Monday Thoughts
Thoughts on the NFL Combine
LB Taurean York
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 226 pounds
Arm: 30 inches
Hand: 8 1/2 inches
3-cone: 7.32 seconds
20-yard shuttle: 4.48 seconds
Bench press: 25 reps
The numbers in the cone and shuttle drills are not good. He was last or next to last in those two. Bench press? Second best. But really, York has never been a guy who “tests” well. When the lights come on, that’s when he shines. His play recognition is probably the best for a linebacker since Dat, and it’s just coincidental they’re both Aggies. He’s also got the great anticipation and burst we saw so many times.
I’m sure he did great in interviews, but he’ll have two tough questions to answer: how are you going to shed blocks from linemen who outweigh you by 100 pounds, and how are you going to stop running yourself out of plays?
I thought he was a mid- to late-round pick going in and still do. These aren’t the numbers that will define him; on field production will, for someone.
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 314 pounds
Arm: 34 3/8 inches
Hand: 10 inches
40-yard dash: 5.28 seconds (4th worst)
10-yard split: 1.85 seconds (2nd worst)
Vertical jump: 29.5 inches (middle of the pack)
Broad jump: 9 feet, 2 inches (upper end of the pack)
3 cone: 7.88 seconds (lower middle)
Ok, he’s not fast. But he did show explosiveness in the vertical and broad jumps, so that shows he could be a force off the snap. He didn’t do the bench — he will at pro day — and he’ll probably try the 40 again there. It’s a mixed bag and probably didn’t alter any opinions greatly. It depends on what they place value on. His NFL.com scouting report says he’s strong in enclosed spaces — and guess what? That’s where he plays.
OL Chase Bisontis
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 315 pounds
Arm: 31 3/4 inches
Hand: 9 3/4 inches
40-yard dash: 5.03 seconds (upper middle of the pack)
10-yard split: 1.76 seconds (upper middle of the pack)
Vertical jump: 32 inches (middle of the pack)
Broad jump: 8 feet, 9 inches (lower middle of the pack)
20-yard shuttle: 4.78 seconds (9th out of 12)
3-cone: 7.53 seconds (4th)
Bench: 29 reps (T-4th)
First, Bisontis gets props from scouts, I’m sure, for doing everything. He didn’t back away from any challenge. His 40 time was really good for someone 315 pounds, and he was strong on the bench. The 3-cone time shows good lateral agility. He was being talked up as a second day pick going into Indy and I don’t see any reason why that prediction wasn’t strengthened.
Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 319 pounds
Arm: 35 3/8 inches
Hand: 10 inches
40-yard dash: 5.14 seconds (middle of the pack)
10-yard split: 1.78 second (middle of the pack)
NFL scouts learned what we already knew — Crownover is a huge human being. Going out there and showing out pretty well in the 40 will have observers interested in what else he does at Pro Day. I figured him for a fifth rounder before, and I’ll stick with that. There are going to be a lot of teams who think they’ve found a sleeper, then someone will trade up to get him and piss a lot of folks who were waiting off.
RB Le’Veon Moss
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 203 pounds
Arm: 31 inches
Hand: 9 1/2 inches
Moss didn’t participate in drills as he’s not 100% yet, but he will at Pro Day. His job was to impress teams during the interview process, and he sounded mature and grounded when he talked to the media. Hopefully that helps him out.
Height: 6-foot-5 1/2 inches
Weight: 245 pounds
Arm: 32 5/8 inches
Hand: 10 1/2 inches
20-yard shuttle: 4.4 seconds (upper middle of the pack)
Boerkircher did ok in the shuttle and will do more at Pro Day, but he did well in receiving drills, and that’s probably what was important for him since he wasn’t doing the strength or explosiveness events. I am becoming increasingly confident he’s going to get drafted — I saw a mock draft with him going in the fourth round today — because he’s a gamer and plays without fear.
