Tribal Warfare
03-06-2010, 03:27 PM
Spoon shines for NFL scouts (http://www.columbiatribune.com/weblogs/behind-the-stripes/2010/mar/04/spoon-shines-for-nfl-scouts/)
By Dave Matter
Having just worked out for NFL teams on Monday at the Scouting Combine, Sean Weatherspoon could have sat out Thursday’s pro day inside Missouri’s Devine Pavilion. Instead, he had a score to settle with the stopwatch.
"All the reviews I got at the combine was that I did what I needed to do," the former MU linebacker said. "But, me personally, I wasn’t satisfied with my 40 time. So I wanted to come out here today and run it on my home turf and maybe do a little better."
He did just that. After clocking 40-yard dash times in the 4.5 and 4.6-second range in Indianapolis, Weatherspoon was timed in the 4.4s on Thursday, specifically 4.43 by a scout from Green Bay and 4.48 by a representative from Atlanta. Weatherspoon also set a personal-record in the bench press, lifting 225 pounds 35 times, one more rep than he managed in Indy where he had the second-best total among linebackers.
I’ll have much more on Weatherspoon and his NFL journey in Friday’s Tribune, including his thoughts on some recent unflattering anonymous comments made by an NFL executive. (Long story short, he disagrees, as does everyone he’s talked to employed by NFL franchises.)
If anything, Weatherspoon might have scored points with scouts by working out at MU when he could have been a spectator.
"I had originally planned not to do the bench press, but when I saw other guys competing and all my teammates in there, I said, 'I got to get under there.' That was my motivation to do that. … You definitely get points for that."
Weatherspoon said he has had formal interviews with 21 teams and expects to line up some private workouts with clubs in the coming weeks. He’s hoping to fall somewhere between the draft’s No. 15 overall pick (owned by the New York Giants) and No. 34, the second pick of the second round, held by Detroit. Anything lower, he said, will be disappointing.
Weatherspoon said he feels best about his meetings with Atlanta, Denver, New England and New Orleans, among others. He also interviewed with Cleveland’s brass, including linebackers coach Matt Eberflus, MU’s former defensive coordinator and the coach who recruited Weatherspoon out of Jasper, Texas. Teams that run a 3-4 defense told Weatherspoon they like him as an inside linebacker, while 4-3 teams like him at either the middle or weakside position, the place he played most of his college career.
He wasn’t the only former Tiger working out for scouts. Also going through drills were offensive lineman Kurtis Gregory, defensive linemen Jaron Baston, Brian Coulter and Andy Maples, punter Jake Harry and safety Justin Garrett, whose last season at MU was 2008.
Baston, who played in the East-West Shrine Game but was not invited to the combine, weighed in at 304 pounds and said teams have told him his best course should be to put on 15-20 pounds and plan on playing nose guard in a 3-4 defense. That’s what I like doing anyway, stuffing the run," he said.
Also in attendance but watching from a distance was wide receiver Danario Alexander, who told me he’ll spend two more weeks on crutches after undergoing a fourth knee surgery last month.
In case you missed the news, Alexander suffered a minor cartilage tear in his left knee during Senior Bowl practices in January. He had the knee checked out by several doctors, including famed surgeon James Andrews and Pittsburgh Steelers team doctor James Bradley, and the consensus was that the latest setback was unrelated to the ligament damage Alexander originally suffered in 2007 and has since needed three surgeries. John Uribe, the team doctor for the Miami Hurricanes, performed the surgery in Miami, where Alexander had been training since the end of the season, along with Maryland offensive lineman Bruce Campbell.
Alexander won’t be able to work out for teams before the draft and is relying on his game film and individual interviews to score him a place in April’s draft. He said he expects to be able to run and practice in two to three months, definitely in time for an NFL training camp.
He’s trying to remain upbeat, but, man, hasn’t this kid endured enough? He’s got the Book of Job of left knees.
"I’ve been through a lot, but I’ve got to stay positive,"he told me. "There’s times when I get down, especially right after the surgery. I was like, ‘Man, I could have done this different or that different.’ And just being around" pro day, "I really want to compete. But I know the only way I can get back to where I’m supposed to be is to stay positive. That’s where I have to be now, man."
