – big enough to play tight end?
DJ: I thought he was a perfect H-back, and I thought he reminded me of Chris Cooley and further than that Frank Wycheck. Really really good after the catch, great hands. If he gets the ball in his hands he kind of moves around like a wide receiver. He can make people miss, as opposed to a traditional tight end that’s kind of a catch-and-fall guy or a catch-and-try-to-run-you-over, Hernandez actually has some wiggle and make people miss. A lot of it’s going to be how tall he is. If he comes in 6-2 or under that’s going to be tough. You look around the league, there’s not too many tight ends under 6-2.
It’s going to be close.
DJ: If that happens now you’re talking about H-back. Usually you’re not going to see a guy like that in the first round. But he’s a natural. He’s one of the more instinctive players you’ll see just in terms of how he moves around and gets around coverage. You can tell he’s a really bright football player. I think he’ll be good, it’s just a team’s going to have to have the imagination to know what to do with him.
Riley Cooper boosted his stock a lot at the Senior Bowl/AP
Riley Cooper, how much did he help himself at the Senior Bowl?
DJ: I thought he really helped himself. He was somebody that showed he was fluid to run everything, all the routes. Coming out of that offense you want to see these guys run comebacks and run a lot of these NFL routes, the digs and all that kind of stuff. To see him be able to drop his weight and then do some things as a receiver, he did really well.
When you talk to people is there still a stigma against UF receivers?
DJ: Those two guys last year helped the cause, that’s for sure. But I think some of that stuff is probably a little more overrated.
Jermaine Cunningham, a bit overshadowed by Dunlap, where do you see him landing?
DJ: He is instinctive. He is a really really natural pass rusher, really knows how to use his hands. Not a rare athlete but just a really skilled pass rusher. Maybe one of the better pass rushers in the draft. I think you’ll see him going in the second round. Somebody will reach just because it’s a pass rushing league and a premium at getting to the QB, and he’s just a talented rusher.
How deep is defensive line/pass rushers?
Cunningham hasn't received much buzz but could go as high as the 2nd round/Getty Images
DJ: It’s a really good year for outside linebackers, those hybrid types, there’s a lot of those guys. And it’s a pretty good year for defensive linemen. There’s a chance just because of the depth he’ll go in the third round, but I think he’ll go in the second.
Are Cunningham and Dunlap outside linebackers at all, or strictly defensive ends?
DJ: Dunlap’s 290. he’s going to be an end. I think Dunlap is a left end, I don’t think he’s a right end. The right defensive end at the next level is more of a pure pass rusher, where your left defensive end has more of the size, playing the run. Cunningham is probably a little bit undersized as a right defensive end, but he’s the perfect rush linebacker for all these 3-4 teams. He’s going to be looked at as an outside linebacker I’m sure.
The crazy thing about Dunlap is even though he’s 6-6, 290 he still returned kickoffs in high school.
DJ: Yeah you can see he’s got rare athletic ability. But he doesn’t have that first step. For a right defensive end going up against the NFL left tackle, you have to have a pretty explosive first step, and he’s too big to do that.
Maurkice Pouncey, best center in the draft?
DJ: Yes, and you’re starting to see his name more and more. Teams have been all over this guy, I think he’s very comparable to (Alex) Mack last year. Mack went 21. Mack is a little bit nastier. Pouncey is a little more agile, moves on his feet better. He’s built for all these 3-4 defenses to play against cause he’s big and strong.
Maurkice Pouncey is widely regarded as the top center in the draft/AP
His versatility probably helps him too.
DJ: Absolutely, especially those interior positions, he can play all those spots. He’s big enough, he can probably play right tackle if he needed to. He’s got a lot of versatility and he’s really good on tape. What you’re gonna see is (Mike) Iupati, the guard from Idaho, if he goes pretty early, Pouncey is going to go soon thereafter.
Interior linemen can go in the first round?
DJ: There’s always usually a couple. Last year we had two centers go in the first round with Mack and Eric Wood from Buffalo. I think there will be two interior players this year, that’s usually about right.
Joe Haden, getting a lot of hype. Is he as good as people are saying?
Haden has a reputation for good ball skills/USA Today
DJ: I really like him. I want to see how big he in person, but he’s really good on tape. Reminds me a lot of Leon Hall. He’s really tough, sticks his face in the mix. He’s got great ball skills. I don’t think he’s going be one of these 6-foot-1 freaks of nature that you would see as a top 5 pick, but I don’t think he’ll last til 12 or 13. If he blows up the combine he could go in the top 5.
