Mr. Laz
04-22-2006, 08:34 PM
Posted on Fri, Apr. 21, 2006
Evaluating cornerbacks for NFL Draft
BY RICK GOSSELIN
The Dallas Morning News
SPOTLIGHT ON
Richard Marshall, Fresno St.
Marshall grew up wanting to run with the football. Moving to defense didn't slow down his dream.
He projects as a high draft pick at cornerback, where he has lined up since high school. But that wasn't his intention when he started out in football.
"When I played Pop Warner, I played running back," Marshall said. "I always watched the Dallas Cowboys and Emmitt was their running back, so I tried to do the things the way he did them."
Like Smith, Marshall specialized in touchdowns. He returned three interceptions for touchdowns as a high school senior in Los Angeles, earning a scholarship to Fresno State. He intercepted nine passes during his three seasons with the Bulldogs, returning them 303 yards with three more scores.
Marshall set a school record with his 205 return yards in 2004, scoring touchdowns on a 100-yard runback against Rice and a 75-yarder against Washington. He also had an 81-yard touchdown return against Tennessee in 2003.
"When I get the ball in my hands, I try to get to the end zone as fast as possible," Marshall said. "Most of the time when I break on the ball I'm coming downhill, so I'm going full speed already."
Marshall intercepted three passes in each of his three seasons.
He's skipping his senior year to turn pro.
The top 15
Player . . . School . . . Ht. . ... Wt. . . . Noteworthy
1.Jimmy Williams . .. Va. Tech . . . 6-2 . . . 213 . . . Two-time All-ACC
2.Jonathan Joseph . . . S. Carolina . . 5-11 . . .193 . . . 4.31 speed in the 40
3.Antonio Cromartie . . . Fla. St. . . . 6-2 . . . 208 . .. Missed 2005 (knee injury)
4.Tye Hill . . . Clemson . .. . 5-9 1/2 . . . 185 . . . 4.30 speed in the 40
5.Richard Marshall . . . Fresno St. . . 5-11 . .. 189 . . . Nine career interceptions
6.Cedric Griffin . . . Texas . . . 6-0 . . . 199 . . . 267 career tackles
7.Ashton Youboty . . . Ohio St. . . .5-11 1/2 . . . 189 . . . Native of Klein, Texas
8.Kelly Jennings . . . Miami-Fla. . .. 5-10 1/2 . . . 178 . .. 4.39 speed in the 40
9.Danieal Manning . . . Abilene Christian . .. .5-10 1/2 . .. 202 . . .3-time All-Lone Star Conf.
10.David Pittman . .. NW St. . . 5-11 . .. 182 . . .Broke up 26 career passes
11.DeMario Minter . . .Georgia . .5-11 . .. 190 . . . Broke up 23 career passes
12.Tim Jennings . . . Georgia . .. 5-7 1/2 . .. 185 . . . 4.32 speed in the 40
13.Devin Hester . . . Miami-Fla. . . . 5-10 1/2 . .. 190 . . .2-time All-ACC kick returner
14.Will Blackmon . . . Bos. Col. . . . 6-0 . . . 198 . .. Played WR in 2005
15.Alan Zemaitis . .. Penn St. . . . 6-1 . .. 194 . . . Big Ten interceptions leader
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: There's a reason the University of Miami turns out so many quality corners. It's the guys they have to cover every day in practice. "Every year we have great receivers," said Miami's Kelly Jennings. "We see a lot of speed, covering guys like Sinorice Moss, Andre Johnson and Roscoe Parrish. It helps each week when you face the other guys, who may not be of that caliber or as fast. It makes the game seem a whole lot simpler. If we can cover our guys, we can cover anybody." Johnson and Parrish are in the NFL, and Moss will join them in 2006.
MR. OCTOBER: TCU's Quincy Butler would be a good fit for one of these eight NFL teams: Arizona, Carolina, Dallas, Kansas City, the New York Jets, Oakland, Philadelphia or San Diego. The other 24 teams all have byes in October - and Butler needs to play as many October games as he can. He led the Mountain West Conference in interceptions in 2005 with five, and every one came in October.
