Pro Day Impact & Analysis: Peria Jerry

Mississippi DL Peria Jerry measured a height of 6-foot1 7/8 and a weight of 290 pounds at his Pro Day. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.98 seconds, the short shuttle in 4.64 seconds and the three-cone drill in 7.30 seconds. He measured a 31-inch vertical jump, a 9-foot-6 broad jump and completed 28 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press.

Mancini's Take: Jerry has amazing burst off the snap, which helps him knife through the line of scrimmage and wreak havoc in the offensive backfield. In addition to his quickness, the d-tackle can really hammer ballcarriers and force turnovers. The only question with Jerry is whether he can fight through double teams. He's not B.J. Raji when it comes to stopping the run, but he's certainly a playmaker. Did this guy blow you away during Senior Bowl week, Rosstradamus?

Mandel's Take: He is indeed impressive, Rev, but I wonder about his durability--he missed several games early in his college career, had surgery less than a year ago, and during his Pro Day, he was bothered by a slight hamstring pull. However, even with that nagging injury, he managed to post some very solid numbers for a man of his size. His athleticism and non-stop motor will be attractive to any team and if he was 21, and hadn't been banged up in college, he'd be a top-10 pick. But he's 25 and has a history of injury...so he'll probably go late in round one. He will no doubt produce...when he's on the field.

Photo Credit: SEC Sports Media

On The Clock: Houston Texans

Record: 8-8, 3rd In the AFC South
General Manager: Rick Smith, Head Coach: Gary Kubiak (4th Year), Offensive Coordinator: Kyle Shanahan (2nd Year/4th Year With the Texans), Defensive Coordinator: Frank Bush (1st Year/3rd With the Texans)

Offense Rankings: No. 3 Overall, No. 17 Scoring, No. 4 Passing, No. 13 Rushing
Defense Rankings: No. 22 Overall, No. 27 Scoring, No. 17 Passing, No. 23 Rushing

Last Five Years: 31-49; Last Playoff Appearance: Never; Last Playoff Victory: Never

2008 Draft: (1-26) OT Duane Brown, (3-79) CB Antwaun Molden, (3-89) RB Steve Slaton, (4-118) LB Xavier Adibi, (5-151) DT Frank Okam, (6-173) S Dominique Barber, (7-223) QB Alex Brink

Top Picks Last Five Years:
2008 – (1-26) OT Duane Brown, Virginia Tech
2007 – (1-10) DT Amobi Okoye, Louisville
2006 – (1-1) DE Mario Williams, NC State
2005 – (1-16) DT Travis Johnson, Florida St.
2004 – (1-10) CB Dunta Robinson, South Carolina & (1-27) LB Jason Babin

Boom: CB Dunta Robinson (1st Round 2004), DE Mario Williams (1st Round 2006), LB DeMeco Ryans (2nd Round 2006), OT Eric Winston (3rd Round 2006), TE Owen Daniels (4th Round 2006), WR David Anderson (7th Round 2006), DB Fred Bennett (4th Round 2007), LB Zachary Diles (7th Round 2007), RB Steve Slaton (3rd Round 2008)

Bust: LB Jason Babin (1st Round 2004), RB Vernand Morency (3rd Round 2005), WR Jerome Mathis (4th Round 2005), OG Charles Spencer (3rd Round 2006), WR Jacoby Jones (2nd Round 2007)

Additions:
QB Dan Orlovsky (Free Agent)
DE Antonio Smith (Free Agent)

Subtractions:
SS C.C. Brown (FA-New York/NFC)
FS Will Demps (Released)
RB Ahman Green (Released)
LB Morlon Greenwood (Released)
QB Sage Rosenfels (Trade)
OT Ephraim Salaam (Released)
DE Anthony Weaver (Released)

Keepers:
WR David Anderson
TE Joel Dreessen
SS Nick Ferguson
DE Stanley McClover
CB Dunta Robinson (Franchised)
C Chris White
FS Eugene Wilson

