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NEWS AND NOTES: 2005 NFL COMBINE-INDIANAPOLIS, IN
From Feb 24-25 By: Adam Davis-Consensus Draft Services
RONNIE BROWN RB AUBURN 600 233 The day ended with Ronnie Brown making the media wait on his arrival. When asked about the great backs out of Auburn like Carnell and Rudi Johnson he said he was just honored to be a part of them. Ronnie felt he had a versatile running style, and he appreciates being tagged a ‘complete back’. I asked Ronnie what he felt he could work on and he answered by saying some small technique stuff and blocking. Dallas, New York Jets, and the Bears have all showed interest in drafting Ronnie. He felt he really flourished in the West Coast Offense and made him a better player. He had nothing but good things to say about Carnell Williams and they seem to be friends on and off the field. He felt that Cedric Benson had “tremendous” talent. He considered playing baseball, but felt football was a better fit for him. I asked Ronnie if there was a defining moment in his season this year where he felt like he really arrived and he said the LSU game sticks out in his memory. He felt they answered a lot of questions as a team and he did personally. He felt he fit in with the Tampa Bay system because they throw to their backs. When asked about the Titans he said they are a good franchise with a good system. Brown was very good in his session with the media and his sub 4.4 40 performance should see him drafted in the top 5. I was very impressed with everything he did this year, a world class football player.
CIATRICK FASON RB FLORIDA 600.0 207 Fason looked good, very lean, when answering questions. He feels he really has gone under the radar, and is taller than a lot of other backs, which he think will help him. He compares his game to Shaun Alexander because like Shaun, he’s patient. When asked about this year’s class of Backs, he said there are some big names, and its big competition. He said Jacksonville was interested in him. Fason is married and has a kid, which I think is what led to his decision to leave school early. Fason wears number 4 because of Walter Payton, and didn’t want to wear the number 34. His final comments were that his average per carry was good; he just didn’t get the number of carries. He had a great attitude and seemed quite humble for a Florida Gator and a RB of his talent.
JJ ARRINGTON RB CAL 508.7 214 Arrington was a very funny guy and quite confident in his abilities. He is hearing late 1st, early 2nd round. He likes the Eagles he said. When asked how he could separated himself, he felt that 90% of it had been done, now he can go up or down based on working out. He felt the Senior Bowl also helped him immensely. He feels his strengths are breakaway speed, vision, as well as strength. When asked who should go first he said of course, Aaron Rodgers. “He’s amazing, he never gets rattled”. JJ was extremely confident and compared his game to Priest Holmes. He had great things to say about Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown. He did very well with media.
CEDRIC BENSON RB TEXAS 511 222 Cedric was pretty good with the media and had a certain arrogance (in a good way) about him. He was not rattled by all the cameras and seemed to enjoy the attention. When asked on going number 1 he said it would be a huge ego boost and would say a lot about that person. He has only met Ricky Williams two times and was a little surprised that there were so many comparisons between them. He joked that no one really knows who Ricky Williams is including himself! He felt Derrick would be the first Longhorn taken based on that fact that he cant be blocked, is good at stopping running backs, and has amazing speed. A media person asked Cedric about his Heisman Trophy quote and he replied by saying “That has always been my childhood dream. Growing up I didn’t know about OU vs. Texas. I meant what I said and I was just being honest. I’m the type of person that would rather not lie”. He said he wouldn’t be frustrated if he didn’t start right away, and he’s going to make whoever is ahead of him work for the position. Cedric didn’t do any of the drills in Indy, and will do them March 23 at Austin. “Ill do great at the secondary things like blocking, I learned from Major Applewhite and Chris Simms”. When asked where Mo Clarett fits in this draft he said that no one has seen him play in a while, and certainly some team will like him. I was very impressed with Benson and he seemed to handle everything very well.
KAY JAY HARRIS RB WEST VIRGINIA 600 241 Playing baseball plagued the Q&A with Harris, to which some degree bothered him. He is doing all the workouts and didn’t progress in baseball as much as he would’ve liked. He felt that Darryl Jackson, his god-brother has really helped him transition into football. He was elated to talk about his big game against ECU and Pac Man Jones. “He’s the most competitive athlete I’ve ever seen. He didn’t back down from Winslow II at all. He’s smart, knows the play ahead of time, he’s going to be a great pro”. When I asked him about his Senior Bowl experience he said it was an honor to be there. He had good things to say about Coach Gruden and the TB staff. He didn’t lift at the Combine and will on March 11 at his pro day.
