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UH duo finds NFL scouts to be fickle
Vollmer's stock rises; Hunt fights for recognition
By STEVE CAMPBELL Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
From Germany to NFL
Vollmer has plenty of reason to look around in wonder. Born in Germany, Vollmer didn’t take up football until he was 14. He emerged from his senior season with the Houston Cougars considered a questionable NFL prospect. The more teams have gotten to know him, the better they seem to like him.
The growing consensus is that Vollmer, who started the past two seasons at left offensive tackle, will get selected in the fourth round or higher. NFLDraftScout.com ranks Vollmer as a fourth-round pick, the 12th-best tackle prospect. Scout Inc. ranks Vollmer as the ninth-best tackle and the 80th-best player overall.
“He’s built like an NFL offensive lineman,” said 1989 Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware, a UH alum who works for ESPN as an analyst. “He’s played other positions in college. They know he can move around. He’s not just a stiff guy. You’re talking about a guy who has a tremendous amount of upside.”
Vollmer’s draft status seems to be considerably less tenuous than that of defensive end Phillip Hunt, the 2008 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year. Despite 13½ sacks last season, Hunt is getting treated more like a suspect than a prospect. NFLDraftScout.com ranks Hunt as the 23rd-best outside linebacker — a seventh-rounder or free agent. Scouts Inc. ranks Hunt as the 24th-best defensive end prospect.
“I’ve always considered myself an elite pass rusher in high school and college,” Hunt said. “I hope I can do that at the next level. As long as I can rush the passer, I know I can help the team that takes me. I can play special teams. I bring a lot of leadership. I’m a great asset to any team that chooses me.”
Slimming down
UH listed Hunt at 6-2 and 260. At the Cougars’ pro day last month, Hunt came in at a svelte 224 pounds but measured in just under 6-1. He turned a 4.72 time in the 40-yard dash, vertical-jumped 41½ inches and did 14 reps of the 225-pound bench press. In other words, Hunt came in determined to show he could get lean and do a mean job of pass coverage if necessary.
“A lot of people have been saying that I might have to move to outside linebacker in a 3-4 or be an end,” Hunt said. “I know I can gain weight any time. I changed my body so I can more agile.”
Vollmer built on a strong showing at the East-West Shrine Game on pro day. The scouts measured Vollmer, whom most teams project as a right tackle in the NFL, at nearly 6-7½ and 312 pounds. His performance in the 40-yard dash (5.09), the vertical jump (35½ inches) and the bench press (32 reps at 225 pounds) compared favorably with the tackles touted as first rounders.
“He’s still got a lot of untapped potential,” said Titans college scouting coordinator C.O. Brocato, who attended UH’s pro day. “A team’s going to draft him and let him develop, and if he’s in the right system with good coaching, eventually, he can become a starter and play for a long time. The kid’s come a long way, and he’s worked hard to get there.”
Hunt has only just begun to take on the task of ridding himself of the label “tweener.” Maybe Hunt can take heart in knowing there is plenty of precedent for UH players making something out of themselves from the lower reaches of the draft.
Start low, then prosper
Linebacker Greg Brezina lasted until the 11th round in 1968 and managed to play 11 NFL seasons, making a Pro Bowl along the way. Linebacker Eugene Lockhart, a sixth-rounder in 1984, started 117 games in nine NFL seasons. Center Rex Hadnot, a sixth-rounder in 2004, has started 63 of a possible 64 games the past four seasons.
“I’ve proved year in, year out, it’s not about the size; it’s about the football skills,” Hunt said. “Even in high school, I was the underdog. In college, they knocked me for being too small. In the NFL, I’ll have to prove I can be a linebacker, defensive end, whatever they want me to be, because I’m a great football player.”
steve.campbell@chron.com
Vollmer's stock rises; Hunt fights for recognition
By STEVE CAMPBELL Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
From Germany to NFL
Vollmer has plenty of reason to look around in wonder. Born in Germany, Vollmer didn’t take up football until he was 14. He emerged from his senior season with the Houston Cougars considered a questionable NFL prospect. The more teams have gotten to know him, the better they seem to like him.
The growing consensus is that Vollmer, who started the past two seasons at left offensive tackle, will get selected in the fourth round or higher. NFLDraftScout.com ranks Vollmer as a fourth-round pick, the 12th-best tackle prospect. Scout Inc. ranks Vollmer as the ninth-best tackle and the 80th-best player overall.
“He’s built like an NFL offensive lineman,” said 1989 Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware, a UH alum who works for ESPN as an analyst. “He’s played other positions in college. They know he can move around. He’s not just a stiff guy. You’re talking about a guy who has a tremendous amount of upside.”
Vollmer’s draft status seems to be considerably less tenuous than that of defensive end Phillip Hunt, the 2008 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year. Despite 13½ sacks last season, Hunt is getting treated more like a suspect than a prospect. NFLDraftScout.com ranks Hunt as the 23rd-best outside linebacker — a seventh-rounder or free agent. Scouts Inc. ranks Hunt as the 24th-best defensive end prospect.
“I’ve always considered myself an elite pass rusher in high school and college,” Hunt said. “I hope I can do that at the next level. As long as I can rush the passer, I know I can help the team that takes me. I can play special teams. I bring a lot of leadership. I’m a great asset to any team that chooses me.”
Slimming down
UH listed Hunt at 6-2 and 260. At the Cougars’ pro day last month, Hunt came in at a svelte 224 pounds but measured in just under 6-1. He turned a 4.72 time in the 40-yard dash, vertical-jumped 41½ inches and did 14 reps of the 225-pound bench press. In other words, Hunt came in determined to show he could get lean and do a mean job of pass coverage if necessary.
“A lot of people have been saying that I might have to move to outside linebacker in a 3-4 or be an end,” Hunt said. “I know I can gain weight any time. I changed my body so I can more agile.”
Vollmer built on a strong showing at the East-West Shrine Game on pro day. The scouts measured Vollmer, whom most teams project as a right tackle in the NFL, at nearly 6-7½ and 312 pounds. His performance in the 40-yard dash (5.09), the vertical jump (35½ inches) and the bench press (32 reps at 225 pounds) compared favorably with the tackles touted as first rounders.
“He’s still got a lot of untapped potential,” said Titans college scouting coordinator C.O. Brocato, who attended UH’s pro day. “A team’s going to draft him and let him develop, and if he’s in the right system with good coaching, eventually, he can become a starter and play for a long time. The kid’s come a long way, and he’s worked hard to get there.”
Hunt has only just begun to take on the task of ridding himself of the label “tweener.” Maybe Hunt can take heart in knowing there is plenty of precedent for UH players making something out of themselves from the lower reaches of the draft.
Start low, then prosper
Linebacker Greg Brezina lasted until the 11th round in 1968 and managed to play 11 NFL seasons, making a Pro Bowl along the way. Linebacker Eugene Lockhart, a sixth-rounder in 1984, started 117 games in nine NFL seasons. Center Rex Hadnot, a sixth-rounder in 2004, has started 63 of a possible 64 games the past four seasons.
“I’ve proved year in, year out, it’s not about the size; it’s about the football skills,” Hunt said. “Even in high school, I was the underdog. In college, they knocked me for being too small. In the NFL, I’ll have to prove I can be a linebacker, defensive end, whatever they want me to be, because I’m a great football player.”
steve.campbell@chron.com