You really like him as a blitzer too?
DJ: Oh he’s really good when he comes in off the edge. He’s not only able to get there, he can separate the football. That’s what Charles Woodson made famous. The elite guys don’t just get there, they get the ball out. It shows you he’s fast enough to get there, he’s tough enough to get the guy and he’s football smart enough to get the ball out, so that’s a pretty good sign.
Did you get a chance to watch film on Major Wright?
DJ: I have, I watched a few games of all those other guys, and he’s sometimes in the back in my mind when I’m watching them. But he’s kind of shuttling in and out in the games I’m watching. For a couple of hours he didn’t do anything. There were pretty decent athletes back there but he didn’t have anything going on in the three or four games I watched. You got to find out what games they have production in and pick out the games, cause you could see games without seeing guys do anything.
He was probably the only early entrant that had some people in Gainesville scratching their heads.
DJ: I can see that, because he doesn’t jump off the tape.
Stamper's intelligence could earn himself an NFL roster spot/Tim Casey Gator Country
What about a guy like Ryan Stamper, any chance of an NFL career?
DJ: I think he’s a late round flier. The fact that he’s got the pedigree of being at Florida is going to help him, but he doesn’t play real physical there inside so I don’t know if he’s functionally strong enough. But guys like that, you always have to make the team on special teams and see what you have to develop. But when you watch tape he’s not in the same class as those other guys.
He probably doesn’t have the speed, but he was one of those guys who knew all 11 positions inside and out, and will probably be a coach one day.
DJ: That makes sense. The ball kind of finds him. The ball pops up in the air and he’ll get it.
One last thing before you go – what’s your official Tebow prediction?
DJ: I’ll say he’s going to go within, gosh, I’m going to say within the first 10 picks of the third round (the Miami Dolphins, coincidentally, have the 10th pick of the third round). You never know. The good thing for him is it only takes one team.
What about the Jaguars?
DJ: I think they’re probably relieved they don’t have a second round pick.
by Ben Volin
http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/gato...ects-with-daniel-jeremiah-of-move-the-sticks/
Jeremiah scouted for the Ravens and Browns for 6 years
The Gators have a school-record 10 players attending this weekend’s NFL Combine, which starts today in Indianapolis, and frankly, we’ve been spending way too much time discussing one guy, someone named Tim Tebow.
So today we’re paying attention to the other Gators, and breaking down the film for us is Daniel Jeremiah, who unlike certain NFL Draft analysts, is actually a former scout, having worked six years with the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns earlier this decade.
Jeremiah watches dozens of hours of film now not for the NFL, but for his popular Web site MoveTheSticks.com (and @MoveTheSticks is quickly becoming my favorite Twitter feed). He was kind enough to help us break down Florida’s NFL prospects in plain, coach-speak-free English, and give us some insight into how the Gators and Urban Meyer are perceived in the NFL.
Jeremiah’s is just one’s man opinion, but here is his overall verdict – the Gators are loaded with NFL talent, Florida’s two rookies from 2009 give the Gators a lot of credibility, and one player may have to switch to H-back – but not the one you think.
Here is our conversation, in Q&A form:
Did Brandon Spikes hurt himself by coming back to UF for his senior year?
Daniel Jeremiah: I don’t think so. When you really study him, if he came out last year, you would have seen some of his deficiencies with some of his stiffness. The people that are attracted to his positive qualities would have been the same thing as last year to this year. The only reason he maybe could have come out was it was a weaker draft last year.
What do you mean by stiffness?
DJ: He’s got stiff hips. When he gets isolated with athletic backs, he’s stiff, he has a tough time re-directing and making the tackle. He’s not a fluid player. He’s really really physical, really strong, he’s just not a fluid athlete in terms of changing direction.
Spikes/Tim Casey Gator Country
Is he a mike or a will (middle or weakside linebacker)?
DJ: I think he’s a mike all the way. I think he’s a perfect fit in a 3-4 because he can bang inside. When you’re a 3-4 inside linebacker you usually have to be able to take on guards, and you have to be big and strong to be able to do that. I think in a 4-3 mike he maybe doesn’t have the ideal range. It would be tough but he could play it.
