The part of the football season’s cycle which can be overlooked in the midst of the NFL Combine, NFL Free Agency and then the NFL Draft is the series of pro days in which scouts evaluate top talents on their respective college campuses. Plenty of players at plenty of schools will be working out, but which ones will stand out from the rest of the pack? Four examples appear below:
LSU Tigers
The detail about LSU Pro Day which makes the Tigers such an important and fascinating case study is that LSU churns out a lot of high-end talent on offense which doesn’t get used very wisely on a regular basis. LSU had to fire its offensive coordinator this past season and hire a new coordinator, Matt Canada, in December. When scouts evaluate Leonard Fournette and LSU’s wide receivers, will they see players with polished skills, or will they see players who are more raw and uneven than they are expecting? The follow-up question is if players being unpolished will represent a significant hindrance for teams in terms of their draft-day decisions, or if they think players can function well within their offense in the NFL? It could be that a team will look at a player and conclude that while skills aren’t as developed as they should be, they can turn him around or take advantage of what he offers. The tricky part is that teams must weigh if other NFL organizations think the same thing. If others do have the same thought process, they’ll be inclined to take that player earlier in the draft rather than later. Therefore, teams can’t bank on waiting for a player to fall 10 or 15 draft slots and get him for more value (less money). They have to take that player as soon as realistically possible.
Florida Gators
The Gators are somewhat similar to LSU in terms of their offensive talent not being used as well as it could be, and thereby creating offensive players which are mysteries to NFL teams and their talent evaluators. What deepens the intrigue for Florida is that it plays in a very weak SEC East Division, one in which opposing teams existed on similar footing. How good is a representative quality player from an SEC East program, even the SEC East champion? It’s hard to answer that question, which is why this pro day counts so much.
Michigan Wolverines
When the Wolverines’ pro day occurs, Michigan will have nearly 20 players who will not return to the 2017 team as starters. This is a showcase for the 2016 team’s depth. This is not about magnifying the presence or role of any one player. NFL scouts will eagerly await this pro day because they will have a high volume of NFL-pursuing prospects to choose from. Few programs will offer as much of a banquet table of possibilities. The names we’ll be keeping close tabs on are Jabrill Peppers, who is expected to be one of the first players drafted, receiver Amara Darboh, rusher Taco Charlton, cornerbacks Jourdan Lewis and Channing Stribling, defensive lineman Chris Wormley and a number of other players.
In other news of interest, the Wolverines have decided that they will ban cameras at their Pro Day. That means they won’t allow cameras or media coverage.
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Buckeyes were pounded by Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl, absolutely reduced to rubble by a team with better NFL talent. Scouts are going to want to take a hard look at Ohio State’s players, especially on offense (since the team got shut out by Clemson). It’s true that Clemson made a lot of teams look bad, but did the Tigers expose flaws even in the best of the Buckeyes? Scouts will have that question on their minds at OSU’s pro day.
Their Pro Day will come on March 23rd at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. The names we’ll be keeping an eye on are Malik Hooker, Marshon Lattimore, Gareon Conley, Raekwon McMillan, Curtis Samuel and Noah Brown, who have all declared early for the 2017 NFL Draft. We’ll also get a closer look at seniors like Pat Elflein, Dontre Wilson Corey Smith.
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