Slimm's 2013 Prospects (Seniors)

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Love your scouting reports, Slimm. I know it's early, but what direction do you think Miami will look in 2013 (say 1st and 2nd round)? I know to answer that you need to project how young players will do etc.

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Chase Thomas / DE-OLB / Stanford

Height: 6'4"
Weight: 245




The top Senior DE/OLB prospect heading into the 2012 season in my opinion. Rushes with his hand on the ground lined up at DE in 4 man fronts, while also playing standing up from a 2-point stance in Stanford's 3-4 defense. Experienced dropping into coverage and shows good awareness and hips to change direction smoothly. Moves around a lot as a blitzer, and even lines up in 10/20 techniques. In three seasons, he's accumulated 36 TFL's, 19.5 sacks, 8 QB-hurries, 8 forced fumbles, 3 PBU's, and 1 Interception. He'll build on that resume as a Senior and probably have his best individual season.

Since Jim Harbaugh arrived at Stanford, the program has churned out some of the best looking players you can find in college football. They've been so well coached on the details and techniques that I have a harder time finding flaws in some of them than any other program in the country. Chase Thomas fits right into the mold of Andrew Luck and David DeCastro as 3 players that for all intents and purposes, have almost no flaws. I can look at Chase Thomas and tell he was developed by Vic Fangio, who followed Harbaugh to San Francisco and coaches one of the best coached defenses in the NFL. Thomas literally does everything better than most. I think he has a chance to be the caliber of player that Clay Matthews became in Green Bay.




vs. Notre Dame:







vs. Duke:



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I like this kid. Stanford moved him around quite a bit. Where do you see his best position? Looks to me like he could play middle linebacker, yes?

[Pimento13]

Dont you think its a bit early

[Bumpus]

Dont you think its a bit early

Well, it is the draft forum ... nobody forced you to enter it during May.
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[ckparrothead]

Elon WR Aaron Mellette is another guy to watch out for in 2012. He was a basketball player until halfway through High School, which contributed to him being very under the radar in the recruiting process. He grew up in Sanford, North Carolina. He got some interest from some Conference USA and other FBS teams, but nothing from the major programs, and so he decided to go to school at Elon, which is right up the road from where he grew up.

He broke out in 2010 with 86 catches for 1,100 yards and 12 TDs. But then he turned it up a few notches in 2011 with 113 catches for 1,639 yards and 12 TDs. He averaged 10.27 catches and 149.0 yards per game. The games from 2011 that you will probably want to watch are his Appalachian State and Vanderbilt games.

One NFL scout spoke very highly of Mellette and said that if you watch that Appalachian State game, Brian Quick and Aaron Mellette were both on the field that day, and even though Brian Quick went #33 overall to the Rams, Mellette was the better football player that day. He had 14 catches for 236 yards and 1 TD.

As for the Vanderbilt game, it was the first game of the season for Elon and Mellette went off for 11 catches and 180 yards, with 1 TD. The Commodores boasted some secondary talent, too. Sean Richardson is an athletic strong safety that is now in camp with the Packers as a UDFA. Casey Hayward is Vanderbilt's co-record holder for career interceptions with 15, two-time All-SEC selection, All America as a senior, intercepted 7 passes as a senior, was drafted #62 overall in the 2nd round by the Green Bay Packers. Trey Wilson is another corner in that secondary to keep your eye on, as he won SEC Defensive PLayer of the Week after a 2 interception, 2 touchdown performance against Ole Miss. Javon Marshall isn't a bad safety, either. Yet, Aaron Mellette made them all look silly at times.

