Pro Day leftovers
A few years ago I watched John Beck throw his way into the second round with a near-perfect workout at BYU’s Pro Day. This year, Max Hall had a good workout (though I wouldn’t say it was on the same level as Beck’s). Hall was satisfied afterward and said three teams — the Cardinals, Browns and Bengals — have contacted him to schedule private workouts before the draft.
Here are a few more thoughts from Bengals tight ends coach Jonathan Hayes, who was kind enough to spend a few minutes talking to me. Hayes earned first-team All-America honors as a senior at Iowa, then played for 12 years in the NFL (with Kansas City and Pittsburgh) before coaching at the University of Oklahoma and now with the Bengals.
On using both game film and private workouts to scout players:
“I think what you get from game film is the total resume. Then you can put with that resume certain things they excel at and certain things they need to work on. Once we go into the draft room, I can come out and say with certainty where a player is strong and what he needs to work on if we bring him here.”
On whether it’s more difficult to grade players from non-BCS schools:
“I don’t grade them any different. I grade them how I see them and how it would translate to us and what we do on our team. That’s all.”
On conducting these kinds of workouts:
“For me it’s great because when I coached in college we used to go on recruiting trips, so now these workouts are similar. It’s good to get out of the office and see the guys.”
*We’ve mentioned the players who stood out in a good way (Dennis Pitta and Andrew George … and Pitta again), but failed to recognize those who failed to make a good impression with scouts. The one guy who didn’t look like himself yesterday was Manase Tonga. While he looked quicker and leaner than I remember, the usually sure-handed fullback dropped almost every pass thrown his way. I’m sure he’s kicking himself for the subpar performance.
*I saw a few raised eyebrows when Curtis Brown showed up for his fourth straight pro-day workout. BYU’s former all-time rushing leader has had tryouts with several NFL teams but hasn’t been able to stick in the pros. Some people would tell him to give up. Chad Lewis is not one of them.
“The person who has that drive to succeed is always going to be better off than the person who quits after the first hiccup,” Lewis told me. “If I was like him and believed I could do it, then I would. I mean, go for it. He’s still a young guy and I love that he’s out here. I believe — not just with the NFL but with life — if you want to do something, then do it. If you want to give your heart and soul to it, do it. And if people say you can’t do it, don’t listen to them. You’ve got to have wisdom and balance reality with your dreams, but if you listen to naysayers all day long you’re not going to do anything. So, for Curtis to be out here giving it all he has says a lot about his character. I’d much rather be around someone who tries greatly and fails than someone who never tries.”