Conference Call Replay with ESPN Scouts Inc. Director of College Football Scouting Todd McShay
ESPN conducted a media conference call Thursday, March 18, with ESPN Scouts Inc. Director of College Football Scouting Todd McShay, who discussed the impact of NFL Pro Days and 2010 NFL Draft prospects. McShay covered University of Florida Pro Day on Wednesday, March 17 and he will cover similar events at Oklahoma (March 25), Texas (March 31) and Notre Dame (April 9) in the coming weeks. To hear a full replay of the call click here. Select comments from the conference call:
On Tim Tebow’s NFL Pro Day and on adjustments he has made to his throwing mechanics …
“I thought he aced the test if you will. I don’t think that anyone can do a better job in a five-week span of basically retooling his entire mechanics as a passer. It’s easy for us to sit here and talk about it, but you have to understand how much goes into that. From the time he picked up a rock and threw it in the water or picked up a tennis ball and was messing around at recess, that’s just the way he was throwing. And after all these years, to just start over and to learn new footwork, and learn how to carry the ball, and learn not dip it down and basically learn this entire new motion. And to look as good and comfortable as he did in five weeks it’s a tribute to his work ethic and the coaching he’s gotten and how determined he is to prove everyone wrong, including myself, as he kindly reminded me yesterday. But I think you have to keep it in perspective too. We saw at times later in the workout he was trying to get more velocity on his fastball and he dipped down a couple of times and it looked like he was starting to get a little tired at the end as all quarterbacks do. It’s a tough routine throwing as many times as they do in such a short period of time. You saw him kind of revert back to it. I counted four times. The coach in the zone thought five times in the whole workout revert back to those old bad habits. That’s part of it. You know he’s a work in progress. And any team that drafts him knows that this development is going to take a couple years to break all those old habits.
“As much as I love him from an intangibles and toughness and character standpoint, and as much as I think he can contribute in different capacities in the NFL, I’ve got to draft in the first two rounds players that can start and hopefully start right away and make an impact on my team – at least are starting by the second year. With Tebow, I think any team that drafts him and wants him to play right away – even within the first two years certainly as a rookie – is doing him a disservice. He’s not ready and he’s going to need at least two maybe three years of developing and then he’s got a chance to compete for a starting job. When you talk about the first and second round I’d pass, but when you get into the third round, fourth round, that’s when I would draft him, but as a developmental project.”
On Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford’s chances of being drafted No. 1 overall …
“Right now it’s more than a 50-50 chance Bradford winds up going No. 1. Unless something is fundamentally wrong – his throwing motion has changed, if he’s not getting nearly as much zip on the ball, if there’s something that just jumps out at you and is alarming and creates concern. I don’t think Pro Day will affect that opportunity to be the No. 1 pick. … Ultimately, for a lot of different reasons – it’s the biggest need and it’s the most important position. He has certainly everything you look for when trying to find a quarterback that can be a franchise guy and a very good starter for you, from the accuracy to the toughness and intangibles. But, he also comes with a couple of red flags too. There will be debate in the war room, but I do not think again, unless it’s something completely unexpected, his Pro Day will cost him the spot at No. 1.”
On the risks of selecting a wide receiver early in the Draft …
On wide receivers there are more busts in the first round than the majority of other positions. That’s reason No. 1. Reason No. 2 is almost more important to me, is that it is not one of the positions of value. If you’re drafting in the first round, especially high in the first round, when the money is so overwhelming and can cripple you if you make a mistake. Or even if you get a solid player in a position that’s not one of ‘the big fours’ as I like to call it, I really think it can set your organization back. If I’m drafting in the first seven to 10 picks, I’ve got to be drafting, in my opinion, a quarterback, an offensive tackle, a pass-rusher – whether that’s a defensive end, outside linebacker, or in some cases defensive tackle…then fourth spot is cornerback. To me, that’s part of it. The wide receiver is not that impactful of a position when you look at it in terms of the Draft and what you can get.
“Also, we’ve seen a lot of wide receivers too with…however you want to phrase it, character issues, off the field, baggage or pa guys. There have been so many problems at that position, more so than any other position in recent years that it just seems to add to the risk of drafting a wide receiver.”
On how off-the-field issues will affect Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant …
“There hasn’t been a receiver as talented as him since Calvin Johnson, and Andre Johnson’s the other guy I’d put in that category. You look at where they got drafted compared to where Dez Bryant may get drafted. It’s a concern. He most likely will not be a top five pick and there’s a real good chance he won’t go in the top 10 or 11 spots. … If he starts getting passed up by Miami at 12 and San Francisco, which could use a wide receiver, there are several teams that could use wide receivers and every time he gets passed over it’s the off-the-field and baggage.”