MARION BARBER III 511 211 Barber didn’t impress me as much as I thought he might. He will not run the 40 in Indy, he will March 7 at his pro day. When asked why he left he said that he looked at his stock and felt it was good enough to leave school. He is hearing 2nd round somewhere. He did lift 225 20 times. He felt that he could return punts and kicks, and said that he liked it. He seemed very reserved, shy, and excited to play in the NFL.
DARREN SPROLES 506 187 Darren has been training in Santa Monica, CA and is working hard to prove he can be an NFL back. He felt that heart matters more than size. He feels that there is a place in the NFL for the little guy and feels he can play with anyone. Sproles said he is a slasher who needs to work on his his pass blocking. He felt that his stats are great, but the scouts seemed to be more concerned with his 40 and other combine stats. He did horrible answering questions and seems like he hasn’t been prepped to answer anything football related. Every question stumped him and I don’t know if it was lack of intelligence, or nerves that led to his poor time with the media, but me and some others were not impressed.
VERNAND MORENCY RB OKLAHOMA ST N/A 212 Morency is an ex baseball player who was drafted by the Colorado Rockies. He went to college because he wanted his education and he missed football. He said baseball taught him how to prepare. He also added that he has taken things from some of the other great backs that have come from OSU including Barry Sanders. Morency confidently said he’s the total package. His best previous 40 was in the 4.41 range and said he will play special teams if a team asked him to. Drew Rosenhaus is his agent (like many players from Miami) and chipped in that he was a humble guy, and a leader. I agree, Morency was pretty humble and did well with questions.
ERIC SHELTON RB LOUISVILLE 601 246 Eric was overshadowed by Braylon Edwards being in the room, but was friendly and funny. He seemed like a very classy guy and was cracking a lot of jokes. He will be doing the workouts and just seemed very happy to be participating in the combine.
Unfortunatly no notes on Caddy.
From Feb 24-25 By: Adam Davis-Consensus Draft Services
RONNIE BROWN RB AUBURN 600 233 The day ended with Ronnie Brown making the media wait on his arrival. When asked about the great backs out of Auburn like Carnell and Rudi Johnson he said he was just honored to be a part of them. Ronnie felt he had a versatile running style, and he appreciates being tagged a ‘complete back’. I asked Ronnie what he felt he could work on and he answered by saying some small technique stuff and blocking. Dallas, New York Jets, and the Bears have all showed interest in drafting Ronnie. He felt he really flourished in the West Coast Offense and made him a better player. He had nothing but good things to say about Carnell Williams and they seem to be friends on and off the field. He felt that Cedric Benson had “tremendous” talent. He considered playing baseball, but felt football was a better fit for him. I asked Ronnie if there was a defining moment in his season this year where he felt like he really arrived and he said the LSU game sticks out in his memory. He felt they answered a lot of questions as a team and he did personally. He felt he fit in with the Tampa Bay system because they throw to their backs. When asked about the Titans he said they are a good franchise with a good system. Brown was very good in his session with the media and his sub 4.4 40 performance should see him drafted in the top 5. I was very impressed with everything he did this year, a world class football player.
CIATRICK FASON RB FLORIDA 600.0 207 Fason looked good, very lean, when answering questions. He feels he really has gone under the radar, and is taller than a lot of other backs, which he think will help him. He compares his game to Shaun Alexander because like Shaun, he’s patient. When asked about this year’s class of Backs, he said there are some big names, and its big competition. He said Jacksonville was interested in him. Fason is married and has a kid, which I think is what led to his decision to leave school early. Fason wears number 4 because of Walter Payton, and didn’t want to wear the number 34. His final comments were that his average per carry was good; he just didn’t get the number of carries. He had a great attitude and seemed quite humble for a Florida Gator and a RB of his talent.