Here's a record of how leading receivers did against Vanderbilt in 2011:

Team - Season's Top WR, Game's Top WR
Elon - Aaron Mellette 11-180-1, Aaron Mellette 11-180-1
UConn - Kashif Moore 1-14-0, Ryan Griffin 4-47-0
Ole Miss - Donte Moncrief 1-47-1, Ja-Mes Logan 3-48-0
South Carolina - Alshon Jeffery 2-34-0, Ace Sanders 4-75-0
Alabama - Marquis Maze 9-93-0, DeAndrew White 3-58-2
Georgia - Tavarres King 5-57-1, Marlon Brown 4-121-2
Army - Davyd Brooks 0-0-0, Jared Hassin 1-18-0
Arkansas - Jarius Wright 10-135-1, Jarius Wright 10-135-1
Florida - Andre Debose 2-25-0, Omarius Hines 1-40-0
Kentucky - La'Rod King 5-82-0, La'Rod King 5-82-0
Tennessee - Da'Rick Rogers 10-116-2, Da'Rick Rogers 10-116-2
Wake Forest - Chris Givens 4-69-0, Chris Givens 4-69-0
Cincinnati - Anthony McClung 1-8-0, Alex Chisum 1-12-0

What is notable here is not necessarily that the Vandy secondary did not allow receivers to have good days against them, but rather that they did not allow teams' TOP receivers to have great days against them, generally. Guys like Chris Givens, Kashif Moore, Andre Debose, Tavarres King and Alshon Jeffery did not have good days against that Vandy secondary. Da'Rick Rogers did, but then I think Rogers is another terrific receiver talent (unfortunately I hear he's a headcase). Jarius Wright had a great day against Vandy's secondary.

But arguably, Mellette had the best game of any receiver against Vandy this year, and arguably had the biggest bull's eye on his back for the Vandy secondary to game plan against because he was highly productive in 2010, the team's leading receiver, and the guy who caught a lot of balls next to him wasn't there anymore...so you knew Mellette was going to be by far the biggest part of the passing game plan.

The reason you'd want to pay attention to Mellette if you're a Miami fan is just because he really fits what Joe Philbin likes in a receiver, or at least what I perceive to be what he likes in a receiver. Mellette is thought to be a little over 6’3” tall which is actually a little atypical for Joe Philbin from a size standard, but I don’t find that he moves like a tall player, which is why the height will not be considered a detriment to his draft grade. Mellette has solid mass on that frame at about 215 lbs. His movement is very quick, but most importantly it is very balanced. I rarely see him running, cutting or making adjustments without his weight square and balanced, which gives him added quickness and the ability to break through contact after the catch. He gets his feet under himself very quickly and can stop and start very quickly. He tracks the ball in the air as well as you could want, and makes over the shoulder catches look routine. He snatches the ball with his hands when he can and uses his body to shield it when in traffic. He adjusts on the ball with urgency and quickness. The real question with Mellette is just long speed. Going against the level of competition he went against, it is not always easy to see how fast he truly is. I hate to keep bringing up Jordy Nelson but that’s kind of the player I see. Same dimensions, same kind of balance and quickness. The balance creates tackle breaking potential for Mellette just as it does Nelson. And when you get Mellette at the Combine, I could see him running the same 4.51 that Jordy Nelson did.

Josh Buchanon, who does work on small school players for NFL teams and also sells his work publicly, speaks extremely high on Mellette. He's higher on him than he was Brian Quick, who went #33 overall to the Rams. He's alluded to at least one team with multiple championships agreeing with him on Mellette and rating him a 1st rounder so far.

[TedSlimmJr]

Rather than keep going in depth regarding every prospect I value, I'd rather start putting some prospects in the order I currently have 'em. I made this thread specifically for Senior prospects only and I'll eventually get around to all positions throughout the summer.. starting with the runningback position.



Runningbacks (Balanced/Featured):


1. Knile Davis / Arkansas / 6'0" - 220

2. Stepfan Taylor / Stanford / 5'11" - 210

3. Montee Ball / Wisconsin / 5'10" - 210

4. Zac Stacy / Vanderbilt / 5'9" - 208

5. Christine Michael / Texas A&M / 5'11" - 215

6. Dennis Johnson / Arkansas / 5'8" - 215

7. Cierre Wood / Notre Dame / 5'11" - 215

8. Cameron Marshall / Arizona St. / 5'11" - 215

9. Matthew Tucker / TCU / 6'1" - 223

10. Rex Burkhead / Nebraska / 5'11" - 210

11. Mike James / Miami / 5'11" - 222

12. Marcus Curry / Texas St. / 5'11" - 214

13. Mike Gillislee / Florida / 5'11" - 210

14. Latavius Murray / UCF / 6'2" - 225




Runningbacks (Power/Short-Yardage/Goaline):