2009 Picks:
Round 1, Selection 15
Round 2, Selection 14
Round 3, Selection 13
Round 4, Selection 12
Round 4, Selection 22 (From Minnesota)
Round 5, Selection 16
Round 6, Selection 15
Round 7, Selection 14

Team Needs – Players of Interest (Day One):
1. Outside Linebacker: Brian Cushing, USC; Clay Matthews Jr., USC; Clint Sintim, Virginia; Marcus Freeman, Ohio St.
2. Safety: Louis Delmas, Western Michigan
3. Defensive Tackle: Peria Jerry, Ole Miss; Evander Hood, Missouri; Jarron Gilbert, San Jose St.; Sen’Derrick Marks, Auburn
4. Running Back: Knowshon Moreno, Georgia; Donald Brown, UConn; Chris Wells, Ohio St.; Andre Brown, North Carolina St.; Shonn Greene, Iowa; Glenn Coffee, Alabama; Rashad Jennings, Liberty
5. Offensive Guard: Herman Johnson, LSU; Andre Levitre, Oregon St.
6. Defensive End: Robert Ayers, Tennessee; Tyson Jackson, LSU; Lawrence Sidbury Jr., Michael Johnson, Georgia Tech; Paul Kruger, Utah

Photo Credit: College Press Box (West Virginia), SEC Sports Media

Pro Day Impact & Analysis: Michael Oher

According to NFL.com, Mississippi OT Michael Oher measured a height of 6-foot-5 and a weight of 306 pounds at his Pro Day. He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.24 and 5.16 seconds. He also measured a 31-inch vertical jump and he completed 23 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press.

Mancini's Take: Physically, he has everything you're looking for in a left tackle. Oher's long arms, quick feet and outstanding lateral movement make him one of the most naturally gifted offensive linemen in football. The much-publicized athlete gets himself into trouble when he plays too high, which causes him to lose leverage, but that's something that can be corrected. I have no problem with Oher being a first-round pick, Ross.

Mandel's Take: Oher has received all the accolades, and deservedly so...his size, footwork, and on-field performances make him worthy of a top 10 pick in the upcoming Draft. There is some concern about his football intelligence, which--combined with the technique problems the Rev mentioned above--has him firmly behind Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe in the OL pecking order. But he's ahead of Andre Smith in my mind and if he receives even decent coaching, he'll be a fixture for a decade. Cincinnati could do much worse with their first choice.

Photo Credit: College Press Box (Ole Miss)

Q&A: Danny Hope, Head Coach, Purdue

College Football Insiders Coaches Corner with Coach Danny Hope of Purdue was conducted on the morning of the Boilermakers Pro Day. Hosted by CFI Founder Daniel Mogollon.

Let’s start with some of the Boilermakers heading to the NFL Draft, beginning with quarterback Curtis Painter. Last week we spoke to Coach Bob Johnson, who is working with Painter, and he believes Curtis will be a starter in the NFL. Do you think he is underrated as a quarterback prospect?

Hope: I think so. Curtis came on board last year and he had great numbers. He went through the 2008 season with the football team and had a chance to be out there in the spring and all of the fall. He’s got great arm strength. He’s an excellent person. He’s got good height. He went down to the Combine and ran better than people anticipated. I think he was a little bit under a 4.9, I think he ran in high 4.8’s in the 40. Coming out of the Combine, he opened a lot of people’s eyes up with his accuracy and the strength of his arm. There’s a bunch of people coming in today, we’ll have about 20 NFL teams here and a lot of those guys will be here to find out more about Curtis Painter. I don’t have any motivations to think that he’s not a NFL quarterback from a physical standpoint. Obviously his senior campaign didn’t go quite as well as he wanted it to, but there were a lot of circumstances that he couldn’t
control that effected his numbers. I think he’ll get his shot, and do well when he gets his opportunity.

Having said that…passing yards, completion percentage and touchdowns were down…what happened this past season?