On NFL Draft sleepers and late-risers …
“One is at the tight end position, Clay Harbor from Missouri State. I’ve watched a lot of tape of him after the Combine. I saw him at the East-West Shrine game, but mostly after the Combine. Small school, former wide receiver, who’s 6-3, 250 pounds and keeps getting bigger, but is one of the few guys in this class that can separate and make a difference. Even as a No. 2, H-back, backup for a team. I think he has the chance to be a poor man’s Chris Cooley, that type of player, and you can probably get him in the fourth round. At wide receiver, I think there are a few players. I like Seyi Ajirotutu from Fresno State. He’s a big wide receiver with great hands and has very good body control for a bigger wide receiver. I think there are guys that are smaller wide receivers that will come off the board in the fourth or fifth round.”
On cornerbacks in this year’s Draft …
(Speaking of Florida’s Joe Haden) “Knowing what we’ve seen on film and then having heard he had a back strain and then performing the way he did…I clocked him at a 4.43…that matches up more to what you see on film. … I think he is without question the most complete cornerback in terms of athleticism in this class. I do think the depth of this cornerback class is very much underrated. I like Kyle Wilson from Boise State as the No. 2 corner and I think Kareem Jackson for some reason people have not caught on to him. … I think Kareem Jackson is almost as good as Kyle Wilson — belongs in the top 25 picks and has a chance to make an immediate impact coming from Nick Saban and that defense and all the good coaching he’s had. I think he might be the most underrated player in the entire Draft right now.”
On the difficulty of trading up and down in the Draft …
“It’s money. It really is. It all has to do with money and fitting within the salary cap. … Basically if there’s going to be an adjustment it should be in the top seven to 10 picks. Bring down those numbers. As much as I value the Draft, it doesn’t make any sense in the world that Matt Ryan coming out – I love Matt Ryan and thought he was going to be a great player – but how is he making more money than Tom Brady? It makes no sense. It’s almost a punishment for the teams drafting in the top three or four spots and all the way down to seven simply because you wind up with a player that’s never stepped on an NFL field, paying him so much money. If things don’t work out, or even if he’s an average player, a starter who’s not great, it really straps your team. … Other teams are looking at it saying, why are we going to move up? … If we stay in the middle of the round we may not get as great of a player at 15 than if we traded up to five, but we have to pay him so much less money that if it doesn’t work out, we’re not strapped. If it does work out, we’ll take our good player and have money left to get good players.”
On Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen …
“He’ll wind up in the first round certainly. I think there’s a good chance he’ll go in the top 10 picks. First of all, from a talent standpoint, and the more I watch of him, the more you have to appreciate what he’s done in the last year. He really has improved. He’s gotten bigger, he’s gotten stronger, he has found a way from the torque of his hips, from stepping and following through and different techniques to improve his arm strength….and he understands the game, he really does. When I talk about the intangibles, it’s not the mental capacity or the knowledge of the game because he does get it. … He is the one quarterback in this class that you can say hey, I’m watching him in the pro-style system, he’s making the kind of reads he’s going to have to make at the next level, and he’s probably going to transition more quickly than any of these other guys, including Bradford.
“I do think he’s maxed out physically though. I think because he’s always had the best coaching and has used every bit of technique to get the most out of his skills, I don’t think he’s going to continue to develop as a player like Sam Bradford or the way some of these other players will. The bottom line is there are at least 10 different teams in the NFL that I have talked to that have concerns about the intangibles and the leadership. One scout said, ‘I’m worried about the fact that he’s gone to the private schools, had the best coaches and always been pampered throughout his life and put in this NFL incubator,’ is what he said, to be in this spot. ‘And, I wonder why it is he rubbed some teammates wrong and some people in the community. Is he entitled? And his brothers have a home so they can watch him every single week, paid for by his parents in South Bend.’ There’s just so many different little things that add up and create a concern when you’re talking about investing tens of millions of dollars in guaranteed money into a player that’s an underclassman. And the track record for underclassman quarterbacks is just not good. The percentages are not good and when immaturity is in the equation as it is with Clausen, it makes it even less likely that he’s going to be able to handle a first year as a rookie if things don’t go well as a starting quarterback.”
-30-
Recent Comments