YARDAGE MACHINES: Mississippi State's Kevin Dockery was a 2,400-yard rusher in high school. He started four years for the Bulldogs at cornerback and had six career interceptions, counting Eli Manning among his victims.
Not far behind as high school running backs were Stanford's T.J. Rushing (1,900 yards rushing), Oklahoma State's Daniel McLemore (1,800) and Tennessee's Jason Allen (1,700).
Notable
MYSTERY MAN: Antonio Cromartie started one game at Florida State, then tore up his knee in a non-contact drill last summer and sat out the 2005 season. Now he's skipping his senior year to enter the NFL draft. There are tons of questions about him athletically and medically - but Cromartie still projects as a first-round draft pick. Why? He's 6-2, 208 and was a sprinter on FSU's Atlantic Coast Conference champion track team in 2004. He ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash for NFL scouts on campus this spring. Cromartie intercepted four passes in 2004, the one season when he saw appreciable playing time, and made All-ACC even though he came off the bench.
SPEED TO BURN: Clemson's Tye Hill was the ACC's 60-meter indoor and 100-meter outdoor champion in 2004. Maryland's Gerrick McPhearson broke Renaldo Nehemiah's school record in the 60-meter dash, and Will Blackmon was the Rhode Island high school 100-meter dash champion. Also, T.J. Rushing ran a leg on Stanford's 4x100-meter relay team that broke the school record set by the 1978 team, which included NFLers James Lofton and Darrin Nelson.
ALL-HANDS TEAM: Jay McCareins led the Ivy League in interceptions in 2003 with five and led the NCAA in 2005 with nine. He leaves Princeton No. 3 on the school's all-time interception list with 18. The leader is Dean Cain of TV Superman fame with 22. McCareins, younger brother of New York Jets receiver Justin McCareins, is the top ballhawk on this draft board.
Player . . . School . . . INTs
Jay McCareins . . . Princeton . . . 18
Jovon Johnson . . . Iowa . . . 17
Wes Hostetler . . . Ohio Northern. . . . 13
Alan Zemaitis . . Penn St. . . . 12
Danieal Manning . . . Abilene Christian . . . 11
David Pittman . . . NW St. . . . 11
Tim Jennings . . . Georgia . . . 10
FOOTBALL FACTORY: Northwestern State (La.) is not considered a football factory - except at defensive back.
Three former Demons started in NFL secondaries last season: Terrence McGee (Buffalo), Kenny Wright (Jacksonville) and Mike Green (Chicago). David Pittman will join them off this draft board.
The best
JIMMY WILLIAMS VIRGINIA TECH
Williams started at safety in 2003 but moved to the corner in 2004 and made All-ACC each of his last two seasons. He has safety size and hitting ability (a team runner-up 114 tackles in 2003) but cornerback speed with a 4.41-second clocking in the 40-yard dash this spring. He intercepted nine passes in his career and broke up 25 others. He returned two of his interceptions for touchdowns.
Sleeper
DION BYRUM, OHIO
Ohio State doesn't have all the great players in the Buckeye State. Ohio U. nabbed Byrum, who intercepted six passes in 2005 on his way to All-Mid-American Conference honors. He scored three defensive touchdowns last season on two interceptions and a fumble return. The only drawback is his size (5-9, 185 pounds).
Best of Texas
1. ASHTON YOUBOTY
OHIO STATE
He was born in Liberia but moved to Philadelphia when he was 4 and on to Klein, Texas, in eighth grade. He started for the Buckeyes for two seasons, earning All-Big Ten honors in 2005.
Draft projection: Rounds 1-2.
2. CEDRIC GRIFFIN, TEXAS
Draft projection: Rounds 1-2.
3. DANIEAL MANNING ABILENE CHRISTIAN
Draft projection: Rounds 2-3.
QUICK TAKE:
This is the most talented cornerback board in the last 25 years. There are eight corners with first-round grades, and there could 15 or 16 drafted on the first day.
Jimmy Williams of Virginia Tech was a two-time All-ACC choice. Williams started at safety as well as cornerback.