1. Zach Line / SMU / 6'1" - 230 (FB)

2. Ronnie Wingo / Arkansas / 6'2" - 230 (FB)

3. Shawne Alston / West Virginia / 5'11" - 225

4. Lonnie Pryor / Florida St. / 6'0" - 230 (FB)

5. Richard Samuel / Georgia / 6'1" - 238




Runningbacks (Speed/Change-of-Pace/Scatbacks):


1. Kenjon Barner / Oregon / 5'11" - 195

2. Andre Ellington / Clemson / 5'10" - 190

3. Ray Graham / Pittsburgh / 5'9" - 195

4. Onterio McCalebb / Auburn / 5'10" - 175

5. D.J. Monroe / Texas / 5'9" - 175

6. Orwin Smith / Georgia Tech / 6'0" - 202

7. Dominique Whaley / Oklahoma / 5'10" - 197

8. Curtis McNeal / USC / 5'7" - 180

9. Perry Jones / Virginia / 5'8" - 185

10. Robbie Rouse / Fresno St. / 5'7" - 185

11. D.J. Harper / Boise St. / 5'9" - 200

12. Isi Sofele / California / 5'8" - 190

13. Johnathan Franklin / UCLA / 5'10" - 193

14. Kendial Lawrence / Missouri / 5'9" - 195

15. Chris Thompson / Florida St. / 5'8" - 187

[RealDriscoll]

The players That carry that "elite" tag for my money are Barkevious Mingo-DE (LSU), Robert Woods-WR (USC), Star Lotulelei-DT (Utah), and possibly Jarvis Jones-OLB (Georgia). Sam Montgomer-DE (LSU), Manti Te'o-LB (Notre Dame), and DJ Fluker-OT (Alabama) headline my overrated list.

The positions that I am big fan of when it comes to the draft board are Quarterback, Pass-Rushing Defensive End/Outside Linebacker, and Safety

The best draft eligible quarterback for my money is Logan Thomas out of Virginia Tech. I see a lot of Ben Roethlisberger in his game; Matt Barkley (USC) is everyone's darling and there is good reason but one thing that stands out is the caliber of receivers he has to throw to. Tyler Wilson (Arkansas) is a player that is absolutely fun to watch. He is an throwback gun-slinging quarterback and it will be interesting to see how he adapt after losing Jarius Wright, Greg Childs, and Joe Adams but the cubbard isn't bare with Cobi Hamilton and Chris Gragg still there. Tyler Bray (Tennessee) has the size and tools to be a successful NFL quarterback and weapons to throw to (Justin Hunter & Da'rick Rogers) but he needs some major developing. Landry Jones (Oklahoma) threw me off last year as he just has awfully slow feet which leads to poor decision making. I see an amazing athlete when I look at EJ Manuel (Florida State) but I don't see an NFL quarterback. Geno Smith (West Virginia) has gotten better every year and has the skill-set to be an effective quarterback. Here is how I see the position.....

1. Logan Thomas-Virginia Tech
2. Matt Barkley-USC
3. Tyler Wilson-Arkansas
4. Tyler Bray-Tennessee
5. Geno Smith-West Virginia
6. Landry Jones-Oklahoma
7. EJ Manuel-Florida State
8. Aaron Murray-Georgia
9. Brad Sorensen-Southern Utah
10. Mike Glennon-NC State
11. Zach Mettenberger-LSU
12. Casey Pachall-TCU
13. Sean Renfree-Duke
14. Alex Carder-Western Michigan
15. Matt Scott-Arizona
16. Jeff Tuel-Washington State
17. James Vandenberg-Iowa
18. MarQueis Gray-Minnesota
19. Jordan Rodgers-Vanderbilt
20. Collin Slein-Kansas State

In terms of pass rushers I feel the 2013 NFL draft is loaded. Barkevious Mingo (LSU) is my current man-crush as he plays with violent hands and is explosive off the snap. Mingo is relentless in his pursuit of the quarterback and has great closing speed which allows me to track his opponent down. Another guy I like a lot is Jackson Jeffcoat (Texas) as he needs to produce more but he has the tools that merit a top ten selection. The combination of Jeffcoat and Alex Okafor is going to be quite fun to watch.

