After watching this team it's obvious we are going to need a miracle at WR next year. Who are some players to keep an eye on this year as being a potential future Phin?
I haven't seen the Junior class yet but quite disappointed with the Senior one thus far, which includes Dobson, Mellette and Williams.
My favorite Receivers for this draft are Keenen Allen and Kenny Stills. I actually want us to draft both of them in the next draft. Haven't watched USC at all to have an opinion on those receivers but I do know they are highly touted but it sounds like Marquis Lee might be better than Woods from what I've heard.
That doesn't bode well. Mellette and Williams were two of my favorites from last year for this senior class. The juniors will certainly make or break this class. Keenan Allen, Stedman Bailey, potentially Marquess Wilson, Robert Woods, perhaps Justin Hunter.
I don't see Robert Woods as either the consensus #1 WR or even the real #1 WR in the class...personally...good player though.
The senior class is poor. Denard Robinson, Emory Blake, Marcus Davis, Cobi Hamilton, Ryan Swope etc. The junior class is Da'Rick Rodgers who has ridiculous talent but serious issues, Justin Hunter, the Wilson kid at Wazzu who looks good, Keenan Allen, Jared Abbrederis, Hopkins at Clemson, Woods. It's a nice group. Hunter looked wonderful before the ACL, Wilson is a natural athlete and a true deep threat.
I see Washington State finally wised up and put Connor Halliday out there at QB. Although it wasn't their decision, Tuel got injured (again, he's so damn injury prone). Halliday is a stud in the making if he can put on weight and avoid hits. Suddenly they're scoring 35 points or whatever and Marquess Wilson is back to looking like a stud. Go figure! Who knew? If Mike Leach is smart he will just go head and name Halliday his starter even over a healthy Jeff Tuel. The ONLY reason Halliday couldn't win the job was because he was still fighting off the liver laceration he heroically played through a year ago.
Saw the second half this morning. Kid looks real good and you called him early last year. My concern with Marquess is that Halliday takes an AGE to get the ball out because he has to go through his progressions about six times.
Yeah he likes to sit back there and wait for guys to come open, use his awareness and legs to deal with pressure. But doing the opposite was a big part or the problem in that offense. Tuel was getting the ball out too fast, wasn't letting the plays develop, reading the field and finding the open man. It's something Halliday will have to work on.
I'm not a big fan of Woods. I'm apprehensive about his ability to become a big time NFL receiver worthy of such a high pick TBH. Keenen Allen is leaps and bounds better IMHO.
I wouldn't be surprised to see another double from Ireland. Two solid route runners, 4.5 40s with decent deep speed, and excellent quickness with RAC ability along with productive college careers.
Hunter's quite a talent, though tends to drop some easy ones. Nonetheless, impressive. Haven't isolated him because I'm not watching JRs, but noticed him. I don't like Mellette. Williams drops too much ****.
I don't think Justin Hunter is a very fluid player right now period, but that doesn't mean he won't ever be. I think Stedman Bailey is about as good as is possible for a 5'10" and 195 lbs receiver prospect. He's going to make some people lose sleep, because they'll see both sides of the argument.
I tell you what I would like right now is to get Jarvis Jones or Mingo from LSU in the 1st and take that Marques Wilson from WSU, and Kenny Stills in the second. Then take a corner in the third. I'd get excited if that's how it played out!
I'm not sure he has that in him. I think he's more of 4.5 guy with deceptive speed and decent top end, although he has gotten faster since fresh & soph year, so maybe he can creep a hair under 4.5.
Yeah I would agree with that. He creates separation, looks good with the ball in the air, his quickness and feet are fantastic, but ultimately he's not creating many explosive plays that translate to the next level. He's like a Brian Hartline. He could be productive, but not scary.
I think the Brian Hartline thing is fair in that regard. IMO, he won't run a blistering 1.5 like Hartline, but he won't reach his top end at the 20 yard mark like Brian either. Hopkins would probably catch him by the 35 and begin to pull away. Plus Hopkins is significantly more athletic, has flypaper for hands, isn't tackled by a stiff breeze, offers some wiggle & elusiveness after the catch.......... and he can do things downfield that Hartline has nightmares of DBs doing to him such as tracking the ball well, making the contested grab, or offering natural highpoint ability (Hopkins did spend time on the Clemson basketball team), and DeAndre typically attacks the ball well no matter where he is on the field. Now that he's no longer playing basketball and has focused his off time on football and strength & conditioning, there's been a noticeable improvement in his speed & physicality, so it's possible he's a 4.45 guy by the draft, but I'd be surprised if he came out early. The kid works his tail off as well. His best days are still ahead of him. Likewise for Boyd who's gonna be a 1st rounder in 2014. IMO he has the quickest release of any top QB the past few years. Highly intelligent football player and learns the game quickly. Hardest worker around. Unflappable. Great leader & motivator. High character. 6th sense when it comes to sensing pressure and avoiding it with phenomenal escapability. Keeps his eyes downfield to make a play with his arm (from any throwing platform) rather than simply picking up 5 or 6 with his feet, which of course he can also do with ease if nothing's open. Great awareness & vision. Decisive. Has quite a strong base. Delivers in the face of pressure. Does a good job of staying in the pocket, sidestepping pressure with little wasted movement, and finding throwing lanes. Quick thinker with good anticipation. A natural passer. Outstanding velocity, drives the ball with authority, and doesn't need a long runway to drive it. Spins it extremely well. Catchable ball. Touch at all levels. Accurate at all levels. Good placement at all levels. Changes velocity well. Can throw the fade. Quick feet in the pocket and sets & resets them well. Selfless enough to take what the defense gives him. Plays smart. In my humble opinion, this is a guy who should've been coached by Steve Clarkson. Call me cuckoo but Tajh Boyd is basically a stronger & more athletic Matt Barkley with a quicker release, stronger arm, quicker feet, more adept under pressure including extending plays, and arguably a more natural passer. There's some great stuff of Hopkins, Boyd, and Ellington in the GaTech game highlights. Personally, I'd draft Ellington in a heartbeat if he's there in the 3rd round regardless of who we have a running back b/c he'd be such a strong fit for our off offense IMO. [video=youtube;IdG_GL49u74]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdG_GL49u74[/video]