Draft Watch: Oklahoma State Cowboys

We have a Big 12 game tonight on Thursday Night College Football, players to watch for the 2010 NFL Draft are the following.

QB Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State - Robinson plays in a spread offense that so much of college football is going to, which makes it hard for NFL personal to really get a true evaluation off what a quarterback can do at the next level. Robinson is a good athlete and can move in the pocket to give himself time to get the ball down field and he does have a strong arm. He hasn’t had the season that many people thought he would, some of which is due to the NCAA suspension of his top receiver Dez Bryant. He is completing 63.5 percent of his passes for 1,922 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Colorado native has also rushed for 302 yards and four touchdowns. Right now looks, the Poke's signal caller looks like a 6th or 7th round pick, someone a team will want to develop for down the road.

RB Keith Toston, Oklahoma State – Toston has really improved his draft stock this season, with the loss of Bryant the Cowboys have become more of a running team and with Kendall Hunter injured for much of the season, Toston he been the focal point of the ground game. The senior has good size at 6' 0" and 214 pouds, with some good numbers as well (958 yards rushing, 10 touchdowns, 5.4 yards per carry). Toston has also caught 22 passes for 211 yards. The biggest question mark is going to be his straight line speed, which is why he will go somewhere around the 5th round.

OT Russell Okung, Oklahoma State – As the season winds down, Okung, appears to be a sure fire top 10 pick and could be the first offensive tackle drafted in the 2010 NFL Draft. Okung is a durable player having started since he was a true freshman. He is a good athlete, with good lateral mobility which allows him to be a very good pass protector (read: left tackle). He has quick feet and fluid movement, and also possesses a mean streak that scouts look for in offensive linemen. Coming from the spread offense that Oklahoma State runs, Okung will need to improve as a run blocker. He also needs to get stronger in the weight room.

OG Andrew Lewis, Oklahoma State – Lewis has the ability to play both guard and center and has decent size at 6' 4" and 295 pounds. The interior lineman does a good job in pass blocking, but needs to get a little stronger in run blocking and that will come in time. He has good feet and is a good overall athlete. Expect Lewis to get drafted towards the end of the draft.

OLB Patrick Lavine, Oklahoma State – Lavine has been a constant for OSU over the last three seasons, he finished second on the team in tackles as a freshman and sophomore, dropping to fourth last season as a junior. This season, his final in Stillwater, the linebacker has recorded 59 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack and an impressive five interceptions. Lavine was a safety in high school and still has good coverage skills for an outside linebacker. He is a bit undersized 6' 2" and 226 pounds, so he will need to add some weight to play at the next level. Right now, Lavine looks like a late round draft pick or an priority undrafted rookie free-agent.

CB Perrish Cox , Oklahoma State - Cox has good size a 6' 0" and 200 pounds. He is not only a good cover cornerback, but a willing tackler. Cox possesses good speed and shows that off on special teams, as he is one of the top returners in the Big XII. He has the ability to play both man to man and zone coverage as a cornerback. He has 29 total tackles this season with four interceptions and 15 pass break-ups, adding 543 kick return yards on 24 returns (22.6 yards per return) to his resume. Cox also has returned 12 punts for 106 yards. Cox is the top rated defender for Mike Gundy's squad and should go in the 2nd round draft of the 2010 NFL Draft.

S Andre Sexton, Oklahoma State – Sexton has played both linebacker and safety at Oklahoma State. He has good size at 6' 0" and 224 pounds, projecting as a safety at the next level. Sexton is a good overall athlete, but needs to improve his coverage skills. He's a good tackler and this season has wracked up 53 total tackles, three tackles for loss, one interception and four pass break-ups. Right now looks like a late round draft pick or an undrafted rookie free-agent.

S Lucien Antoine, Oklahoma State – Antoine is a physical safety who will come up and hit you. He has good size at 6' 1" and 215 pounds, but needs to improve his coverage skills. This season, the senior safety has 53 total tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks and one interception. He will be an "in the box" type safety at the next level. Like Sexton, Antoine projects as a late round draft pick or an undrafted rookie free-agent.

Colorado really doesn’t have any seniors for the 2010 NFL Draft.