Evaluating cornerbacks for NFL Draft
BY RICK GOSSELIN
The Dallas Morning News
SPOTLIGHT ON
Richard Marshall, Fresno St.
Marshall grew up wanting to run with the football. Moving to defense didn't slow down his dream.
He projects as a high draft pick at cornerback, where he has lined up since high school. But that wasn't his intention when he started out in football.
"When I played Pop Warner, I played running back," Marshall said. "I always watched the Dallas Cowboys and Emmitt was their running back, so I tried to do the things the way he did them."
Like Smith, Marshall specialized in touchdowns. He returned three interceptions for touchdowns as a high school senior in Los Angeles, earning a scholarship to Fresno State. He intercepted nine passes during his three seasons with the Bulldogs, returning them 303 yards with three more scores.
Marshall set a school record with his 205 return yards in 2004, scoring touchdowns on a 100-yard runback against Rice and a 75-yarder against Washington. He also had an 81-yard touchdown return against Tennessee in 2003.
"When I get the ball in my hands, I try to get to the end zone as fast as possible," Marshall said. "Most of the time when I break on the ball I'm coming downhill, so I'm going full speed already."
Marshall intercepted three passes in each of his three seasons.
He's skipping his senior year to turn pro.
The top 15
Player . . . School . . . Ht. . ... Wt. . . . Noteworthy
1.Jimmy Williams . .. Va. Tech . . . 6-2 . . . 213 . . . Two-time All-ACC
2.Jonathan Joseph . . . S. Carolina . . 5-11 . . .193 . . . 4.31 speed in the 40
3.Antonio Cromartie . . . Fla. St. . . . 6-2 . . . 208 . .. Missed 2005 (knee injury)
4.Tye Hill . . . Clemson . .. . 5-9 1/2 . . . 185 . . . 4.30 speed in the 40
5.Richard Marshall . . . Fresno St. . . 5-11 . .. 189 . . . Nine career interceptions
6.Cedric Griffin . . . Texas . . . 6-0 . . . 199 . . . 267 career tackles
7.Ashton Youboty . . . Ohio St. . . .5-11 1/2 . . . 189 . . . Native of Klein, Texas
8.Kelly Jennings . . . Miami-Fla. . .. 5-10 1/2 . . . 178 . .. 4.39 speed in the 40
9.Danieal Manning . . . Abilene Christian . .. .5-10 1/2 . .. 202 . . .3-time All-Lone Star Conf.
10.David Pittman . .. NW St. . . 5-11 . .. 182 . . .Broke up 26 career passes
11.DeMario Minter . . .Georgia . .5-11 . .. 190 . . . Broke up 23 career passes
12.Tim Jennings . . . Georgia . .. 5-7 1/2 . .. 185 . . . 4.32 speed in the 40
13.Devin Hester . . . Miami-Fla. . . . 5-10 1/2 . .. 190 . . .2-time All-ACC kick returner
14.Will Blackmon . . . Bos. Col. . . . 6-0 . . . 198 . .. Played WR in 2005
15.Alan Zemaitis . .. Penn St. . . . 6-1 . .. 194 . . . Big Ten interceptions leader
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: There's a reason the University of Miami turns out so many quality corners. It's the guys they have to cover every day in practice. "Every year we have great receivers," said Miami's Kelly Jennings. "We see a lot of speed, covering guys like Sinorice Moss, Andre Johnson and Roscoe Parrish. It helps each week when you face the other guys, who may not be of that caliber or as fast. It makes the game seem a whole lot simpler. If we can cover our guys, we can cover anybody." Johnson and Parrish are in the NFL, and Moss will join them in 2006.
MR. OCTOBER: TCU's Quincy Butler would be a good fit for one of these eight NFL teams: Arizona, Carolina, Dallas, Kansas City, the New York Jets, Oakland, Philadelphia or San Diego. The other 24 teams all have byes in October - and Butler needs to play as many October games as he can. He led the Mountain West Conference in interceptions in 2005 with five, and every one came in October.
