What the hell happened to Mopac?
In a matter of only a month or so, it's turned into a nightmare. It makes my main and usual thoroughfare - a nightmarish IH-35 standstill through the upper/lower deck split - seem like a dream. In dropping my daughter off this morning, I decided to deviate and "avoid the traffic" on IH-35 by using Mopac. Mopac made me, according to a source, 27 minutes late for pro day.
This "source" was a member of the local media who had actually taken the time and initiative to time my tardiness. He had it all chronicled and written down in his small and stylish book of notes. He is a writer, after all.
He was upset because I had called "some members" of the local media lazy in a recent column, and he wanted to show that I was, in fact, the lazy one. This turned into a hyena'ing of sorts from at least five people including one person I'm not entirely even sure that I know.
I tell my wife I live in a constant episode of 'Curb ... ' and this kind of thing is exactly why.
. . .
- A Random Team Note to start: Talked to one person at pro day who said that backup OTs Ronnie Major and Garrett Thomas, who will be in a bit of a spotlight for the coming days at LT during practices, looked pretty bad as expected Tuesday in more extended duty. I'd mentioned after one day of camp that the Texas would be in trouble if it had to count on Major at this time and it doesn't sound like Thomas is lighting things on fire off the bat. Thankfully, the two players seem to figure in as only Plan C and D at LT respectively in the fall, but something it's interesting to monitor for depth purposes.
Here is a link to a shared folder I made with 51 different reps from pro day. It has all of Marcus Johnson's routes, most of Duke Thomas' on-field work and most of the DL on-field work. I will go through and label the videos as they upload once finishing the column).
- Gil Brandt tweeted that there were 31 teams in attendance at Texas pro day, and I won't argue with the Godfather. With this said, it was the thinnest 31 teams I've ever witnessed and I attend many of these events every year. I did not identify any GMs, head coaches or even coordinators on hand. There were at least two directors of college scouting, though. If there were 31 teams, few if any had multiple people on hand.
- Hassan Ridgeway stood on his combine numbers which is surprising. It could have helped his stock to get a hand-time on the record-books at pro day since he probably could have clocked sub-5.0 which just makes you seem much faster than a 5.02 even if it really isn't that much faster. Like the way $4.99 just seems lower than 5 bucks.
- As I've reported all along, Ridgeway received a second-round grade from the advisory panel when electing to come out. He has certainly done nothing during this period to improve on that. His reasonable ceiling to be taken is still in the second round, but to me, third or fourth is seeming most likely.
- DB Duke Thomas had a big day with his 40 as I had him clocked at a 4.38. The range of times from scouts on Thomas was from 4.37 to 4.44 so it seems like the number settled on was a 4.41 or so. Low 4.4's was considered a win for Thomas.
- NFL Teams have told Thomas they like him at three positions, nickel, corner and safety, all three of which he played at Texas during his senior season. Thomas told me at at least a few teams have told him they like him as a safety. In much the same way as Mykkele Thompson just last season, Duke Thomas may have opened the eyes of at least a few teams to get on the radar to be drafted. You can be the judge of the on-field portion in the video file shared above (Thomas himself admitted that he didn't feel like he was very smooth in most of his drills, but received good feedback) but his testing numbers with a 10-1 broad jump and low-4.4 40-time are more than respectable.
- Marcus Johnson had a terrific day catching the football and it's easy to forget what a beautiful ball David Ash throws in a practice setting. I was unable to time Johnson's runs but spoke with people in his crew who said he ran faster than Daje. Since people in your crew usually exaggerate, we can still peg Johnson right around the low 4.4's - he certainly looked as fast as both Daje and Duke Thomas to the eyeballs.
- Here are the other 40-times I took unofficially and some thoughts on each player:
Shiro Davis - 4.71 (10-5 broad jump)
Shiro just looks like a million bucks. He certainly drew a bunch of looks from scouts based on his physique alone. They'll see what they see on film which is a largely non-productive player with not many twitchy traits functionally although full of physical gifts.
Alex De La Torre - 4.89
Not sure he's an NFL prospect. He did a good job at pro day catching all the balls thrown his way and using his hands.
Sedrick Flowers - 5.63
Not an NFL prospect.
Marcus Hutchins - 5.28
If Donald Hawkins is jumping from practice squad to practice squad, Marcus Hutchins is not an NFL prospect.
Desmond Jackson - 5.53
Could see him getting invited to a camp, but not drafted.
Daje Johnson - 4.40 (some had him as low as 4.36)
Daje had a disappointing day outside a good 40 because he strained a hamstring at some point after his second run and could not take part in on-field work. He'll likely get a UDFA deal but will have to prove he has his head on straight to have any hope of making a 53-man roster.
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