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Photos Courtesy of Oklahoma State Athletics Media Relation

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)

Q&A: Bob Johnson, Quarterback Coach

Interview with Bob Johnson co- founder owner/operator of Camp Quarterback with sons Rob and Brent Johnson, conducted on the All Access Football Radio by Ralph Mancini, Daniel Mogollon, and Rodney Towe.

You coached Mark Sanchez at Mission Viejo High School, can you tell us what his assets were then and what his assets are now and how he compares to Matthew Stafford?

Johnson: I did coach Mark in high school, so did my son Bret and later years Rob. It was a lot of fun. He is a great quarterback. He had a great 2 years for us–we won the CIF Championship, and we lost two games in two years. He is an extremely good leader; he still has that quality, very accurate. I think that is one of the best qualities that you can ask for in a quarterback, plenty of arm strength and pretty much the whole package. He is very athletic, very strong, he can escape the rush real well, keeps his eyes down the field all the time. He had a lot of those qualities in high school and just worked on them and other little things subtly. Here he is, one of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft with Matt Stafford being the other one and a couple of other guys right around him. It’s an exciting time for him, he’s been working hard the last three months and he’ll have a great Pro day at USC on April 1st and then wait for the draft.

What do you say to the people who say, I am a little concerned because he's not that experienced, he only has 16 starts?

Johnson: I don’t see that at all. He had 16 starts and he is playing everyday against one of the best defenses in the country and they get after it at USC and compete together one’s versus one’s. No one ever seems to mention that, but if they ever come by a USC practice, every day of his year starting and the three to four games he started as a sophomore he’s going against the best defense in the country, arguably. He’s getting pressured playing behind a young offensive line; he knows how to handle pressure. I don’t see that 16 starts as being too much of an issue. Matt Cassel did alright without any starts. I'm sure people can give you stats on everything. I just throw it out the window. He’s a 22 year old, he’s had plenty of football and he’s going to go through the same growing pains as everyone else, but he’s ready to go.

Years ago, Bill Walsh would say when he was evaluating quarterbacks he would always search for the guy that throws a very catchable ball and that is one of the things Sanchez does. Could you tell us how important that is for a quarterback transitioning from college into the pros? How important is it to throw a catchable pass?

Johnson: Mark really has a nice touch on the ball and when he has to he can really bring it in there big time. He showed his arm strength several times this year with some tight balls into tight coverage down the field on some seam posts and some wheel routes against cover 2, getting it in there at just the right time. When he has to take it off he really does. He’s an athlete. He played basketball as well in high school and like a lot of these guys played baseball for a long time, but stopped it after a while. I think it is a great quality, one of the top ones, there is no doubt. He doesn’t just come to the ballpark waiting to throw a fastball. He has all the throws there are. He can take it off on certain balls, which he really has to. It’s a great quality, when you’re ranked that high most of the guys have all of those qualities, some of them more than others.

Speaking of great athletes at quarterback, you’re also working with Pat White and he’s probably been the most debated player in terms of “is he or isn’t he a quarterback”. You know better than us–is he a quarterback and should he allow anyone to move him to wide receiver, if he believes he’s a quarterback?

Johnson: I think you do allow them (NFL teams) to, they’re calling the shots, if that’s what they choose to do. Is he a quarterback? Absolutely. He played four years in college and it’s what he wants to do. He proved it in the Senior Bowl. He had very good practices. He had a very good game, had a great combine. He’s been out here with us for three months and it’s been my pleasure, because he is a great young man. He can certainly play the quarterback position, but I wouldn’t go so far that he should tell somebody what to do. It’s pro football, so if he gets to a camp and has to do some things to help the team out I think he’s willing to do that too, but he certainly wants to play quarterback first and he’s told me that, he’s told everybody that. He’s not saying no to something else. I don’t think you should do that. I think that would be a bad decision. He’s very talented. He can do a lot of things and with a lot of this gun stuff they are doing now and the different stuff they put in the game or certain plays for him, he can do a lot of things with the football in his hands. So I wouldn’t limit it to saying I’m the guy, all I am going to do is play quarterback. I don’t think anybody would want to hear him say that in pro football.

A lot of the focus with Pat is on his athletic ability, can you talk a little about his intangibles and leadership skills. I think because he is a quiet young man and he’s not very demonstrative, that gets overlooked with him.