JJ ARRINGTON RB CAL 508.7 214 Arrington was a very funny guy and quite confident in his abilities. He is hearing late 1st, early 2nd round. He likes the Eagles he said. When asked how he could separated himself, he felt that 90% of it had been done, now he can go up or down based on working out. He felt the Senior Bowl also helped him immensely. He feels his strengths are breakaway speed, vision, as well as strength. When asked who should go first he said of course, Aaron Rodgers. “He’s amazing, he never gets rattled”. JJ was extremely confident and compared his game to Priest Holmes. He had great things to say about Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown. He did very well with media.
CEDRIC BENSON RB TEXAS 511 222 Cedric was pretty good with the media and had a certain arrogance (in a good way) about him. He was not rattled by all the cameras and seemed to enjoy the attention. When asked on going number 1 he said it would be a huge ego boost and would say a lot about that person. He has only met Ricky Williams two times and was a little surprised that there were so many comparisons between them. He joked that no one really knows who Ricky Williams is including himself! He felt Derrick would be the first Longhorn taken based on that fact that he cant be blocked, is good at stopping running backs, and has amazing speed. A media person asked Cedric about his Heisman Trophy quote and he replied by saying “That has always been my childhood dream. Growing up I didn’t know about OU vs. Texas. I meant what I said and I was just being honest. I’m the type of person that would rather not lie”. He said he wouldn’t be frustrated if he didn’t start right away, and he’s going to make whoever is ahead of him work for the position. Cedric didn’t do any of the drills in Indy, and will do them March 23 at Austin. “Ill do great at the secondary things like blocking, I learned from Major Applewhite and Chris Simms”. When asked where Mo Clarett fits in this draft he said that no one has seen him play in a while, and certainly some team will like him. I was very impressed with Benson and he seemed to handle everything very well.
KAY JAY HARRIS RB WEST VIRGINIA 600 241 Playing baseball plagued the Q&A with Harris, to which some degree bothered him. He is doing all the workouts and didn’t progress in baseball as much as he would’ve liked. He felt that Darryl Jackson, his god-brother has really helped him transition into football. He was elated to talk about his big game against ECU and Pac Man Jones. “He’s the most competitive athlete I’ve ever seen. He didn’t back down from Winslow II at all. He’s smart, knows the play ahead of time, he’s going to be a great pro”. When I asked him about his Senior Bowl experience he said it was an honor to be there. He had good things to say about Coach Gruden and the TB staff. He didn’t lift at the Combine and will on March 11 at his pro day.
MARION BARBER III 511 211 Barber didn’t impress me as much as I thought he might. He will not run the 40 in Indy, he will March 7 at his pro day. When asked why he left he said that he looked at his stock and felt it was good enough to leave school. He is hearing 2nd round somewhere. He did lift 225 20 times. He felt that he could return punts and kicks, and said that he liked it. He seemed very reserved, shy, and excited to play in the NFL.
DARREN SPROLES 506 187 Darren has been training in Santa Monica, CA and is working hard to prove he can be an NFL back. He felt that heart matters more than size. He feels that there is a place in the NFL for the little guy and feels he can play with anyone. Sproles said he is a slasher who needs to work on his his pass blocking. He felt that his stats are great, but the scouts seemed to be more concerned with his 40 and other combine stats. He did horrible answering questions and seems like he hasn’t been prepped to answer anything football related. Every question stumped him and I don’t know if it was lack of intelligence, or nerves that led to his poor time with the media, but me and some others were not impressed.
VERNAND MORENCY RB OKLAHOMA ST N/A 212 Morency is an ex baseball player who was drafted by the Colorado Rockies. He went to college because he wanted his education and he missed football. He said baseball taught him how to prepare. He also added that he has taken things from some of the other great backs that have come from OSU including Barry Sanders. Morency confidently said he’s the total package. His best previous 40 was in the 4.41 range and said he will play special teams if a team asked him to. Drew Rosenhaus is his agent (like many players from Miami) and chipped in that he was a humble guy, and a leader. I agree, Morency was pretty humble and did well with questions.
ERIC SHELTON RB LOUISVILLE 601 246 Eric was overshadowed by Braylon Edwards being in the room, but was friendly and funny. He seemed like a very classy guy and was cracking a lot of jokes. He will be doing the workouts and just seemed very happy to be participating in the combine.
Unfortunatly no notes on Caddy.
