Centers in the 2010 Draft

[Ralphy Boy]

I thought it might be helpful to have a thread about each position that we'd be likely looking to draft, as opposed to random discussions about each player in different threads. Given that, post whatever you can find or have to say about potential centers in this years draft.

Interesting article from the Senior Bowl

• Another blocker who struggled was Boston College C Matt Tennant. After getting beat by Cam Thomas and Tyson Alualu he became vocally upset and dropped a couple of “F-Bombs”. Gotta love those BC offensive linemen! My money is on Tennant being the first guy to get into a fight this year.

• Notre Dame C Eric Olsen is an underrated prospect. Although he has the ability to play guard Olsen worked exclusively at center today and did a nice job. Specifically he was able to stonewall 331 pound Cam Thomas on a bullrush.

[Ralphy Boy]

CBS Sports
Baylor center J.D. Walton distanced himself a bit Tuesday from his counterparts Ted Larsen (North Carolina State) and Jeff Byers (USC). Despite his time in a predominately zone-blocking system while with the Bears, he has held up well in the physical battles inside. The same could not be said for Larsen, a former defensive tackle who has strong hands to grab hold of the defender, but still has some work to do in maintaining leverage. When going against stouter defenders, such as Alabama's Terrance Cody and Tennessee's Dan Williams, for example, Larsen struggled to get the snap off and then get his hands on the defender. Many of his snaps in drills were bounced back to the coaches and he was consistently pushed back into the pocket. Byers was moved between guard and center, and while athletic and tough, he struggled with bigger, stronger defenders.

[Ralphy Boy]

Rankings and player profiles from

CBS

Draft Countdown

NFL Draft Dog

Great Blue North

NFL Draft Scout

Walter Football

[L.A. Chieffan]

id take a late flyer on olsen
Posted via Mobile Device

[Wilson8]

Probably preaching to the choir but...Fixing the center position is very important for the Chiefs this year. Rudy Niswanger finished 29th in 2009 for centers according to profootballfocus.com. In 2008 he was ranked 32nd. According to the offensive line stats from footballoutsiders.com the offensive line ranks 30th. I know this is more of a problem than just center but start with a good anchor in the middle and the team will see imrovement on the whole line. Niswanger gets driven back if he has a DT playing over him and he does not do that good a job of helping out the guards with blocking their man.

I haven't seen Florida's Maurkice Pouncey play that much to say if he is worth the 2nd round pick that it will take to probably draft him. I thought Matt Tennant and J.D. Walton looked pretty good at the Senior Bowl. I think Hawaii's John Estes looked good at the East-West Shrine Bowl.

[spanky 52]

I would not be opposed to taking Pouncey with 2A and Walton with our 3rd round pick. I was kind of hoping for LB Chaney out of Miss St with our 3rd round pick but the center and right guard position has to be addressed this year. I still believe the Chiefs will take DT Williams out of TN with the 5th pick. Not saying that's what they should do, what they will do.

[Saccopoo]

Tennant, Walton and Estes would all be pretty effective in KC's zone blocking scheme. Pouncey and Olsen are more of a mauling, drive blocking type of center with great strength.

Tennant seemed to stand out as a player in the several Boston College games I've seen over the past couple of years. Olsen did that this year as well for ND.

I don't think that the Chiefs can go wrong with any of these five players. They'd all be immediate upgrades to the center position.

Another guy that is a really good center that no one is talking about is New Mexico's Eric Cook. Guy is huge and very athletic for his size. Really dominated out here in the Mountain West Conference with little help around him. Here's a write up on the guy:

2009 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FIRST TEAM: OL Erik Cook, Sr., New Mexico, has been selected All-Mountain West Conference First Team for the 2009 college football season as voted on by the Mountain West coaches and select media panel. Cook, a second team all-MWC pick last year who was the lone Lobo on the preseason all-MWC team (media-only vote), capped his outstanding career by giving New Mexico a first team all-MWC center for the fifth time in the last seven years. Cook's older brother Ryan earned three straight awards from 2003-05, while Vince Natali was honored in 2007. Erik Cook (Albuquerque Cibola HS) played every snap in all 12 games this fall, finishing the season with 88 knockdown blocks, including 49 over the final five games. He allowed just one sack in 470 passing attempts - the most in the MWC - and had just one penalty in 836 plays this year. Cook had flawless technique on at least 80 percent of his snaps in 10 games. - New Mexico football

Pass blocking: Athletic and flexible for his size. Able to move his feet inside against quick tackles, and also to roll out with quarterback in moving pocket. Shows some nastiness and plays through the whistle when mauling inside. Good pop when trying to push his defender away from quick screen. Accurate shotgun snap, getting his head up to see and hit his man. When doubling a tackle, keeps head on a swivel to stay aware of twists and late blitzers. Gives good effort to chase down defenders making tracks toward his quarterback scrambling out of the pocket. Height can be a detriment inside, but his anchor is usually strong. Must get a bit higher on his man's leg to ensure his cut block is effective.

