| 29 March 2011
The reaction to my 22, my picks for each position on the field which I posted last Tuesday and Thursday put more mail in my mailbox than anything I have done in some time. I got quite a few slaps on the back. Thank you all. What really got my attention was the fans who were curious about some players who did not make it.
Top of the list was Troy safety Marcus Foster. I have not changed my opinion about him as a player. His film leaps out at me. He is a perfect example of what speed and measurables mean to this process. Foster is going to have to answer questions this summer about his speed. I knew Mark Porter was going to be good at this when I learned he was watching films of players over and over again. First blush you always see what is right about a player. Watching it over and over again you notice more things. I know when I first watched him that he was not going to have corner or wide receiver speed. What I noticed about Foster later was he gets caught from behind.
The other name that came up the most was receiver Dwayne Stanford. I have been a big fan. I still am. I still believe he is odds on to be a Buckeye. His film is very impressive. He is one of those players who I believe has game speed. His football speed. He is going to play faster in helmet and pads than other players who run faster on the track. Still, I was not expecting the time he ran when he went to the Massillon Nike combine. He was coming off a basketball game and a long drive. That has to be taken into account. I think he should go to another combine. This time well rested. It will restore him atop the wide receiver list.
Vangelo Bentley is a corner prospect from Glenville. I was talking about him earlier. He is going to be in the mix but I need to see him play corner. Almost all the film I saw of him was a a running back. You can see things in a player while he is playing another position that will allow you to project him to other positions but I think there is a specific skill set to being a corner. I want to see a corner play corner. He is likely to going to show college coaches that he can play corner this summer and could have an offer before I get to see him at corner next fall.
I would say the same thing about Najee Murray from Steubenville. First, I want to acknowledge Mark Porter as being the first on this kid who along with Nana Kyeremeh who I already had on my 22 as a backup, are the hottest DB properties in the state. I am glad to see some of you are paying attention. You are learning something from this blog as you contacted me to ask me why such an impressive player and one who is getting so much buzz wasn't on the list. I want to see him as a corner. That is why he was not on the list.
I was asked about Pharaoh Brown who I was very high on when I first saw his film. I can tell you I did not consider him. He says he wants to play tight end. He is willing to play defense but he wants to play tight end. That is not good enough. We talk about defensive players mindset. He has all the skills to be a great defensive end but I can't put a player on defense who does not want to play defense. I did not consider him at tight end either. He is going to have to show that he can play the position. He is a quarterback on offense in high school. We don't even know if he can catch the ball let alone run patterns or block.
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