Champs Sports Bowl and Insight Bowl Draft Prospects Thread (12/28/10)

[Snarfalicious]

It's about that time when we start making threads to discuss some of the prospects to key on during bowl game season. I thought I'd combine the two tonight since it would be a one-stop place to have some discussion.

I'll break it down by the teams and also in order of the games' airtime...


Champs Sports Bowl: West Virginia vs. North Carolina State

West Virginia:

Robert Sands - Safety - Junior
Height/Weight: 6'5"/220
Synopsis: Good blend of size, speed, and athletic ability. Rangy safety, delivers big hits, breaks on the ball in the air very nicely. Playmaking safety who causes problems for offenses.
Season Stats: 45 Total Tackles, 5.5 TFL, .5 Sack, 3 QBH, 3 FF, 1 INT
Projected Round: 3rd

Noel Devine - RB - Senior
Height/Weight: 5'7"/180
Synopsis: Fast RB who is best in the open field. Receiving threat who is also tougher than given credit for. Possible perfect fit for a CoP back for Moreno. He should of came out last year when his stock was at it's highest.
Season Stats: 201 Carries, 886 Yards (4.4 Avg.), 6 TD, 30 Receptions, 237 Yards (7.9 Avg.), 1 TD
Projected Round: 3rd

Brandon Hogan - CB - Senior
Height/Weight: 5'10"/190
Synopsis: Fast corner who is very physical but sometimes plays too fast for his own mind. He gets out of position because he tries doing too much. Technique needs refinement but he has the potential to be a solid corner in the NFL. Tore his ACL but is still supposedly going to attempt to play in the Bowl Game, so his toughness can't be questioned. Also has had problems with the law and school.
Season Stats: 37 Total Tackles, 3 INT, 6 PBU, 1 FF
Projected Round: 5th Round


North Carolina State:

Nate Irving - ILB - Senior
Height/Weight: 6'1"/235
Synopsis: Sat out 2009 after he got into a car accident (broken leg, collapsed lung, separated shoulder) and took on a coaching role of sorts. Coaches have raved about his dedication to the program and to football. Very instinctual LB who does a very good job of diagnosing plays early. Has decent range, his biggest detractors will be his size and questioned 3rd down ability.
Season Stats: 88 Total Tackles, 20.5 TFL, 6.0 Sacks, 5 PBU, 8 QBH, 2 FF
Projection: 4th

George Bryan - TE - Junior
Height/Weight: 6'4"/265
Synopsis: He's not a flashy player, but he gets the job done. He's got some nice hands, his quickness is adequate, and he's a dedicated blocker. He needs work in the blocking department with his positioning, but he has consistently gotten better. I hope he stays another year in order to get everything together and hopefully become a top TE in college. He's a very reliable player.
Season Stats: 32 Catches, 344 Yards (10.8 Avg.), 3 TD
Projection: 5th



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Insight Bowl: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Missouri Tigers

Iowa:

Adrian Clayborn - DE - Senior
Height/Weight: 6'3"/285
Synopsis: Active player. Won award in 2009 for team's biggest hustler on defense. He isn't the most athletic guy but he is very powerful and you will see him knock guys off the ball with regularity. Gets out of his stance with a very nice first step, and he uses his strength to get separation from blockers in order to set up his pass-rush moves. Very nice hand placement and punch as well. Good run defender as well. Understands his job as a DE to contain as he doesn't get sucked in too often.
Season Stats: 51 Total Tackles, 7.0 TFL, 3.5 Sacks, 6 QBH, 1 FF
Projection: Top 15 Pick

Christian Ballard - DT - Senior
Height/Weight: 6'4"/295
Synopsis: I see a lot of potential in Ballard but there are flaws that he continually seems to make. Being a Big 10 fan (Penn State), I have had the chance to watch Iowa frequently. Ballard has always seemed to have the athletic ability to be a playmaking defensive lineman, but simply never lived up to that potential. He plays way too high, and as a result he is shoved around against the better guards in college. Like I said, there is potential here, but he needs some refinement in order to be productive. He should have put together much better stats in college given the other defensive linemen he played next to and his athletic ability. You can't fault him for the way he plays the game, he attempts to use his speed and never quit attitude to make plays, but if he only got a bit lower, he might really be a dynamic player.
Season Stats: 39 Total Tackles, 4.0 TFL, 2.0 Sacks, 2 PBU, 1 FF
Projection: 2nd-3rd

