Shaun Hill was a tremendous leader on last season’s squad
and a productive college signal caller, but not a great pro-prospect. From a
scouting point of view they have a boatload of junior talent on the offensive
unit. Though a little undersized to be an every down runner, Bruce Perry
is a productive ball carrier with great vision, better footwork and the burst of
speed to bring it all together. He sees the field, finds the hole and sets up
defenders only to make them miss, having them grasping at air. Perry is also
tough and takes it to the inside, working to finish his runs. Perry needs to
take his pass catching skills to the next level and develop that element of his
game to get early draft consideration whenever he declares his eligibility, to
make up for his inability to be a heavy-duty runner. Leading the way for Perry
is an unheralded fullback, James Lynch, likewise a junior. Lynch is a
hard-nosed, grind it out lead blocker that really likes contact and works at the
details of the position. He is also a nice short-yardage runner. At this point
in his career we’d consider him similar, but better, than Jamar Martin,
recently selected by Dallas in the fourth round. Jafar Williams is a
tall, agile, fluid receiver with speed. He gets down the field, up in the air
and makes all the difficult catches in contorted positions. Williams is solid
and displays consistent hands but must become more involved in the offense and
step up to be the number one wide out this year, which will get him notice to
eventually be an early pick. Another underclassmen pass catcher, tight end Jeff
Dugans, also has a bright future. Effective as both a receiver and in-line
blocker, Dugans is an athletic prospect growing into the position and becoming a
complete tight end, which will garner him high grades in a year or two. To our
minds possibly the best long-term prospect is left tackle CJ Brooks, a
red-shirt sophomore. Brooks is athletic, agile and shows tremendous blocking
range. He has size and size potential but is light on his feet and displays the
ability to easily block the edge on pass downs or quickly get out and annihilate
opposing linebackers on the second level. He needs to become more adept at
quickly picking up his assignments, learn to use his blocking angles better and
improve his overall instincts but Brooks has big time talent. There are a few
seniors that will get looks. Matt Crawford, a heady and tough tackle, run
blocks effectively and holds his own in pass protection. Crawford is a little
stiff, does not break down well or show the ability to block in anything other
than confined quarters, which will push him into the late rounds. The same can
be said for Todd Wike but to a much larger degree, as he is efficient in
a very small area, which will push him out of the seven rounds next April.
Obviously the headliner on defense is middle-linebacker EJ
Henderson. A powerful force, Henderson is a game disrupting defender that
destroys the opposition when let lose and sent up the field. Henderson also has
a good head on his shoulders and does a fine job reading or anticipating the
action, showing discipline and staying with his assignments rather than running
around like a chicken with no head. While he gets depth on his pass drops and
displays the skills to scrape laterally, he is best moving in a straight line
and not a rangy linebacker with top sideline-to-sideline speed. Then there is
the question of his neck/back injury. Last year flying home from the Senior Bowl
we discussed the situation at length with a former player (All Pro lineman as a
matter of fact) now working as an agent who pursued Henderson in the hopes of
representing him had he left school. The seriousness of the injury was confirmed
and there are some who feel his decision to stay in college for another year was
based on the severity of the situation. Henderson had corrective surgery several
weeks ago (which kept him out of spring practice) and though he seems to be on
schedule for the season’s first game, the end result remains to be seen. At
the top of his game he is a first round choice in the middle slots (picks 10-20)
but should he be red-flagged next February at the combine that will change. Durrand
Roundtree may have some potential as an undersized pass-rusher and we like
the future prospects of junior linebacker Mike Whaley, a fluid and
athletic player with both strength and speed. Whaley, used mostly at the line of
scrimmage, is best suited for the weak-side at the next level and possesses the
physical skills to succeed but must improve his instincts and techniques.
We were so impressed with the talent on this roster we set up
a pair of trips to scout the program in person (Notre Dame 8/31 & UNC 11/2)
and will file live reports from both.