1. Barkevious Mingo-LSU
2. Jackson Jeffcoat-Texas
3. Alex Okafor-Texas
4. Sam Montgomery-LSU
5. James Gayle-Virginia Tech
6. Bjoern Werner-Florida State
7. William Gholston-Michigan State
8. Dion Jordan-Oregon
9. Corey Lemonier-Auburn
10. Margus Hunt-SMU
11. John Simon-Ohio State
12. Michael Buchanon-Illinois
13. Devin Taylor-South Carolina
14. Craig Roh-Michigan
15. Wes Horton-USC
16. Brandon Jenkins-Florida State
17. Devon Kennard-USC
18. Travis Long-Washington State
19. Cameron Meredith-Nebraska
20. Brad Madison-Missouri

[TedSlimmJr]

4-3 Outside Linebackers:


1. Jake Knott / Iowa St. / 6'2" - 245

2. Mike Taylor / Wisconsin / 6'2" - 230

3. Khaseem Greene / Rutgers / 6'1" - 230

4. Gerald Hodges / Penn St. / 6'2" - 235

5. Zaviar Gooden / Missouri / 6'2" - 230

6. Daren Bates / Auburn / 5'11" - 220

7. Sio Moore / UCONN / 6'1" - 230

8. Winston Fraser / FIU / 6'2" - 230

9. Sam Barrington / USF / 6'1" - 235

10. Kenny Tate / Maryland / 6'4" - 225

11. Travis Brown / Fresno St. / 6'2" - 235

12. Devonte Holloman / South Carolina / 6'2" - 230

13. Keith Pough / Howard / 6'2" - 235

14. Andrae Jacobs / Coastal Carolina / 5'11" - 235

15. Joseph Lebeau / Jackson St. / 6'0 - 245

16. Sean Porter / Texas A&M / 6'2" - 230

[TedSlimmJr]

Inside Linebacker:


1. Manti Te'o / Notre Dame / 6'2" - 255

2. Shayne Skov / Stanford / 6'3" - 245

3. A.J. Klein / Iowa St. / 6'1" - 240

4. Steve Beauharnais / Rutgers / 6'2" - 235

5. Alonzo Highsmith / Arkansas / 6'1" - 230

6. Demetrius Hartsfield / Maryland / 6'2" - 235

7. Jon Bostic / Florida / 6'1" - 243

8. Bruce Taylor / Virginia Tech / 6'2" - 240

9. Nico Johnson / Alabama / 6'3" - 245

10. Kevin Reddick / North Carolina / 6'3" - 240

11. Steve Greer / Virginia / 6'2" - 225

12. Kenny Demens / Michigan / 6'1" - 248

13. Arthur Brown / Kansas St. / 6'1" - 225

14. Jake Johnson / South Alabama / 6'1" - 232

15. Will Compton / Nebraska / 6'2" - 230

16. Cameron Lawrence / Mississippi St. / 6'3" - 230

17. Michael Mauti / Penn St. / 6'2" - 232

[TedSlimmJr]

Tight Ends:


1. Tyler Eifert / Notre Dame / 6'6" - 250

2. Chris Gragg / Arkansas / 6'3" - 235

3. Phillip Lutzenkirchen / Auburn / 6'5" - 250

4. Joe Fauria / UCLA / 6'7" - 255

5. Jake Stoneburner / Ohio St. / 6'5" - 245

6. Michael Williams / Alabama / 6'6" - 265

7. Matt Furstenburg / Maryland / 6'4" - 245

8. Ryan Griffin / UCONN / 6'5" - 250

9. Colter Phillips / Virginia / 6'6" - 245

10. Jack Doyle / Western Kentucky / 6'6" - 250

11. Justice Cunningham / South Carolina / 6'4" - 265

12. Ben Cotton / Nebraska / 6'5" - 255

13. Hubie Graham / Pittsburgh / 6'4" - 230

14. Chase Harper / Texas St. / 6'5" - 252

15. D.C. Jefferson / Rutgers / 6'6" - 250

16. Nick Kasa / Colorado / 6'6" - 260

17. Ryan Otten / San Jose St. / 6'6" - 245