Johnson: I am so impressed with the guy. He’s got a good ball. He needs to put on some weight probably and get a little bit more durable for that next level, but he knows that, all the kids do. He’s very athletic and you’ve seen what he can do in college and he’ll do a lot of those same things in the pros with the ball in his hands. He can make people miss. He can throw on the run. He can do a lot of things. He can drop back and throw as well. I think his leadership skills are very strong. He’s got a great personality even though he’s quiet, he’s quick to smile. He’s not extremely hard on himself. He’s just hard enough on himself to keep improving. He’s very competitive and I just see him doing very well at the next level, I really do, at quarterback. He’s got a chance there just as much as he does at being a multi-talented guy and helping out at receiver and with any kind of plays they want. He’s a good take. He’s really gone through this process and come out smelling like a rose, so to speak.

I really want to ask about Nathan Brown. Here’s a player that, when you see him for the first time, doesn’t have the physical attributes to really wow you but if you watch him in the flow of the game, he’s a guy that I think can get it done. He operates well within the flow of the offense. Can you describe some of the challenges that Nate Brown is facing coming from a smaller school versus some of the higher profile quarterbacks?

Johnson: He’s got to get over some things. He’s always going to be thought of as coming from a Division-IAA school, a smaller type of school, not playing against quite the competition, and that is all true, so it is a bigger adjustment for him when he comes in. I think he’s very capable of making that adjustment. He’s a very competitive kid. He holds things inside a lot and has a chip on his shoulder, so to speak, just to show everybody. That has worked quite well for a guy like Ben Roethlisberger. I had the pleasure of working with him for just a week one time. He always wanted to show people that he’s going to make it on his own just because some of the big schools wouldn’t take him to begin with, he really wanted to do that and I see a little bit of that in Nate. He’s certainly a totally different kid than Ben as far as size and all that, but he's got the same kind of attitude. He’s got a little bit of a good chip on his shoulder, not a chip on his shoulder in any bad way whatsoever. You really wouldn’t notice it, but I know it’s there. I know he wants to down deep show everybody. He’s tired of getting in line second to last or something when it comes to some of these quarterbacks. He’s got plenty of arm strength. He’s got plenty of skill. I just hope he has a great career. He’s certainly going to get with a team and have his chance, that’s for sure. Hopefully the chips fall good for him and he’s going to need a break here or there early on in his career to get a chance to show people and I hope he gets that.

As a man with 35 years coaching experience and a former quarterback at Fresno State, this is a question you can answer–with all your experience, what qualities make an elite quarterback on any level? What qualities do they need?

Johnson: The biggest quality that I like in a quarterback, if I was to just name one, it is pretty hard to just name one and stop, but accuracy would be that one. Without accuracy you can’t be a great quarterback. You can have all the protection in the world, you can be the toughest guy in the world, which is a very big quality, but if you can’t complete the pass, you’re gone. You can’t play. Accuracy is huge. The windows of opportunity as you get to the higher levels, especially the pro level, get smaller and smaller, they're ready to break on your ball. It’s easy when you have all the protection and no one is in front of you and coming at you when you’re playing high school football, especially for the good ones. It becomes so easy. Then college is a little different from the pros where you have extremely tight windows. Accuracy has to be the number one thing. The next one is toughness, if you don’t have it, you’re not playing because it is going to break down, there is going to be a battle, there’s going to be a war and you’re going to have to rally the troops. If you’re not a tough guy, you don’t play quarterback in pro football, so you have to be tough. The leadership qualities are huge. There have been a lot of great arms and guys who can do those two things I just said but they can’t lead and they think a whole lot of themselves and not much of the team. There have been some guys like that and that doesn’t work so the leadership and sharing the wealth by taking those linemen out to dinner because you can’t play without them. Peyton Manning’s one of the best of all time and he can’t play without an offensive line, that was shown when all of that was done. Tom Brady last year (in the Super Bowl) when they got pressure up the middle and the Giants found a way to get to him was very average in that game. Tom Brady was average, Peyton Manning was average in a couple of games when the Patriots were getting to him. You just can’t do it without a line and those guys are top of the line. You have to have a lot of character to withstand that. There’s a lot pressure on you and a lot of those things, but accuracy and toughness are without a doubt, to me, the top two qualities.

