Spartans Doing Well at NFL Scouting Combines

So far so good at the NFL scouting combines.  The Spartans are killing it.  Here's a list of items:

- Kirk Cousins may be performing his way into the late first round.  Both the Sporting News and SI listed Cousins as rising.

- BJ Cunningham has also impressed.  He ran the 40 in 4.59 seconds and his vertical jump was 31.5 inches.  According to NFL.com, his combine grade is a 73.5, which is good enough to make him a 2nd or 3rd round pick.

- Keyshawn Martin has also impressed.  He ran the 40 in 4.45 seconds and his vertical was 39.5 inches.  According to NFL.com, his combine grade is 69.7, which is just on the cusp of making him a 2nd or 3rd round pick.  SI's Tony Pauline listed Martin as rising and was impressed with his route running.

- Edwin Baker has been less impressive.  He ran the 40 in 4.53 seconds and his vertical was 35 inches.  His combine grade was 49, which just puts him out of "draftable" status.

- Jerel Worthy's combine results are in and they don't look so good.  He officially ran the 40 in 5.08.  His combine grade, according to NFL.com, is 79.5, which is supposedly good enough to make him a second round pick but not a first round pick.  Russ Lande at Sporting News seems to corroborate that score.  He thinks Worthy performed poorly and may have dropped all the way to a third round pick.  I watched Worthy's performance and I felt that he was not particularly impressive but he also didn't do much to hurt himself.  He was definitely surpassed by Memphis' Dontari Poe, but nobody else really looked any better.

- Trenton Robinson's results are in.  He ran the 40 in 4.52 seconds, which appears to be the best time among safeties.  That's a solid result but probably disappointing for Robinson, who before the combine was hoping to run the 40 in the 4.3s.  He was also the top performer in the broad jump, with an excellent 10.5 feet jump.  It's hard to know how his overall performance will affect his draft stock.  SI's Tony Pauline was impressed and said "he was quick-footed in every direction and showed a terrific burst to the ball in every direction."  On the other hand, NFL.com's grade of 68.2 makes him likely to go in the 4th-7th rounds.  Robinson's biggest problem is simply his size.  He is slightly less than 5'10", and that's relatively small for a safety.

- Brian Linthicum was not invited to the combine, so info is limited on him.  Still, there is some good news for him.  ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. considers Linthicum the 5th best tight end in the draft.

At this point it's safe to say that the Spartans should do well in the NFL draft.  At least 6 our guys look set to be drafted, including Cousins, Worthy, Martin, Cunningham, Robinson, and Linthicum.  There's also a small chance that Baker could get drafted, and an even smaller chance that Joel Foreman could get drafted.  We'll have to wait to see how these latter 2 guys do in various other combines (e.g., MSU's pro-day and regional combines).

I will be trying to update this post as frequently as possible, instead of creating a new post every time new info rolls in.

Spartans to the NFL and Recruiting

Folks, I've been obsessively checking the news for any info on how our guys are doing at the combines and there just isn't much up to this point.  Nonetheless, this lull in the flow of information does provide an opportunity to reflect on why it's important that our guys do well at the combine and ultimately in the draft.

Of course, we all want the guys to do well because we want them to fulfill their dreams and because it's fun to watch Spartans playing on Sundays.  But their success is also critical because it does translate into recruiting prowess.  You can bet that coaches use the line: "well, son, you should come to MSU because we placed "X" in the NFL and we think you have the same kind of potential."  Of course, the higher a player goes in the draft, the more power that line has.

I hate to say it, but one reason why Nick Saban gets good recruiting classes is because he gets all kinds of guys into the NFL.  And you can bet that Saban is fully aware of that.  He doesn't go to the first day of the draft and sit next to guys like Mark Ingram for a few hours just because he cares.  Maybe he cares a little, but he knows full-well that all the high school kids are watching and he knows the thought crosses their minds: "wow, that Nick Saban really cares about his players, and look at all those guys he's sending to the NFL."

Anyway, this may be the year where NFL draft success pays some big dividends on the recruiting trail for the Spartans.  If Worthy goes in the first round, I wouldn't be surprised to see one or two big time DTs committing to the Spartans this year.  Likewise, if Kirk Cousins goes as high as the second round, don't be surprised to see the Spartans having more luck with some top-rated quarterbacks.  Better yet, if the Spartans can get as many as 7 guys drafted, don't be surprised to see them start catching up to UM and OSU on the recruiting trail, by next signing day.

Spartans to the NFL

The NFL scouting combines have just begun (yesterday).  The information on how various Spartans are doing is limited, for now, but here are a few tidbits on that topic:

- Kirk Cousins received a lot of praise around the time of the Senior Bowl; some sports journalists even said he could go as high as the second round.  Well, it looks like the excitement may be moderating.  NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock recently gave Cousins a fourth-round grade.  Not bad, though I wouldn't be surprised to see Cousins' stock improve throughout the combines, if he can flash the kind of brilliance he showed at the B1G championship game.  He is currently training with former NFL quarterback Chris Weinke, who is impressed with Cousins.

- Mayock was a lot more positive about Jerel Worthy.  Like most draft analysts, Mayock considers Worthy a first-round pick.  Of all the evaluations I've of Worthy I've read, Mayock's seems the most positive; he regards Worthy as the number 2 defensive tackle in the draft.  As the combine draws near, Worthy's stock seems to be rising.  I am seeing more and more mock drafts putting Worthy as a definite first rounder -- many people seem to think he'll go to Denver or New England. 

- Brian Linthicum was not invited to the combine.  It's hard to know what's going on with Linthicum, considering that he received good reviews during the week of the Senior Bowl, and more recently sites like this one have rated him as a top 5 tight end.  Perhaps his trouble with the law in March of 2011 is coming back to haunt him.

- B.J. Cunningham, Keshawn Martin, Edwin Baker, and Trenton Robinson have all been invited to the combine, but these guys have not received as much attention from draft analysts.  There is a nice article on Robinson's preparations for the combine, which mentions that he is hoping to run the 40 in 4.35 seconds.  That's excellent speed for safety...check that, that's excellent speed for any player.  Too bad Al Davis isn't around to use the Raiders' first round pick on Robinson.

The combines started yesterday, so let's get ready for the news to start flowing.

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MacGarrett Kings, One of My Favorites

So I'm obsessively looking over various media of our 2012 recruiting class and I noticed some new video of MacGarrett Kings.

Folks, this video changes my earlier thoughts about Kings and now leads me to view him as one of the most exciting recruits in the 2012 class.  When Kings first committed, I thought he had good moves and made amazing catches, but he looked slow and seemed to lack explosiveness.  Well, I don't know if his earlier videos were poorly edited or if he developed quite a bit since those videos were posted on Youtube, but this newer video makes me see him as a legitimate replacement for Keyshawn Martin.  And apparently, Dantonio and Kings, himself, also see his role as the next Keyshawn Martin -- a guy that can play receiver, return punts and kickoffs, run reverses, etc.  

Kings now looks explosive and he still has his play-making ability.  You can see his speed in the video above, but his speed is also corroborated by another video of him at an MSU camp running the 40 in 4.4 seconds.  You can also see that he still has great "shiftiness," that he can make acrobatic catches, and that he plays with confidence.  When you combine all those things, I think Kings is showing that he is probably ahead of where Martin was a freshman and that he has the ability to contribute early.  I really think he'll play as a freshman and that he'll make some big plays by the end of the season.