Hope: We weren’t as good on offense, obviously. There were a couple of top receivers that did not come back for the 2009 season cause their eligibility was up. Dustin Keller was drafted in the first round last year, he was a big playmaker and a tight end who could get vertical down field and stretch the defense in special ways. Curtis was able to take advantage of that, but we didn’t have that threat at the tight end position this season. We had some injuries at the tight end position and really didn’t open up the tight end passing attack, and that cut his numbers back some. Last year Dorrian Bryant, in 2007, he was the leading receiver in the Big Ten and one of the leading receivers nationally for two, three years in a row. He went on to go play in the league, he was not back and that effected him in some ways. Some of our top playmakers were gone. Then we struggled up front, offensive line-wise. (We) had a lot of guys injured coming into the season and had to play a lot of young offensive linemen, some true freshmen and that limits some of the things you can do as far as spreading the field out and taking some chances, protection-wise. I think it was a combination of a lot of things.

How about Kory Sheets? I think he surprised people with his speed at the NFL Scouting Combine, what kind of player can he be at the next level?

Hope: I think he could help a team in a lot of ways. He’s a good kick return man, he has legitimate speed, and good size, not great. But I’m not surprised he ran as fast as he did. I think he ran somewhere in the mid, low 4.4’s. He was an excellent sprinter in high school. He was a track man in high school and had documented track times. He was fortunate this season to get the bulk of the work at the running back spot. We had an injury to one of our top running backs, Jason Taylor. We relied a lot on Kory Sheets and he rose to the occasion and really did a great job. He rushed for over 1,200 yards and was a good receiver out of the backfield, but I think the fact that he played in the spread offense and knows how to catch the football will separate him from some other guys at his position. If he can prove himself to be a physical player, I think he can do very well in National Football League. He is very talented and I think he has the desire to do well.

Being a former offensive line coach and a former offensive lineman yourself, tell us what makes defensive tackle Alex Magee difficult to block...

Hope: Well, he’s very quick and he has good size, good explosion. He’s marketable in some ways because he has enough size to play inside. He’s not the 320-, 30-, or 40-pound defensive tackle, he’s not a Teddy Washington type, size-wise. He can go inside and play, and he’s athletic enough to go out on the edges and play, and be a decently-sized defensive end. I think his marketability is up because he can have a chance to play both positions. He has good speed, not great, I think he is a guy that is quicker than he is fast and that makes a difference when you're playing on the line of scrimmage. He has the knack for rushing the passer, I think he’s a good player and has a real upside to him. I think he’s got the tools that you're looking for to play on the defensive line. So I think all three of those guys are guys that will test out well and open people’s eyes. I think all three of those guys will be drafted.

Do you think Magee can make the adjustment to play end in a three-four scheme? That’s not an easy thing to find…

Hope: No, and it’s a good position for him to play out there, in a loose five technique. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him filling that role. He is also a smart guy that will test out well in all of the aptitude tests which will make a very good impression. I think that will help his stock.

How many teams have spoken to you? And which guys are drumming up the most interest?

Hope: Well, they all come through here. They all do a great job, the NFL does a great job at researching and doing their homework. They get the data that they need. Everyone has been here, they’ve all asked questions. They’re all here today, the building is full of them, they’re all over the place and we’re going to meet here in a few minutes to get more of their questions answered, but they’ve all been through here.

Spring is almost upon us…Purdue is about two weeks away from spring camp, I believe Wednesday March 25th is the exact date. What are you looking to accomplish in your first spring as headman of the Boilermakers?

