Panthers Senior Bowl / Shrine Player Meetings

[Byrdman4real]

Steven Nelson is a beast

[top dawg]

haven't found anything on how he looked as a returner, but Montgomery looked awful as a WR at the Senior Bowl...

Yahoo Sports

"Stanford WR-KR Ty Montgomery — Listed at 6-2 in college, Montgomery measured in at under 6 feet and appeared to have the body of a running back, not a receiver. He has special teams value, but he struggled with consistency catching the football this week and might be more of a No. 4 or 5 wideout and return specialist."

https://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/sports/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/nfl-draft-watch--senior-bowl-players-who-helped--hurt-themselves-194300834.html?orig_host_hdr=sports.yahoo.com&.intl=us&.lang=en-US&_device=tablet

 

Damn, Jack. I got the message.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm striking him off my list.

[gettlemanjack]

I personally like the Sambrailo interest. Yes, he was getting bull-rushed in the 1 on 1 drills and looked bad. He got a holding and a false start during the game. I think he is pressing because he got some negative press, feeling that he worked all week to see his stock drop a round or two. He is not a bull dozing, 330 lb OT. He is finesse, and what we gain by not giving up the undercuts or getting beat outside, we sacrifice a little with the bull rush---in year 1. A year on the weights could cure that. You cant teach feet in the weight room.

I would meet with Sambrailo to ask him about his history in the weight room. If the guy's high school didn't have a weight room, if he started playing football late, etc. But looking it up, he played football all four years in high school and was a three-year team captain on the Varsity Team. As for leg strength, he was the kicker on top of playing both ways on the line (a second-team all conference kicker too). He also lettered in soccer which is great for building leg strength and balance. He was also a top skier and snowboarder. His 4 years in high school were at a small but very rich Catholic school in California ($11,000/yr tuition), so i assume they had a quality weight room. In college, he had 5 years: he redshirted a year, then was a 4-year starter on the OL. So after all that, if he doesn't have the strength to compete with top prospects his same age in the Power 5 conferences, i'm not sure how another year in the weight room is going to help him catch up (his peers his age will also be getting bigger and stronger with each extra year of weight training). I could understand if Sambrailo had chicken legs, but his legs are already big. That's why they are all saying he lacks "functional" strength as opposed to just strength. He's got muscle, his muscles just aren't functionally as strong as normal muscles that size. Here are pics of him in high school then college:

If my strength and conditioning experts talk me into it, I'd be willing to take him as a late round project. Also, he could just be in a slump this last month. Maybe his gf broke up with him or something. Maybe he snaps out of it by the combine, pro day, team workouts etc and his stock goes back up. Leave no stone unturned

[MHS831]

I would meet with Sambrailo to ask him about his history in the weight room. If the guy's high school didn't have a weight room, if he started playing football late, etc. But looking it up, he played football all four years in high school and was a three-year team captain on the Varsity Team. As for leg strength, he was the kicker on top of playing both ways on the line (a second-team all conference kicker too). He also lettered in soccer which is great for building leg strength and balance. He was also a top skier and snowboarder. His 4 years in high school were at a small but very rich Catholic school in California ($11,000/yr tuition), so i assume they had a quality weight room. In college, he had 5 years: he redshirted a year, then was a 4-year starter on the OL. So after all that, if he doesn't have the strength to compete with top prospects his same age in the Power 5 conferences, i'm not sure how another year in the weight room is going to help him catch up (his peers his age will also be getting bigger and stronger with each extra year of weight training). I could understand if Sambrailo had chicken legs, but his legs are already big. That's why they are all saying he lacks "functional" strength as opposed to just strength. He's got muscle, his muscles just aren't functionally as strong as normal muscles that size. Here are pics of him in high school then college:

If my strength and conditioning experts talk me into it, I'd be willing to take him as a late round project. Also, he could just be in a slump this last month. Maybe his gf broke up with him or something. Maybe he snaps out of it by the combine, pro day, team workouts etc and his stock goes back up. Leave no stone unturned

 

Awesome info.  You def. changed my mind.  Thanks a ton.  I read that he is the only T we are known to have spoken with (according to Walter Football via Jeremy) and I find that incredibly difficult to believe.  

 

I was unimpressed with Clemmings when I watched.  I liked Collins--I think he could drop to us.  I also liked the kid from Wisc, (Haverstein or something).  Smith looked good, but was bending at the waist a lot.  

 

[gettlemanjack]

I read that he is the only T we are known to have spoken with (according to Walter Football via Jeremy) and I find that incredibly difficult to believe. ...