Do you hear about character issues with Spikes? Everyone calls him the “Tim Tebow of the defense,” but he had a few odd incidents – The eye gouge, skipping the BCS championship ceremony and SEC media days, shutting off the media in August.
DJ: During the fall when the scouts went in there, that’s what Urban was telling everybody – “As much as Tebow means to the offense with the leadership, Spikes means it to the defense,” and raved about his leadership qualities and how he brings up the play of everybody around him. So some of the goofy decisions he’s made maybe, but it’s going to be offset by the Florida head coach, and everybody there kind of raves about his leadership.
Does Urban have credibility with the NFL?
DJ: I think all these teams have relationships with these coaches, so it does hold some weight when you say a guy is running meetings and getting players over to facility to do all that kind of stuff. That holds a lot of weight
Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy helped a lot too.
DJ: Yeah exactly. They’ve had a pretty bad run of gators in the NFL. For last year to have two guys hit was huge.
Carlos Dunlap – People always talk about his inconsistency and motor problems. Do you see the same thing?
Dunlap is still viewed as an elite defensive end/AP
DJ: I don’t know that I necessarily see him taking plays off, as much as I just see him playing really high. When his leverage is messed up he plays high and then he loses early in the down. Offensive lineman gets into him, the play’s over. For me moreso than an effort issue, I think it’s a technique issue. He needs to get his pads down, he needs to come off the ball. When he stands straight up he gets tied up and the play’s over.
I think you tweeted once that Calais Campbell’s success as a rookie this year in Arizona is going to help Dunlap?
DJ: Yeah, (Campbell’s) last year in school, he just kind of disappeared for large stretches, and then he’d have two or three flashes and then just disappear. It’s the same thing with Dunlap. You’ll see 2-3 big time plays and you just see him disappear in games. So the good thing for him was Campbell was a really good pro, so that will be in the back of every scout’s mind. But on the down side, people compare him to Jamaal Anderson, who was the same type of player coming out of Arkansas, with all the physical tools, and he was kind of a bust in Atlanta.
Dunlap, will the DUI hurt him?
DJ: I don’t think the DUI will really hurt him. He was contrite about it. It was a serious issue, but for the most part that’s not going to affect his draft status too much.
Aaron Heranndez – big enough to play tight end?
DJ: I thought he was a perfect H-back, and I thought he reminded me of Chris Cooley and further than that Frank Wycheck. Really really good after the catch, great hands. If he gets the ball in his hands he kind of moves around like a wide receiver. He can make people miss, as opposed to a traditional tight end that’s kind of a catch-and-fall guy or a catch-and-try-to-run-you-over, Hernandez actually has some wiggle and make people miss. A lot of it’s going to be how tall he is. If he comes in 6-2 or under that’s going to be tough. You look around the league, there’s not too many tight ends under 6-2.
It’s going to be close.
DJ: If that happens now you’re talking about H-back. Usually you’re not going to see a guy like that in the first round. But he’s a natural. He’s one of the more instinctive players you’ll see just in terms of how he moves around and gets around coverage. You can tell he’s a really bright football player. I think he’ll be good, it’s just a team’s going to have to have the imagination to know what to do with him.
Riley Cooper boosted his stock a lot at the Senior Bowl/AP
Riley Cooper, how much did he help himself at the Senior Bowl?
DJ: I thought he really helped himself. He was somebody that showed he was fluid to run everything, all the routes. Coming out of that offense you want to see these guys run comebacks and run a lot of these NFL routes, the digs and all that kind of stuff. To see him be able to drop his weight and then do some things as a receiver, he did really well.
When you talk to people is there still a stigma against UF receivers?
DJ: Those two guys last year helped the cause, that’s for sure. But I think some of that stuff is probably a little more overrated.
Jermaine Cunningham, a bit overshadowed by Dunlap, where do you see him landing?
DJ: He is instinctive. He is a really really natural pass rusher, really knows how to use his hands. Not a rare athlete but just a really skilled pass rusher. Maybe one of the better pass rushers in the draft. I think you’ll see him going in the second round. Somebody will reach just because it’s a pass rushing league and a premium at getting to the QB, and he’s just a talented rusher.
How deep is defensive line/pass rushers?
Cunningham hasn't received much buzz but could go as high as the 2nd round/Getty Images
DJ: It’s a really good year for outside linebackers, those hybrid types, there’s a lot of those guys. And it’s a pretty good year for defensive linemen. There’s a chance just because of the depth he’ll go in the third round, but I think he’ll go in the second.
