Fanhouse NFL Blog - west-virginia

Louisville Wins the Big East 2007 NFL Draft

John Radcliff — 2007-05-01T18:23:00 00:00

Filed under: NFL Draft, Louisville Football, Pittsburgh Football, Syracuse Football, West Virginia Football, Big East, Rutgers Football, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia

To go along with Louisville's 2006 Big East Football Championship, and a nifty pair of Big East Golf Championships, Louisville is also this years winner in the 2007 NLF Draft among Big East teams. The Cardinals were able to land four players on NFL teams in this years draft. They were followed by Pittsburgh and Rutgers with three each, Syracuse and Cincinnati with two each, South Florida and Connecticut each had one player drafted, and dammit I'm missing someone here. Let's see....oh yeah, West Virginia with zero players drafted. Ugh!

Another sign that the Big East is crawling out of obscurity, this was the first year since 2004 that the Big East had two players drafted in the first round. The 16 players drafted this year also compares favorably to 11 Big East players being drafted in the 2006 NFL Draft.

Next years draft should consume more high profile players from the Big East with the likes of Brian Brohm, Steve Slaton, Mario Urrutia, and Pat White all eligible.

Previously at the Fanhouse:

West Virginia Shut Out in the 2007 Draft
College Eye for the NFL Guy: Dan Mozes
College Eye for the NFL Guy: Brandon Myles
College Eye for the NFL Guy: Brian Leonard
College Eye for the NFL Guy: Tanard Jackson
College Eye for the NFL Guy: Darrelle Revis

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College Eye for the NFL Guy: Dan Mozes

John Radcliff — 2007-04-25T17:47:00 00:00

by John Radcliff

Filed under: NFL Draft, West Virginia Football, Big East, NFL Prospects, West Virginia

NFL scouts think they know Dan Mozes, and they are probably right.....

Can the undersized body and over sized heart of Dan Mozes find the right team to take advantage of his unique skills as a center in NFL?

Dan Mozes, Center, West Virginia

WHAT NFL SCOUTS ARE SAYING:

NFL.com

Positives: Has a thick lower body with room on his frame to carry at least another 20 pounds of bulk ... Has thick ankles that allow him to put his foot into the ground and anchor in one-on-one confrontations ... Has good lateral agility and a quick forward thrust ... Takes good angles after locating linebackers in the second level and comes off the snap low with his hands extended to engage and lock on ... Plays with pain and has a solid work ethic ... Unquestioned leader of the team who plays with good aggression ... Has very good field instincts and vision ... Makes all blocking calls and is alert to twists and games ... Comes off the snap with good urgency and is quick to get his hands into the defender's chest ... Has the body control and leg drive to make the reach blocks moving up field ... Shows determination to stay on his blocks and demonstrates proper hand usage to gain leverage on the defender ... Can wall off and turn when he keeps his pad level down (needs to get under the defender to be effective here) ... Lacks the strength to get movement off the snap, but is effective enough vs. the shade or two-technique

Negatives: Has natural strength, but lacks muscle tone (body looks fleshy) ... Needs to add more bulk to help in his anchor, as strong bull rushers are quick to power through and pressure the pocket (struggled to contain pressure at Senior Bowl practices) ... Shows a strong hand punch, but needs to be more active and consistent shooting and recoiling his hands in order to rock the defenders back ... Can control and sustain, but his marginal hand placement allows defenders to slip past his blocks at times (short arms too much)

PROBABLY GETTING DRAFTED:

It's hard to say. There are certainly bigger centers to be had in the draft. It depends on what a team like Denver where Mozes could fit in perfectly to their zone blocking scheme is looking for. Should be a first rounder on skill and heart alone, but rich NFL types don't work like that.

GUY THAT WATCHED HIM FOR FOUR YEARS SAYS:

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College Eye for the NFL Guy: Brandon Myles

John Radcliff — 2007-04-23T19:47:00 00:00

by John Radcliff

Filed under: NFL Draft, West Virginia Football, Big East, NFL Prospects, West Virginia

NFL scouts think they know Brandon Myles, and they are probably right......

Does a wide receiver in one of the most run happy offenses in the history of run happy offenses have a shot at making an NFL team? Did Brandon Myles do enough in post season Senior Bowl type games and workouts to get an NFL scout to look at him seriously?

Brandon Myles: Wide Receiver

What NFL Scouts are Saying:

NFL.com

Positives: Has a lean frame with decent muscle tone ... Naturally fluid route runner with excellent speed, but needs to build to top acceleration ... Best on deep routes, as he seems more comfortable running straight-line than working underneath on slants or screens ... Has enough burst to separate after the catch and plays with adequate field instincts ... When given a free lane, he is quick to come off the line and into his routes ... Showed improvement in 2006 in attempts to sink his hips in order to better get in and out of his routes ... Has a decent feel for sticks and boundaries ... Has natural, soft hands, doing a good job of catching outside the frame ... When given room, he is quick to gobble up the defender's cushion ... Runs precise deep routes and creates separation instantly after the catch

Negatives: Has a sudden burst off the line, but will then gather himself before getting into gear, making him late into his routes ... Needs to work on his transition through patterns, as he tends to round his cuts, especially when working underneath ... Lacks route variety, working generally on deep patterns ... Needs to vary his speeds, as he will overrun the ball at times on deep routes ... Has poor blocking technique, as he is slow to break down and stalk and lacks the strength to sustain

Probably Getting Drafted....

Most likely on day two if at all.

Guy Who Watched Him for Four Years is Saying

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Who's Keeping It Realer, Pacman Jones or Chris Henry?

John Radcliff — 2007-02-22T07:00:00 00:00

by John Radcliff

Filed under: Bengals, Titans, AFC North, West Virginia Football, Big East, West Virginia, NFL Police Blotter

Both Pacman Jones and Chris Henry have shown flashes of greatness on the field in their short time in the NFL. Just as they did when they were teammates at West Virginia. But off the field, these two have been anything but super. In fact, both have probably received more press for their off the field fiasco's than anything they've done on it. So who is keeping it realer? In the short term, and pending the outcome of recent events, you have to give the nod to Pacman Jones.

But if you look at the overall record over the past couple years, Chris Henry is no slouch himself. Well, actually he is. And if "I can do anything better than you" is the name of this game, Cincinnati and the entire metro area needs to consider calling out the National Guard like yesterday.

I think that any Mountaineer fan would be lying to you if they said they didn't see this coming. Not so much for what they did off the field, but what they did on it in their time at West Virginia. The two were major contributors to West Virginia's mind blowing 1,008 penalty yards in 2004. And yes, that's a huge reason why West Virginia started the season ranked in the top ten, but ended the season out of the polls.

I'm not ready to crown a champion just yet, but you are more than welcome leave your "Realer Champion" vote in the comments section.

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