Let's not forget Tom Brandstater from Fresno State and Curtis Painter, who spoke about playing for you...

Johnson: I can’t have an interview without mentioning them because they work just as hard and they’re just as skilled in a lot of ways. Tom Brandstater, who played in the East-West Shrine game from Fresno State, he’s a Bulldog, and so you got to mention a Bulldog and he’s very good and had a very good combine, maybe one of the best combines of anybody back there from what I understand. He’s a 6’4 1/2 kid who can really sling it and I think he has a chance to have a real good pro career and you’ll see that. Another kid who I think is going to be a starter, I think someday he is going to start in the league, I think people are missing a real sleeper if they don’t take him early, earlier than they thought and that’s Curtis Painter from Purdue. He was picked as the top senior coming into his senior year and now they have a couple of seniors ahead of him. I don’t know who is putting that together but they didn’t play quarterback and they haven’t coached a lot of quarterbacks. Curtis Painter is going to surprise people and end up starting in this league. Curtis is a great kid, they all are. Those guys...I’m the lucky one to be coaching those guys the last 2 1/2 months. They’re great kids. It’s awesome.

I’d like to point out that we do have Pat White and Curtis Painter as our top 2 senior quarterbacks. I guess you agree with our rankings.

Johnson: I sure do. I really do and I don’t know them all, but I know a few of them. I am partial, there’s no doubt, to those two guys because I’ve been with them and I’ve been with Curtis a little bit longer this time. Last summer at the Elite 11 he was a counselor for us. Sometimes your senior year doesn’t go quite the way it’s supposed to and maybe his didn’t, but there are a lot of things to be said about that whether it was protections or receivers or new coordinator, whatever it was. Curtis was the same guy that earned all of those stripes before his senior year and for people to think too much less of him based on the senior year, they will be sorry.

Do you think people are making too much of the spread offense or is it a bigger adjustment than before going from college to the pros if you are coming out of the spread?

Johnson: Being in the gun doesn’t help a guy a whole lot. It’s a big deal. They can certainly learn it, they’re all athletes, but the gun guys sometimes have a little tougher time, there’s no doubt , taking that drop, especially the guys that played in high school. There’s so many high schools in the spread and in the gun and that doesn’t prepare them as well for the pros. They can certainly learn it and they will learn it, but the guy who has been under center is better at taking his drops than the other guys, at least initially.

You have Camp Quarterback and you run that with your sons Rob and Bret Johnson. Would you like to tell us anything about the camp?

Johnson: It is on CampQuarterback.com. Bret’s done a great job. I have never been on a website in my life. The website’s nice and all that stuff is real good, but I'm just an old school guy who shows up when he tells me to. He and Rob have done a great job of taking it to the next level. I am at every camp. All three of us are and that’s a fun deal. We get Mark Sanchez back. We get all of our ex guys back, and several of them are pro guys. It’s just so much fun for this old guy to be around that and stuff and we really are hands-on guys. It’s not like giving out a tee shirt, having a pro guy talk to them and saying thanks a lot guys. We get down and dirty with them and the camp has really been special for the guys and we have been told that by many. That’s a nice deal, I am glad you asked about it. There’s four weekends, they can check all the dates at CampQuarterback.com.

Photo Credit: College Press Box (West Virginia), Kathe Osborne (USC), Purdue University Sports Information, Southland Conference

RADIO: Coaches Corner With Bobby Bowden

Bobby Bowden has won 382 games in his illustrious 44-year career as a head football coach, which includes 309 wins in 33 years leading the Florida St. Seminoles. During an unprecedented 14-year run, Bowden’s Seminoles won at least 10 games every year from 1987 to 2000, including National Championship seasons in 1993 and 1999. He talks with All Access Football in our Coaches Corner series about the direction of recruiting, what it takes to build a winning program, the ‘Noles Class of 2009, future first round pick Everette Brown, his former players and playing against a strong-armed Southern Miss quarterback named Brett Favre.

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Hosted By College Football Insiders Founder & NFL Draft Bible President Daniel Mogollon.

Check out Coach Bowden UNDER THE LIGHTS on Sun Sports.

Photo Credit: Florida St.