Hope: We are going to crank it up here in a couple of weeks. They are leaving after classes today, if they have not already left, to go on spring break. We have had great pre-spring training program. I think the guys really worked hard and had a lot of energy about them. Morale was up, they were excited about some of the new things that we’re doing. I’m looking forward to spring ball starting, it will kick up in about 12 days. The first two days we’ll go out in shorts only and then we’ll get the pads on. I think our guys are excited about that. We have a lot of young guys that are very talented. We feel good with what we have coming back from a depth standpoint because a lot of guys aren’t really what you would call marquee or heralded players. A lot of the guys that are coming back were new to getting on the field last year and I think they can take their game to another level. We're bringing in some fresh blood, and there will be some great competition out there, we're anticipating a very spirited spring. Guys out there will be competing for starting jobs, and we go into the spring with the idea that all spots are open and our guys are excited about that. The depth chart that we post daily...we move the depth chart around based on how guys are performing in spring ball so we expect it to be very competitive, very spirited. We have a lot of questions to be answered at every position on our team, more questions at some spots than others, and we have a lot of work to do. But I feel good about our preparation going into the spring and the attitude of our players going into the spring.

Justin Siller was brilliant in a 48-42 victory over Michigan, throwing for 266 yards and three touchdowns and adding another 77 yards and a score on the ground as a freshman. Is this his job?

Hope: He’s going to have to compete obviously, and we have another quarterback in Joey Elliot that was second on the depth chart behind Curtis Painter. He was injured, and then Curtis Painter was injured so we moved Siller from running back. He did a great job and there will be competition at that job. Elliot obviously won’t be at full speed going into the spring, but he’ll get some reps. Then we have a freshman (Caleb TerBush)that was red-shirted last year, he comes from the state of Illinois, right next door. He’s a small kid, with a good arm and we’ll get him some reps as well. Also, we have a new quarterbacks coach. I think it’s a big spring for us, obviously, at the quarterback position. We've got two guys that have played, in Joey Elliot and Justin Siller, and both have have been lined up as the number one or number two at some time last season. We also have a new quarterbacks coach from Florida Atlantic University and he’s going to get our quarterback competition under way.

Is it possible that Justin could move back to running back if he doesn’t win the quarterback job?

Hope: I don’t see that happening. We have some guys at the running back spot that are going to get their opportunities and we anticipate they'll all stay healthy, so Justin will stay at quarterback.

Who are some of those guys moving to the forefront? Losing Sheets, he ran over 1,100 yards and Justin was second leading rusher with a 167, so we're talking about unknown products at that position, right?

Hope: Exactly. But they're all guys that were on the team last year. Guys that were on the travel squad and guys that have gotten reps in practice and that understand what we're trying to get done. We had a freshman that we played last year, Ralph Bolden, that was injured for part of his senior season. He came in last year and we did not red-shirt him. He played a little bit last year. He’s a good throwback prospect. Frank Halliburton, out of Indianapolis, he’s a big back and played some special teams for us last year. He might play some at the fullback position. Daniel Dierking was one of the leading rushers in Illinois three years ago. He was mostly a special teams player last year. He’ll get reps at the running back spot as well. Another big back, by the name of (Jared) Crank played some on special teams last year. The running back spot is wide open with a couple of big backs. Obviously Ralphy played some last year and Frank, those are the guys that will get the bulk of the reps.

I got a recruiting question for you about quarterback Nayee Tyler. I’m from New York and we don’t produce many football players, so a quarterback out of Brooklyn is big news locally. What can you tell me about him?

Hope: We’re really excited about him. We were surprised that we were on his list. Right now the way recruiting works, everyone is worried about filling up so fast with early commitments. A lot of these guys are signed before their senior year. But he’s a very special athlete, and a very special person. He’s a guy that was on our mailing list his junior year. They had a very good running back and didn’t throw the football a whole lot till the end of the season. His senior season, they changed things around and threw the ball more and threw it well. He’s a guy that we knew about, but he was unproven as a player and his film came in and he went through the film evaluation process that we have. We all thought that he had a great upside to him and he did a great job in his senior year. He’s big, about 6’6, 230 something pounds and very smart. He traveled about a hour and a half just to go one way in high school. It was a great high school that he went to, the program (Xaverian) that he played at. We think we did very well. Towards the end, when people started getting a scale in and looking at him, we realized he was a special player from a top school in the country coming in. We already gotten on him and he was sold on Purdue, so we thought we did very well and were very fortunate in that recruiting situation.