OL Trey Zuhn
Height: 6-foot-6 1/2 inches
Weight: 312 pounds
Arm: 32 1/2 inches
Hand: 10 inches
Bench: 33 reps (first)
Zuhn went out, ripped off more reps on the bench than anyone and called it a day. He did other drills, but none of the dashes or jumps. He’s clearly a smart guy, so he likely interviewed well. So when scouts come to pro day, they will probably come with a true interest to see what else he can do.
Height: 6 foot
Weight: 196 pounds
Arm: 30 1/4 inches
Hand: 9 1/4 inches
KC didn’t do any of the jumps or dashes, but did all the receiver drills and absolutely killed them. He was one of the absolute best, and he didn’t have any drops — something that should put a dent in this “issue” that analysts keep bringing up about his hands being inconsistent (which annoys me to no end). I think he likely clinched a spot in the first round, and no worst than the early second.
CB Will Lee
Height: 6-foot-1 1/2 inches
Weight: 189
Arm: 32 3/4 inches
9 inches
40-yard dash: 4.52 seconds (3rd to last)
10-yard split: 1.56 seconds (T-7th)
Vertical jump: 42 inches (T-2nd)
Broad jump: 11 feet (T-2nd)
Lee helped himself over the weekend. 4.52 isn’t bad for a guy of his height, and he had a good split. The vertical jump and broad jump show his athleticism. He did well in other drills, too, so he’s likely a third day guy. He’ll get a call.
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 231 pounds
Arm: 32 inches
Hand: 9 1/4 inches
Scooby didn’t work out in Indianapolis, so a lot will be riding on him doing well at Pro Day. He’ll have several interested parties there watching him.
DT Albert Regis
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 295 pounds
Arm: 31 5/8 inches
Hand: 9 5/8 inches
40-yard dash: 4.88 seconds (T-5th)
10-yard split: 1.72 seconds (8th)
Vertical jump: 34 inches (2nd)
Broad jump: 9 feet, 8 inches (1st)
3-cone: 7.77 seconds (1st)
20-yard shuttle: 4.85 seconds (5th)
Slimmed down some 25 pounds, Regis made himself a good bit of money this weekend. He showed tremendous athleticism, putting up very impressive numbers in every event. Scouts put him through footwork and quickness drills and he held up well, so he may have jumped from a late third day pick to an early one.
Height: 6-foot-3 1/2 inches
Weight: 292 pounds
Arm: 34 1/8 inches
Hand: 10 1/8 inches
Vertical jump: 32 inches (T-5th)
Broad jump: 9 feet, 3 inches (exactly the middle of the pack)
Onyedim’s numbers for his size were attention getting; his performance in untimed drills were even better. He got a chance to show off the skill set that we saw late in the season, and it worked to his advantage. He could go faster than anyone expects.
Height: 6-foot-2 1/2 inches
Weight 253 pounds:
Arm: 30 1/4 inches
Hand: 9 1/4 inches
40-yard dash: 4.59 seconds (5th)
10-yard split: 1.58 seconds (T-1st)
Vertical jump: 32.5 inches (T-last)
Broad jump: 9 feet, 7 inches (T-last)
Howell got knocked hard for his wingspan, which was deemed by most scouts as being too short. He did help his case with his 40 time and his 10-yard split, but the jumps did not help him. He’s still a possible first rounder, but his position is not as secure now. All the same, you ignore explosiveness and SEC production at your peril.
KC makes a stand by being himself
There are scumbags and cowards all over social media in this day and age. This is hardly news. And they’ll go after anyone they don’t like or think is different, as mental midgets do. This weekend, some of them went after KC Concepcion for, of all things, his stutter.
KC stutters. I didn’t know that the first time we talked, but I was impressed with his tenacity and he didn’t let it get him down.
Most players don’t like talking to reporters anyway, but KC actually had a really valid excuse should he decide to use it. He never did. If we asked for him and he was around, we got him. And he’d give really good answers, even if the stutter slowed him down.