Tyler Sash - SS - Junior
Height/Weight: 6'1"/215
Synopsis: Instinctual player who loves to mix it up. Good diagnosis and recognizing of plays. Plays fast and likes contact. Struggles in man coverage and he is a little tight in the hips. He should hopefully go back for his senior season and continue to improve his play.
Season Stats: 73 Total Tackles, 2 INT, 2.5 TFL, 2 PBU
Projection: 3rd-4th

Missouri:

Blaine Gabbert - QB - Junior
Height/Weight: 6'5"/240
Synopsis: Possesses a great blend of size, arm strength, mobility, and accuracy. Comes from a spread offense so some will knock him for that. Looks like the real deal as a pure passer. Not really on our radar but I love watching him play. With a full QB crop, and an improving Missouri team, I see Gabbert staying in school for his senior year.
Season Stats: 260/418 (62%), 2752 Yards, 15 TD, 7 INT
Projection: Late 1st Round

[themadfanatic]

Don't forget to watch my boy christian ballard in the iowa game

[BroncosTX77]

[MindField]

For NC State, ILB Nate Irving is a solid prospect, maybe in the 3rd round area, and I think a good fit for the 3-4 defense.

I have seen them play a couple of times this season, and he has looked good.

He will play on Sundays.

For WV, I saw #4, CB Sidney Glover, absolutely lay the wood to someone tonight and knocked them out of the game. Glover is a big body at 5'11"-207, so while he plays corner for the Mountaineers, he could be looked at safety in the NFL.

Devine to me is a bit over-rated. He just has not had much of a wow factor this season, and I seriously doubt he is the next Darren Sproles, as some suggest.

[Endzo]

Pass on Devine this year because we have much more pressing needs. Besides, a much more talented player in Shane Vareen will be available next year .

[Snarfalicious]

For NC State, ILB Irving is a solid prospect, maybe in the 3rd round area, and I think a good fit for the 3-4 defense.

I have seen them play a couple of times this season, and he has looked good.

He will play on Sundays.

For WV, I saw #4, CB Sidney Glover, absolutely lay the wood to someone tonight and knocked them out of the game. Glover is a big body at 5'11"-207, so while he plays corner for the Mountaineers, he could be looked at safety in the NFL.

Devine to me is a bit over-rated. He just has not had much of a wow factor this season, and I seriously doubt he is the next Darren Sproles, as some suggest.

Couldn't agree more with these observations.

I came away really impressed by Bruce Irvin as well. They talked a bit about his hardships in life (including time served in jail) but they also said he has turned his life around. He has been an absolute beast this year, but watching what he did tonight was really impressive. He is so quick off the snap. Looks like a perfect fit for a 3-4 OLB, but he should wait until next year and continue to produce and show he is a changed man.

Robert Sands had an up and down night. He didn't play bad at all, as a matter of fact he really didn't do anything wrong. On the Musafa Greene TD run, he was in the endzone and came up but didn't go full board because Greene crossed the goalline, but he pretty much leveled Sands. After that Sands looked to not be himself. He turned it on late by making a TD saving tackle on a screen, and also recorded 2.0 TFL along with a sack. He looked good in coverage, and similar to all season NC State simply did not throw near him. He made 2 very nice open field tackles as well.

Nate Irving was pretty awesome, too. People say he does not have sideline-to-sideline speed but I found myself disagreeing with that assessment tonight. He was flying around, whether it was in the backfield or outside of the hashmarks. He looks like a solid prospect who could turn into a tackling machine in the NFL.

[MindField]

Couldn't agree more with these observations.

I came away really impressed by Bruce Irvin as well. They talked a bit about his hardships in life (including time served in jail) but they also said he has turned his life around. He has been an absolute beast this year, but watching what he did tonight was really impressive. He is so quick off the snap. Looks like a perfect fit for a 3-4 OLB, but he should wait until next year and continue to produce and show he is a changed man.

Robert Sands had an up and down night. He didn't play bad at all, as a matter of fact he really didn't do anything wrong. On the Musafa Greene TD run, he was in the endzone and came up but didn't go full board because Greene crossed the goalline, but he pretty much leveled Sands. After that Sands looked to not be himself. He turned it on late by making a TD saving tackle on a screen, and also recorded 2.0 TFL along with a sack. He looked good in coverage, and similar to all season NC State simply did not throw near him. He made 2 very nice open field tackles as well.