I liked Collins--I think he could drop to us.

with Collins, it was reported the other day that Trai Turner told Collins that our OL coach has been asking Turner a lot of questions about Collins

http://blackandbluereview.com/panthers-eyeing-lsu-offensive-tackle-lael-collins/

when it comes to prospects that a team is known to have talked to, i remember reading a piece showing how it's not uncommon for teams to use their 1st R pick on a guy they weren't known to have met with individually, which was interesting. But keep in mind it's impossible to know ever prospect we met with. For ex, Proehl had dinner with KB after FSU's pro day. Had Gettleman not have told us that, we never would have known. And it's impossible to know if we did a phone interview with a prospect or not. But teams DO their homework on prospects. Here's an article on it:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000326374/article/nfl-draft-process-requires-teams-to-truly-know-prospects

of course it starts by building good relationships with the prospect's college coaches, but it doesn't stop there. From the article:

-Before the Bucs picked Mike Williams in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft , they dispatched an area scout to Buffalo to find the Syracuse receiver's kindergarten teacher to ask questions about him

-"The expectation is that we know that we've created sources that will tell us as much as we can possibly know about the kid," Seattle GM Schneider said. "You're expected to be the expert in your area." It can mean knowing a player's high school coach or his elementary school principal. If you're the Southeast area scout, it has to mean having places like Baton Rouge wired. If you're assigned to the Midwest, it's knowing all the ins and outs of spots like Columbus, down to the academic advisors and the trainers and sometimes even the local police."

-teams will put their security directors, who are often retired federal agents, on the case, dispatching them to the college cities and hometowns of prospects for further research. The security directors will do things like hit up the area bars and coffee shops to gather local perception and use law enforcement connections to siphon information.

and note how the Bucs GM said that with your official visits, you are likely to use those on the players that still have question marks at the end, like we did with KB: "You try to get all the information you can ... we have those 30 visits where you bring them into your building, especially with kids where you're nervous about what they're like or how they're gonna handle their business."

So gettting an interview isn't always a good sign

[MHS831]

with Collins, it was reported the other day that Trai Turner told Collins that our OL coach has been asking Turner a lot of questions about Collins

http://blackandbluereview.com/panthers-eyeing-lsu-offensive-tackle-lael-collins/

when it comes to prospects that a team is known to have talked to, i remember reading a piece showing how it's not uncommon for teams to use their 1st R pick on a guy they weren't known to have met with individually, which was interesting. But keep in mind it's impossible to know ever prospect we met with. For ex, Proehl had dinner with KB after FSU's pro day. Had Gettleman not have told us that, we never would have known. And it's impossible to know if we did a phone interview with a prospect or not. But teams DO their homework on prospects. Here's an article on it:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000326374/article/nfl-draft-process-requires-teams-to-truly-know-prospects

of course it starts by building good relationships with the prospect's college coaches, but it doesn't stop there. From the article:

-Before the Bucs picked Mike Williams in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft , they dispatched an area scout to Buffalo to find the Syracuse receiver's kindergarten teacher to ask questions about him

-"The expectation is that we know that we've created sources that will tell us as much as we can possibly know about the kid," Seattle GM Schneider said. "You're expected to be the expert in your area." It can mean knowing a player's high school coach or his elementary school principal. If you're the Southeast area scout, it has to mean having places like Baton Rouge wired. If you're assigned to the Midwest, it's knowing all the ins and outs of spots like Columbus, down to the academic advisors and the trainers and sometimes even the local police."

-teams will put their security directors, who are often retired federal agents, on the case, dispatching them to the college cities and hometowns of prospects for further research. The security directors will do things like hit up the area bars and coffee shops to gather local perception and use law enforcement connections to siphon information.

and note how the Bucs GM said that with your official visits, you are likely to use those on the players that still have question marks at the end, like we did with KB: "You try to get all the information you can ... we have those 30 visits where you bring them into your building, especially with kids where you're nervous about what they're like or how they're gonna handle their business."

So gettting an interview isn't always a good sign

 

I think the formal science that we use to determine who talked to whom is social media tweets and local reporters asking prospects. 

 

One thing you mentioned (Proehl) made me think:  We have a pretty strong record of drafting players (at least the ones I have heard about, anyway) if the position coach actually meets with the player.  Think about it--Kugbila met with an OL coach (not sure if it was Matsko), and we draft him (probably Gettlemen's only reach, since Boston seems to have panned out). There were a few others over the years, I just cannot recall.  I want to say Shula spend time with Cam and Star spent time with the DL coaches--going from a bad memory.

 

When I think about this, it makes sense.  The position coach would be the last person in line to give a thumbs up.  Who knows. 

As for the background checks, I am pretty sure Cam Newton was investigated in a similar fashion to what you describe.

 

[rmoneyg35]

I see us getting a OT, maybe 2, a WR, nickle back and Rb/FB for sure in this draft.