Photo Credit: Purdue University Sports Information

Q&A: Scott McKillop, LB, Pittsburgh

Player Spotlight interview with Scott McKillop hosted by Daniel Mogollon on All Access Football Radio.

With the Senior Bowl and Scouting Combine behind you, what’s your typical day like now?

McKillop: Right now, my typical day…I was fortunate enough to be out in California, training at Velocity in Irvine. I flew back in this past Saturday so I’ve been working out with our strength and conditioning coach at Pitt. That’s basically Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We’ll train for two days, have a little restoration day in the middle, then continue. Right now it’s my job, so I’m basically doing it all day long and trying to give it my full effort, and hopefully I reap the benefits come Draft day.

When you were out there at Velocity, who were some of the other guys you were working out with there in California?

McKillop: Some of the guys I was out there working with were B.J Raji, Mark Sanchez, Clay Matthews, Donald Brown, Pat White, Ryan Purvis, Eric Wood, Will Johnson from Michigan, and Tim Jamison from Michigan.

Did you build good relationships while you were out there? Who did you hang out with?

McKillop: I definitely think I built a couple of good relationships. My roommate was Eric Wood and going into the process, training together, we had some mutual respect for each other. He’s a great player, one of the hardest players I went up against. I hung out a little with B.J. Raji and Ryan Purvis from B.C.

Eric Wood is one of those nasty-type centers, right?

McKillop: Oh yeah, he brings his lunch pail to work every day.

How about a guy like B.J. Raji, wouldn’t you love to play behind him at the next level? I know you got to play with him a little at the Senior Bowl…

McKillop: Oh definitely, the one thing about him is he requires a double team every play so that frees-up the linebacker a little bit. You need to have some big boys in front of you to be able to play back and have some more freedom.

Let’s stay with the Senior Bowl—out of this whole process is that the most fun for the players, since you actually get to play football?

McKillop: Oh yeah, it was definitely real fun. It was my first opportunity to meet some of the names that you heard about from the people you played against. You also see how well you stack-up against the top seniors in the Draft. You get to create relationships with a bunch of players, but also like you said, it’s good to be out there tackling again—that’s one thing I like to do is play football. It was a great learning experience for me.

What did you learn from Marvin Lewis and his staff?

McKillop: One thing you get to learn about as you go to the next level is that it’s a business. There’s no time to play-around, there’s no dead-time—everything is done for a reason. With a coach like Marvin Lewis, he didn’t deal with any BS, and basically how he wanted it was how it was going to get done.

Do you think it’s indicative of your game that you stand out more in games than in practice? When people aren’t worried about what your measurements are and what your speed is, you just play football…

McKillop: Exactly, I think I flourish in working in team-drills. You know, whether you have to read, you have to react...basically all the intangibles you need to become a good football player. I think come game time I showed up, and that is one of the things—sometimes when people see me, they’re not impressed at first. But I know once they see me play, I will definitely leave an impression in people’s minds.

Is that annoying, because that implies that people have some sort of impression of you without having seen you play much?

McKillop: Oh definitely…one of the things about the Draft and the Combine is how you look. People put a lot of weight on what their first impressions are. I think sometimes it works against me in a way, but I think no matter what if the teams do enough scouting they’ll see that I’m a great player and I can play at the next level.

What were your experiences like the week of the Combine?

McKillop: I remember one of the guys there saying that this will probably be the last time you ever run a 40 ever in your life. The day of the workouts, the Monday when all the linebackers and I worked out, we were on the field from about 10 a.m. to about 4 p.m. Basically what they want to do is see how well you perform. It’s like an away game, where you’re not used to anything and they just want to see how you perform at your lowest.

Did you feel you met the goal for yourself heading in?