Nate Irving was pretty awesome, too. People say he does not have sideline-to-sideline speed but I found myself disagreeing with that assessment tonight. He was flying around, whether it was in the backfield or outside of the hashmarks. He looks like a solid prospect who could turn into a tackling machine in the NFL.

I didn't see the entire game, as I turned it over to watch some of Philly/Minn for a while, but I think Irving is a good player, and would thrive in a 3-4 as one of two ILB's that can run to the ball.

Sands makes me vervous as a 6'5" safety...I forget who the other mammoth safety was a couple of years back that came out, but he didn't stick, so I would pass on Sands personally.

[JayJack]

I had Nate Irving in my mock for a long time, and at that time he was listed at 235. I heard one of the annoucers say that Irving is now at 225, if so, i don't see how he fits in a 34. Woodyard is 222, and he has no place in a 34.

I really like NT Chris Neild for WV as a prospect for us, but looking at him play tonight, that hammy still isn't right. The Coaches love him and many say that Neild is the heart and soul of WV defense. There have been some NFL Scouts talk about how Neild will definately be playing on sundays. I just wish he wasn't injured.

[Snarfalicious]

Tyler Sash with a nice fill and TFL on Gabbert.

So far Ballard looks like much of the same. High out of his stance. He is playing on the outside so far tonight and stands straight up then begins to rush. Not happening against Missouri so it won't happen in the NFL.

Clayborn is abusing Missouri's tackles with his initial punch. Just used a nice spin move to get to Gabbert but he was about a half-step too late. He's doing a great job of getting underneath the tackles shoulder pads and driving them back. He's been impressive so far.

[Gbt31]

I didn't see the entire game, as I turned it over to watch some of Philly/Minn for a while, but I think Irving is a good player, and would thrive in a 3-4 as one of two ILB's that can run to the ball.

Sands makes me vervous as a 6'5" safety...I forget who the other mammoth safety was a couple of years back that came out, but he didn't stick, so I would pass on Sands personally.

Pat Watkins? Yeah, but it wouldn't be a bad utility player in the secondary, kinda like the Cowboys used Watkins. Just as like a 5th Safety on the roster.

[MindField]

Pat Watkins? Yeah, but it wouldn't be a bad utility player in the secondary, kinda like the Cowboys used Watkins. Just as like a 5th Safety on the roster.

No, I'm thinking of someone else...it will come to me

[MindField]

Tyler Sash with a nice fill and TFL on Gabbert.

So far Ballard looks like much of the same. High out of his stance. He is playing on the outside so far tonight and stands straight up then begins to rush. Not happening against Missouri so it won't happen in the NFL.

Clayborn is abusing Missouri's tackles with his initial punch. Just used a nice spin move to get to Gabbert but he was about a half-step too late. He's doing a great job of getting underneath the tackles shoulder pads and driving them back. He's been impressive so far.

I like Clayborn; he plays with fire in his game.

Ballard could be a 3-4 5-technique DE, but he is a fourth round area prospect you will have to be patient with.

Gabbert is skyrocketing up the charts...some have him in the first round now, ala Joe Flacco.

[Snarfalicious]

I like Clayborn; he plays with fire in his game.

Ballard could be a 3-4 5-technique DE, but he is a fourth round area prospect you will have to be patient with.

Gabbert is skyrocketing up the charts...some have him in the first round now, ala Joe Flacco.

I don't know if it's just me but when I watch Clayborn when he's playing to his full potential, taking into account the type of football he plays, and also how he looks in a uniform, he reminds me a lot of Darnell Dockett of the Cardinals.

Tonight, however, he is nonexistent. The same can be said for Ballard. Klug is looking like the best talent and he's getting the best rush from the inside. Clayborn has been consistently on the LT, and without any extra blockers, he simply isn't generating any pass rush.

[Den615]

No, I'm thinking of someone else...it will come to me

Not Sean Smith from Utah? He was a S/CB tweener. He had a great rookie year, but looked pretty shaky this year. Dunno if thats who you were thinking of?

[IABronco05]

Adrian Clayborn

As a Hawkeye and Denver, I would love to see the Donkeys use a pick on him. I understand his numbers are down this year but I think that has a lot to do with his DC being out all year and him being the center of attention for opposing OL's, and I think he may have been dealing with a tweaked knee since the Wisky game. I see him as a perfect 3-4 DE for us, he is great against the run and is a pretty decent pass rusher. Am I completely off base here? Thoughts?