Missouri will hold another pro scouting day on March 18.
By Dave Matter
Having just worked out for NFL teams on Monday at the Scouting Combine, Sean Weatherspoon could have sat out Thursday’s pro day inside Missouri’s Devine Pavilion. Instead, he had a score to settle with the stopwatch.
"All the reviews I got at the combine was that I did what I needed to do," the former MU linebacker said. "But, me personally, I wasn’t satisfied with my 40 time. So I wanted to come out here today and run it on my home turf and maybe do a little better."
He did just that. After clocking 40-yard dash times in the 4.5 and 4.6-second range in Indianapolis, Weatherspoon was timed in the 4.4s on Thursday, specifically 4.43 by a scout from Green Bay and 4.48 by a representative from Atlanta. Weatherspoon also set a personal-record in the bench press, lifting 225 pounds 35 times, one more rep than he managed in Indy where he had the second-best total among linebackers.
I’ll have much more on Weatherspoon and his NFL journey in Friday’s Tribune, including his thoughts on some recent unflattering anonymous comments made by an NFL executive. (Long story short, he disagrees, as does everyone he’s talked to employed by NFL franchises.)
If anything, Weatherspoon might have scored points with scouts by working out at MU when he could have been a spectator.
"I had originally planned not to do the bench press, but when I saw other guys competing and all my teammates in there, I said, 'I got to get under there.' That was my motivation to do that. … You definitely get points for that."
Weatherspoon said he has had formal interviews with 21 teams and expects to line up some private workouts with clubs in the coming weeks. He’s hoping to fall somewhere between the draft’s No. 15 overall pick (owned by the New York Giants) and No. 34, the second pick of the second round, held by Detroit. Anything lower, he said, will be disappointing.
Weatherspoon said he feels best about his meetings with Atlanta, Denver, New England and New Orleans, among others. He also interviewed with Cleveland’s brass, including linebackers coach Matt Eberflus, MU’s former defensive coordinator and the coach who recruited Weatherspoon out of Jasper, Texas. Teams that run a 3-4 defense told Weatherspoon they like him as an inside linebacker, while 4-3 teams like him at either the middle or weakside position, the place he played most of his college career.
He wasn’t the only former Tiger working out for scouts. Also going through drills were offensive lineman Kurtis Gregory, defensive linemen Jaron Baston, Brian Coulter and Andy Maples, punter Jake Harry and safety Justin Garrett, whose last season at MU was 2008.
Baston, who played in the East-West Shrine Game but was not invited to the combine, weighed in at 304 pounds and said teams have told him his best course should be to put on 15-20 pounds and plan on playing nose guard in a 3-4 defense. That’s what I like doing anyway, stuffing the run," he said.
Also in attendance but watching from a distance was wide receiver Danario Alexander, who told me he’ll spend two more weeks on crutches after undergoing a fourth knee surgery last month.
In case you missed the news, Alexander suffered a minor cartilage tear in his left knee during Senior Bowl practices in January. He had the knee checked out by several doctors, including famed surgeon James Andrews and Pittsburgh Steelers team doctor James Bradley, and the consensus was that the latest setback was unrelated to the ligament damage Alexander originally suffered in 2007 and has since needed three surgeries. John Uribe, the team doctor for the Miami Hurricanes, performed the surgery in Miami, where Alexander had been training since the end of the season, along with Maryland offensive lineman Bruce Campbell.
Alexander won’t be able to work out for teams before the draft and is relying on his game film and individual interviews to score him a place in April’s draft. He said he expects to be able to run and practice in two to three months, definitely in time for an NFL training camp.
He’s trying to remain upbeat, but, man, hasn’t this kid endured enough? He’s got the Book of Job of left knees.
"I’ve been through a lot, but I’ve got to stay positive,"he told me. "There’s times when I get down, especially right after the surgery. I was like, ‘Man, I could have done this different or that different.’ And just being around" pro day, "I really want to compete. But I know the only way I can get back to where I’m supposed to be is to stay positive. That’s where I have to be now, man."
Missouri will hold another pro scouting day on March 18.