But what I liked was you could see that it annoyed him. Sometimes he’d stop and shake his head for a second, then keep going. But he never quit. He never stopped a press conference early, never cut off an answer or anything like that. You can’t help but respect that.
Some people didn’t, to the point where he responded on social media saying that he’d learned a lot about people this weekend (and probably not much of it was good, I’m guessing). But he addressed the stuttering issue directly with those who are also dealing with it.
“There’s nothing wrong with us,” he said. “This is a part of me. This is who I am. I cannot control this. I wanna be a role model for those who may be scared to speak up, who maybe afraid and not confident in yourself. I stand with you.”
Doing the interviews took guts people without speech impediments can’t get. We can only guess. But to not only have that courage, but the willingness to address it is admirable. Hopefully, people at his next stop will get that. Odds are they will.
The boys are all right
I think I said last week that this past weekend would give us a much better idea of how good the baseball team is as they will face their toughest opponents by far in Arlington.
The verdict: they’re good. Maybe not Omaha good, but I wouldn’t rule it out.
The Aggies got skunked by No. 1 UCLA Saturday night 11-1 in a game where everything went wrong. Weston Moss didn’t have his command and got shelled in 2 innings of work while the Aggies only managed 2 hits of their own. UCLA is really good and experienced team; A&M had two true freshmen in the middle of their order while missing two of their own veterans.
It’s certainly something to learn from.
But that shouldn’t overshadow their two wins or that they’re 10-1 on the season (they were 6-4 at this time last year). They blew out Virginia Tech 10-0 Friday night courtesy of a big eight run inning, then beat Arizona State 9-3 with three innings of crooked numbers. To come out of there 2-1 with two strong offensive games in spite of missing Chris Hacopian and Wesley Jordan the last two games is a positive.
The Aggies have some issues, starting with the health of Hacopian and Jordan. They’re relying on two freshmen to handle the left side of the infield, but so far Nico Partida and Boston Kellner have been up to the task. Each starting pitcher has been up and down (but Shane Sdao has looked really good his last couple of starts). They still have to sort out the bullpen, though it’s becoming clear who Michael Earley trusts.
This team has come together faster than I expected. I think they’ll be in the upper echelon of the SEC. They’re definitely better than last year, so at least there’s progress.
Unsung heroes
Saturday was a disappointment for Aggie basketball, and the 76-70 loss to Texas likely overshadowed Senior Day for most people. But Rashaun Agee, Ali Dibba, Federiko Federiko, Rylan Griffen, Marcus Hill and Jacari Lane deserved attention and appreciation. Those six players were the guys who were willing to give Bucky ball a shot and, by extension, may have saved Aggie hoops from years of pain.
Think about it: these guys had played four or five years at other schools, but put the most important years of their career into an experiment. Nobody had any idea how this team would work in the offseason or even the first part of the regular season. But the seniors kept grinding and helped turn things around.
Agee has become beloved in his single season at A&M and leads the team in both scoring and rebounds. Griffen and Hill are the top two scorers behind him, and Lane has been the starting point guard nearly the entire year. Dibba has been a valuable member of the second wave, and Federiko has worked his way back into the rotation lately.
All that’s well and good, but these guys were thrown together at the absolute last minute and not only put a team on the floor, but made it a competitive one. The Aggies are limping to the finish, but they’ve still got a good shot at making the NCAA Tournament. A win against either Kentucky tomorrow night or LSU would give A&M 20 wins on the season, something I doubt anyone would have anticipated in November.
Hill will likely be back next year and will team with Ruben Dominguez, Mackenzie Mgbako and Zach Clemence in a revamped lineup. Agee and Griffen, especially, will be missed. But all six should be recognized for what they did this year in preventing Texas A&M basketball from being a laughing stock, something that could have taken years to repair.
Instead, Maryland’s the laughing stock. Just wanted to throw that in.