YARDAGE MACHINES: Mississippi State's Kevin Dockery was a 2,400-yard rusher in high school. He started four years for the Bulldogs at cornerback and had six career interceptions, counting Eli Manning among his victims.
Not far behind as high school running backs were Stanford's T.J. Rushing (1,900 yards rushing), Oklahoma State's Daniel McLemore (1,800) and Tennessee's Jason Allen (1,700).
Notable
MYSTERY MAN: Antonio Cromartie started one game at Florida State, then tore up his knee in a non-contact drill last summer and sat out the 2005 season. Now he's skipping his senior year to enter the NFL draft. There are tons of questions about him athletically and medically - but Cromartie still projects as a first-round draft pick. Why? He's 6-2, 208 and was a sprinter on FSU's Atlantic Coast Conference champion track team in 2004. He ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash for NFL scouts on campus this spring. Cromartie intercepted four passes in 2004, the one season when he saw appreciable playing time, and made All-ACC even though he came off the bench.
SPEED TO BURN: Clemson's Tye Hill was the ACC's 60-meter indoor and 100-meter outdoor champion in 2004. Maryland's Gerrick McPhearson broke Renaldo Nehemiah's school record in the 60-meter dash, and Will Blackmon was the Rhode Island high school 100-meter dash champion. Also, T.J. Rushing ran a leg on Stanford's 4x100-meter relay team that broke the school record set by the 1978 team, which included NFLers James Lofton and Darrin Nelson.
ALL-HANDS TEAM: Jay McCareins led the Ivy League in interceptions in 2003 with five and led the NCAA in 2005 with nine. He leaves Princeton No. 3 on the school's all-time interception list with 18. The leader is Dean Cain of TV Superman fame with 22. McCareins, younger brother of New York Jets receiver Justin McCareins, is the top ballhawk on this draft board.
Player . . . School . . . INTs
Jay McCareins . . . Princeton . . . 18
Jovon Johnson . . . Iowa . . . 17
Wes Hostetler . . . Ohio Northern. . . . 13
Alan Zemaitis . . Penn St. . . . 12
Danieal Manning . . . Abilene Christian . . . 11
David Pittman . . . NW St. . . . 11
Tim Jennings . . . Georgia . . . 10
FOOTBALL FACTORY: Northwestern State (La.) is not considered a football factory - except at defensive back.
Three former Demons started in NFL secondaries last season: Terrence McGee (Buffalo), Kenny Wright (Jacksonville) and Mike Green (Chicago). David Pittman will join them off this draft board.
The best
JIMMY WILLIAMS VIRGINIA TECH
Williams started at safety in 2003 but moved to the corner in 2004 and made All-ACC each of his last two seasons. He has safety size and hitting ability (a team runner-up 114 tackles in 2003) but cornerback speed with a 4.41-second clocking in the 40-yard dash this spring. He intercepted nine passes in his career and broke up 25 others. He returned two of his interceptions for touchdowns.
Sleeper
DION BYRUM, OHIO
Ohio State doesn't have all the great players in the Buckeye State. Ohio U. nabbed Byrum, who intercepted six passes in 2005 on his way to All-Mid-American Conference honors. He scored three defensive touchdowns last season on two interceptions and a fumble return. The only drawback is his size (5-9, 185 pounds).
Best of Texas
1. ASHTON YOUBOTY
OHIO STATE
He was born in Liberia but moved to Philadelphia when he was 4 and on to Klein, Texas, in eighth grade. He started for the Buckeyes for two seasons, earning All-Big Ten honors in 2005.
Draft projection: Rounds 1-2.
2. CEDRIC GRIFFIN, TEXAS
Draft projection: Rounds 1-2.
3. DANIEAL MANNING ABILENE CHRISTIAN
Draft projection: Rounds 2-3.
QUICK TAKE:
This is the most talented cornerback board in the last 25 years. There are eight corners with first-round grades, and there could 15 or 16 drafted on the first day.
Jimmy Williams of Virginia Tech was a two-time All-ACC choice. Williams started at safety as well as cornerback.