Small School Scouting Notebook: October 17th

In another weekly edition of the Small School Scouting Notebook, we get a chance to look at Central Arkansas, McNeese State, Delaware, UMass, South Dakota State and Northern Iowa at the FCS level, and a few D2 and D3 teams as well.

This week’s report features quite a few impressive receivers, such as UMass’s Julian Talley and Central Arkansas’s Dominique Croom, as well as linebackers, such as Delaware’s Andrew Harrison and UMass’s Tyler Holmes. At least 10 NFL Draft prospects evaluated this weekend at the small school level, check them out and add them to your players to watch as the NFL Draft nears.

Central Arkansas
Quarterback Nathan Dick, brother of former Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Casey Dick, has impressed thus far this season and has put himself in the NFL mix. Though still not a highly touted prospect, Dick sees the field well and has been making effective pre-snap adjustments. He has placed the ball well across the field and has been solid in avoiding pressure. He doesn’t spin the tightest of balls and his accuracy suffer as passes get deeper, two big reasons why he likely won’t be a draft selection.

Receiver Dominique Croom looks the part of an NFL receiver, as he’s a geat physical specimen with run after catch ability and long speed. His downfield speed and playmaking ability have made him a consistent threat for this team. He has improved his hand fighting the line as well as driving deep in his routes. He seems to cut very well in and out of his breaks and can make catches despite contact.

Fellow receiver Jesse Grandy has incredible foot speed and elusiveness. He breaks down tacklers and presents match-up nightmare in the slot. However he has got to hit the weights if he expects to continue playing football at the next level.

On defense, linebacker Frank Newsome has been dealing with an ankle injury, but was very impressive this past weekend when he was able to perform. He runs very well for big guy and displays impressive hitting power He shows great ball skills, intercepting pass over the middle and fully extended his body to pick off a seam pass in the game against McNeese State. He’s decent at following flow away, scraping along line of scrimmage, but needs to take better angles of pursuit. He also needs to sink his hips lower in his pass drops, but reacts very well to the quarterback and flies to the football. He also needs to get better depth to his hook-curl pass drop. All game long the ankle was a problem, but his ability to attack the ball as well as move well for his size puts him firmly on NFL radars.

McNeese State
Former North Texas receiver Darius Carey has a nice burst off line and accelerates well in route running. He has the ability to make difficult catch along middle of field, on 3rd down, and in traffic. He also showed punt return ability. He’s dangerous with the ball in his hands and was even featured in wild-cat package.

Defensive linemen Desmund Lighten is strong and powerful with his hands and is a hgh motor pass rusher that plays through the whistle. He was able to consistently pressures Nathan Dick to either vacate the pocket or get ball out of his hands. He also read screens quickly and flowed to football for tackle. Overall, he’s solidly built defensive end, with a sturdy anchor and powerful lower half.

Cornerback London Durham has quick feet and nice bend to his stance and can mirror well in press coverage. He has speed to run with vertical routes and still fights hard with hands at line of scrimmage. He’s physical at the line of scrimmage, wraps well and provides solid play in run support.

Safety Malcolm Bronson is a powerful hitter with good speed. A contributor on special teams as a gunner on punt coverage, Bronson does a nice job of sitting back, reading the eyes of the QB, and reacting to the ball in air. He was beaten twice for TDs (once on post route, the other time on flag route) in this game though. He’s a violent hitter that does leads the team in tackles, but tends to leave his feet too early and is out of control as result. Bronson is emotional and passionate, but needs to gather himself and play under control.

Delaware
Delaware struggled as a whole against UMass, and part of that was the lackluster play of the offensive line throughout the game. With as many as four potential NFL prospects, including Shae Allard and Gino Gradkowski who are viewed as a solid draft picks, the team as a unit didn’t protect the quarterback as well as te team would have liked, and also the running game couldn’t get going. Allard, Gradkowski, as well as center Rob McDowell all need to step up, improve on this game, and help pave the way for this young Delaware offensive unit.

On defense, linebacker Andrew Harrison was great against the running game on the inside and used his size to close up lanes in a hurry. However, his lack of great movement and balance outside was a major struggle for this team in protecting against outside runs as well as in coverage across the middle. He wasn’t the reason for the team’s defensive struggles, especially in the first half, but he needs to be more of a dominating force in all facets of the game for this defense to be successful after loosing so many players from last year.

Massachusettes
Receiver Julian Talley was ultra impressive in this one, giving the younger defensive backs for Delaware fits all game. Talley showed the ability to be effective in space on screen passes, finding holes in the middle of the defense, and getting vertical. He football IQ as well as his natural receiving skills make him very much in the mix to be a draft selection this year.

Also on the offense, running back Jonathan Hernandez and tight end Emil Igwenagu both impressed more than I thought they would. Hernandez showed great patience in the hole and found gaps in the defense very effectively at the second level. He doesn’t have a great burst nor game-breaking speed, but he was quietly efficient all game and set up the pass for this team all game long. Igwenagu has developed as a passing target for this team, especially in the red zone. He ability to get vertical in traffic and make a play on the ball was crucial, and he was an often targeted option for sophomore quarterback Kellen Pagel. He’s not a draft selection quite yet, but he has the tools to develop into a tight end option for some pro team down the road.

On defense, star linebacker Tyler Holmes didn’t disappoint, and was all over the field this weekend. He didn’t get a chance to finish most of the tackles himself, as the defense was in great position all game, but his quickness to the ball and ability to dip in coverage and tighten up the middle of the field gave the offense trouble getting anything consistent in the short passing game. That coverage ability is crucial for the undersized linebacker to stick in the NFL. 

South Dakota State
Receiver Dale Moss displayed great athletic ability this weekend against Northern Iowa. His ability to climb the later and grab balls away from his body, both in the middle of the field as well as in the red-zone, showcases an outstanding skill set in his coordination, body control, and hands as a receiver. An outstanding athlete who still has much more room for development, Moss has a skill set that could impress NFL teams.

Northern Iowa
Quarterback Tyrell Rennie has always been a great athlete at quarterback, but his development has a passer has been impressive to follow and has made him into more than a run first quarterback. While he still has the acceleration, burst, and elusiveness to be a non-QB at the next level, his presence in the pocket and his ability to step up and drive the ball down the field has to have teams intrigued, maybe not as much at the NFL level though, to see if he can be more than just an athlete at the next level.

Also for Northern Iowa, tackle Jay Teply showed some raw tools to potentially play at the next level. Still needing a lot of work, he has the size and length to be a fringe right tackle prospect at the next level.   

Humboldt State University Lumberjacks
Running back Lyndon Rowell had a good game versus Central Washington this past weekend.  On an inside zone play Rowell stuck his foot in the ground and pressed the hole for a long run.  As always Rowell looked good in space and showed good lateral quickness.  I would still like to see him be more physical in pass protection.  He finished the day with 36 carries for 226 and 6.2 yds. per carry.

Western Oregon University Wolves
This past weekend offensive tackle Jason Slowey and the Western Oregon University Wolves played against Simon Fraser University.  As always Slowey looked good in space but needs to work on bending his knees and getting his pad level down.  He also needs to be more consistent with his hand placement.  I would like to see Slowey work on his overall strength in pass protection but he is still able to finish off blocks in the run game.

Linfield
Drew Fisher is an impact safety prospect for the Wildcats and shows the diagnostic skills and reaction ideal for the position.  He is not physically imposing and does not possess great strength but he flies to the football and seems to get his nose in on almost every play.  The two time All American and team captain is a smart player with above average instincts.