McKillop: I think I did pretty well, you know, a lot of people—like you said earlier—weren’t expecting much out of me as far as them saying, “He’s out there. He’s isolating himself, that’s his weakness”. But I think Combine-wise and time-wise I showed people I am athletic, and contrary to what people think about me, I went up against my competition—who were supposed to be so much faster than me and so much quicker than me—and I beat them in a couple of events.

Any particular teams show some interest in you?

McKillop: I was fortunate enough to meet with all the linebacker coaches and get an opportunity to talk X’s-and-O’s. I think chalk talk is one area that I think is my great asset; my understanding of the game. Being able to scan the D-line, the linebackers, the secondary and have everybody on the same page, to make sure if something is wrong out there—I have the knowledge and the understanding of everything. But I had an opportunity…I had a meeting with the Chargers, the Jets, the Saints and the Panthers.

You have pretty good bulk. Did any teams talk to you about playing the 3-4 defense? Did that come up at all while you were talking to teams?

McKillop: Yeah, you know it was kind of funny. It depends who you talk to as far as teams. You know, some teams say they want you to lose some weight, and others say they want you to add more bulk. I have no problem doing either because throughout my entire life I was a wrestler, so losing weight has never been a problem with me. My dad is about 6’6’’ about 300 pounds, so I never had a problem gaining either.

What would you say is your max playing-weight if you had to bulk up a little bit?

McKillop: I can see myself getting to 255.

You’re a Pennsylvania kid, you went to Pitt, your favorite team is the Steelers…they play a 3-4 defense. Would that be a nice fit for you?

McKillop: You know, I just think I would love to play for the Steelers if they decided it would be in their best interest to draft me. I would go out there and prove it was the correct decision. But no matter who picks me up, I’m just going to go out there, no matter if its practice or a game, and try to erase any doubts they had about me as a player.

Have you had a chance to follow them closely the past few years playing in the same stadium? They also have a few good linebackers there…

McKillop: They’ve had a great nucleus, some great linebackers. It’s kind of hard not becoming a Steelers fan whenever you share the same facilities as the Pittsburgh Steelers, whether it’s practice or a game. You also get to watch them practice every once in a while. So it’s kind of hard not to become a Steelers fan. I’m from Pittsburgh, I went to college in Pittsburgh, and it’s kind of hard not to catch that Steeler vibe.

I’m sure you must have enjoyed this past January once your college career was over, watching the playoff run?

McKillop: Oh, yeah definitely. I was actually out in California when they won the Super Bowl. I was so happy, to the point that I couldn’t wait to get back to my family to celebrate the win with them.

Tell us a little bit about your teammate LeSean McCoy, and what’s it like trying to get a hold of Shady at practice?

McKillop: He’s a great kid. He has great character. One of my good friends. He helped me become a better linebacker this year. I thought I was pretty fortunate to go out and practice against one of the top running backs in college football. I think he helped me become a better tackler this year than I was last. He’s a great kid, I’m pulling for him.

How about the guard C.J. Davis?

McKillop: He’s thick, he hits hard, and he keeps his legs pumping. He’s a little underrated as well, in my opinion. Hopefully he gets a shot. I think he’ll catch-on with some team.

We closeout with a segment we call three-and-out. First down: Who was your favorite superhero growing up?

McKillop: Spiderman.

Second down: Who is your favorite female entertainer?

McKillop: My favorite female entertainer…I would say Jessica Biel.

Not a bad choice...Third down: First purchase you’re looking forward to making once you get that NFL contract? Maybe something you aren’t able to get now, but once you get that NFL paycheck, maybe you’ll be able to get.

McKillop: I’m pretty much set as far as myself. I would like to help my mom and dad out, because they helped me out and I just want to make them happy since they had to sacrifice for me and my two older brothers growing up. So whatever they'd like to get, I’ll help them out with it.

How about your brothers, anything for them?

McKillop: Umm…I guess if I’m fortunate enough to play I’ll sit down with them and see if I can help them out with something.

Photo Credit: College Press Box (Pittsburgh)