Run blocking: Quick enough to snap and get his hands on his man's jersey to turn him, take him down the line or just wall him off. Knows the angle he needs to take on the MIKE to keep him from the play. Will lunge when playing too tall out of his stance, allowing a nose-up defender to swim past him. Also gets his pads too high as a drive blocker, though he keeps his legs moving to push the pile.

Pulling/trapping: Doesn't have the foot speed to pull consistently. Gets a hand on players coming from inside, but doesn't move quickly enough to square up against them. Gets tripped up in trash so trapping may prove difficult.

Initial Quickness: Generally gets off the snap well whether quarterback is under center or in shotgun formation. Most starting NFL tackles, however, will out-quick him initially whether lined up at the zero or one techniques. Would be better off playing guard or tackle, where he's not worried about the snap.

Downfield: A bit slow to get his weight moving forward, but does manage to reach and negate linebackers, even after blocking down. Sustains by latching on and keeping his feet active, but may have trouble adjusting to quicker NFL defenders. Hustles to get 20-25 yards downfield on screen passes or reverses. Linebackers can disengage with a strong punch to the chest, as Cook takes time to get his hands up when on the move.

Intangibles: Intelligent player who makes line calls. Coaches and teammates call him a leader by words and example on the field, in the weight room and in the locker room.

[Danman]

Center is our biggest need on the OL IMO. Take one. I think second round is too high. take one in 4th or 5th rd. Spend the first 3 rounds on speed.

[Titty Meat]

Tennant really didn't look good at the senior bowl.

[Wilson8]

New Mexico center Eric Cook played in the 2010 Texas vs Nation game. On their web site you can see practice video. He is number 78 on the Texas team. The coaches had him playing center and guard. He looked ok but wasn't overly impressive. He's pretty tall for a center at 6'6" and might end up moving positions.

[Wilson8]

2010 Senior Bowl Weigh In Stats so you can compare...

Name**------**School*--*HT*--*WT*---*ARM---*HAND
J.D Walton....Baylor......6023.....300.......33.......9 1/4
Matt Tennant.Boston C..6044.....290.......32 1/4.9 3/8
Eric Olsen......ND..........6037.....310.......32 1/2.9 3/8
Ted Larsen.....NC St......6024.....302.......32 3/4.9 5/8
Jeff Byers.......USC........6032.....299.......33......9

USC's Jeff Byers is also an option at center/guard.

[RustShack]

Its tough.. normally a smaller guy would fit a zone blocking scheme more.. but then again I don't know how smart that is with now half the teams running a 3-4 versus just a handfull like in years past.

[Wilson8]

Originally Posted by billay

Tennant really didn't look good at the senior bowl.

I think Matt needs to gain some weight and get stronger. It’s hard to weigh 290 and go up against Cam Thomas at 330 in one-on-one drills and look good every time. Matt came back and did pretty well against Thomas in later drills. He played pretty well in the Senior Bowl game against the South’s DTs.

This is a pretty good evaluation of Matt...

Three-year starter in a zone blocking scheme. Has done it all. Snapped in the spread, shotgun, and conventional formations. A physical player that is mobile and stays on his feet. Works his feet on contact. Sudden first step quickness to gain position and control of the defender. Effective on pulls coming out easy on his initial move with quickness and snap. Accelerates quickly and has the ability to adjust on the move and in space. Plays with good awareness to pick up a blitz and help guards in pass protection. Keeps his feet and stays up on block on the second level linebackers. Keeps his feet in traffic. Good agility and balance. Needs to gain weight and get more overall body strength to handle nose tackles
http://ourlads.blogspot.com/2009/10/...nter-2010.html

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Wilson,

I just want to say that I wish you posted more. You're a really thoughtful guy that brings a lot to this forum. Thanks for all the info. You make this a better place.

[Wilson8]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Wilson,

I just want to say that I wish you posted more. You're a really thoughtful guy that brings a lot to this forum. Thanks for all the info. You make this a better place.

Thanks...I appreciate that.