Are Cunningham and Dunlap outside linebackers at all, or strictly defensive ends?
DJ: Dunlap’s 290. he’s going to be an end. I think Dunlap is a left end, I don’t think he’s a right end. The right defensive end at the next level is more of a pure pass rusher, where your left defensive end has more of the size, playing the run. Cunningham is probably a little bit undersized as a right defensive end, but he’s the perfect rush linebacker for all these 3-4 teams. He’s going to be looked at as an outside linebacker I’m sure.
The crazy thing about Dunlap is even though he’s 6-6, 290 he still returned kickoffs in high school.
DJ: Yeah you can see he’s got rare athletic ability. But he doesn’t have that first step. For a right defensive end going up against the NFL left tackle, you have to have a pretty explosive first step, and he’s too big to do that.
Maurkice Pouncey, best center in the draft?
DJ: Yes, and you’re starting to see his name more and more. Teams have been all over this guy, I think he’s very comparable to (Alex) Mack last year. Mack went 21. Mack is a little bit nastier. Pouncey is a little more agile, moves on his feet better. He’s built for all these 3-4 defenses to play against cause he’s big and strong.
Maurkice Pouncey is widely regarded as the top center in the draft/AP
His versatility probably helps him too.
DJ: Absolutely, especially those interior positions, he can play all those spots. He’s big enough, he can probably play right tackle if he needed to. He’s got a lot of versatility and he’s really good on tape. What you’re gonna see is (Mike) Iupati, the guard from Idaho, if he goes pretty early, Pouncey is going to go soon thereafter.
Interior linemen can go in the first round?
DJ: There’s always usually a couple. Last year we had two centers go in the first round with Mack and Eric Wood from Buffalo. I think there will be two interior players this year, that’s usually about right.
Joe Haden, getting a lot of hype. Is he as good as people are saying?
Haden has a reputation for good ball skills/USA Today
DJ: I really like him. I want to see how big he in person, but he’s really good on tape. Reminds me a lot of Leon Hall. He’s really tough, sticks his face in the mix. He’s got great ball skills. I don’t think he’s going be one of these 6-foot-1 freaks of nature that you would see as a top 5 pick, but I don’t think he’ll last til 12 or 13. If he blows up the combine he could go in the top 5.
You really like him as a blitzer too?
DJ: Oh he’s really good when he comes in off the edge. He’s not only able to get there, he can separate the football. That’s what Charles Woodson made famous. The elite guys don’t just get there, they get the ball out. It shows you he’s fast enough to get there, he’s tough enough to get the guy and he’s football smart enough to get the ball out, so that’s a pretty good sign.
Did you get a chance to watch film on Major Wright?
DJ: I have, I watched a few games of all those other guys, and he’s sometimes in the back in my mind when I’m watching them. But he’s kind of shuttling in and out in the games I’m watching. For a couple of hours he didn’t do anything. There were pretty decent athletes back there but he didn’t have anything going on in the three or four games I watched. You got to find out what games they have production in and pick out the games, cause you could see games without seeing guys do anything.
He was probably the only early entrant that had some people in Gainesville scratching their heads.
DJ: I can see that, because he doesn’t jump off the tape.
Stamper's intelligence could earn himself an NFL roster spot/Tim Casey Gator Country
What about a guy like Ryan Stamper, any chance of an NFL career?
DJ: I think he’s a late round flier. The fact that he’s got the pedigree of being at Florida is going to help him, but he doesn’t play real physical there inside so I don’t know if he’s functionally strong enough. But guys like that, you always have to make the team on special teams and see what you have to develop. But when you watch tape he’s not in the same class as those other guys.
He probably doesn’t have the speed, but he was one of those guys who knew all 11 positions inside and out, and will probably be a coach one day.
DJ: That makes sense. The ball kind of finds him. The ball pops up in the air and he’ll get it.
One last thing before you go – what’s your official Tebow prediction?
DJ: I’ll say he’s going to go within, gosh, I’m going to say within the first 10 picks of the third round (the Miami Dolphins, coincidentally, have the 10th pick of the third round). You never know. The good thing for him is it only takes one team.
What about the Jaguars?
DJ: I think they’re probably relieved they don’t have a second round pick.