Live From the Senior Bowl
Safeties and Special Teamers
Next Level Scouting's John Murphy reports from Mobile

posted January 31, 2005 - print me!
neworleansprofootball.com

SAFETY: Iowa’s SEAN CONSIDINE (North) -- weighed in at 5115, 204 pounds… solid overall physique… but looked smaller than his indicated weight; would have guessed 190 pounds… continues to make the most of his opportunities… there might be bigger or more recognizable names at this event… but he has outplayed them thus far… over-achiever type with above-average, all-around skills… does not jump out at you when he walks on the field… but then just goes about his business and makes plays… good hands… quick to read the play… takes good angles to the ball… firm tackler… laid out a few punishing blows during the week, including one to Kansas State running back Darren Sproles… tough, smart, very active… comes up to support the run hard, but is not a reckless player… keeps to his responsibility… lacks the high-end gear of recovery speed… was a step behind on a few plays over the top… much better in zone than man coverage… would be a liability if put in that position too often… much better pure football player than Combine numbers guy… great attitude, carries himself very well and should learn things quickly in the NFL… has lined up at both safety spots…

Georgia Tech’s JAMES BUTLER (South) -- weighed in at 6013, 207 pounds… pretty well-defined throughout his body… more of a lean, lanky frame… had an average overall week… shows some good ball instincts when stationed at free safety… was a little slow to react to some of the run plays… did not show explosiveness, as a tackler… needs to increase his upper body strength… looked better in zone than man coverage… was face guarding too much of the time… will bite some on play action and was a step slow to react in team drills when they ran a draw or misdirection play… also did not really see a great deal of intensity or aggressiveness to his game… drops his head at times when he breaks down to make an open field tackle… takes decent angles to the ball, but shows only average straight-line speed… lacks ideal recovery speed if he is the last line of defense, as well… bit of a long strider, as well… has lined up at both safety spots, but prefers free safety… looked better on some of his game films than in person, but does not seem to be a sure-fire standout for the next level…

Auburn’s JUNIOR ROSEGREEN (South) -- weighed in at 5107, 190 pounds… well-built chest and upper body, good overall definition… showed some good ball instincts this week… created a few turnovers… lacks ideal size to play up in the box full-time… and does not have the superior straight-line speed team’s desire out of a free safety… looks better when he is stationed closer to the line of scrimmage… as he bit on a few too many plays, while playing free safety… got caught playing on his heels at times… little slow to change direction… charges hard against the run… pretty firm tackler, but the play was often made before he reached his destination… shows good emotion on the field… but will also over pursue too many plays… has lined up at both safety spots… can be a little slow to retain and carry new information onto the field… currently, would view him as more of a situational defender with the versatility to backup at both safety spots, and contribute substantially on all coverage units…

Virginia Tech’s VINCENT FULLER (South) -- weighed in at 6005, 185 pounds… small upper body and chest, but decent definition… seemed to struggle this week playing back at free safety… was biting on too many of the receivers first moves… was not very firm, as a tackler… most notably when he got run over by West Virginia running back Kay-Jay Harris… would come up, but then over pursue on some plays… gets caught playing on his heels too often when stationed at safety… probably would do best if he was playing mostly centerfield, and just got to use his straight-line speed to break on the ball… would have liked to seen him perform more drills and lineup more outside at cornerback, which could end up being his true pro position… has lined up mostly at free safety, but would have seen some action at right cornerback in the game had he been able to play…

UNLV’s JAMAAL BRIMMER (North) -- weighed in at 6004, 205 pounds… hard kid to read… he looks best when stationed close to the line of scrimmage… can be a forceful hitter… good instincts… takes good angles to the ball… but is a step slower in terms of his straight-line speed than you desire… and seems to prefer to play back at free than up in the box at strong… does not lack for confidence in his game… but might be fooling himself into believing that he is a better all-around athlete than he really is… his range at free is average, at best… sees the play, but just cannot get there in time to keep the from gaining extra yardage… also goes for the big hit too often… well-experienced and good football smarts… but will celebrate a big hit even if the receiver has gained positive yardage… pretty technically sound overall… needs to become a better leaper… also struggles to create turnovers with his hands at times…
has lined up at both safety spots… will need to be protected or properly schemed in order to remain productive… would not be considered a top-notch future starting safety by all 32 teams because of his lack of ideal speed… most feel that he will time between 4.65-4.70 in the 40...

Stanford’s OSHIOMOGHO ATOGWE (North) -- weighed in at 5106, 214 pounds… good overall definition… did fairly well in most categories… but struggled to make an impact plays versus the run or pass… much better defender in zone than man coverage… while he has very good straight-line speed… he is not as quick laterally… will take a few false steps to the ball at times… good open field tackler… but not overly explosive upon impact… was beaten on a few double moves… reacted to the receivers first move… came up quickly in run support… but was not a great finisher, as two separate runners used their forward momentum to push past him and gain a few extra yards after his initial contact… showed decent hands during individual drills… can probably be used at either spot, but was not nearly as impressive athletically, as I had expected… does not play, as fast as his reported 40-times… has lined up at both safety spots, but is probably best served on a team that uses a lot of two-deep coverage… as his man skills would seem to be a liability…

KICKER: Ohio State’s MIKE NUGENT (North) -- very consistent with his field goal attempts… converted several from between 42-48 yards, showing very good leg strength… attempted kickoffs from both the 30 and 35-yard line… when kicking from the 30-yard line his ball landed between the 3-5 yard line… while his kickoffs from the 35-yard line landed inside the end zone… of the five kickoff attempts that I witnessed on Tuesday he nailed three-of-the-five into the end zone, while the two others landed inside the five yard line… known for being very clutch, as he has converted a number of game-winning attempts during his college career… spent a good amount of time speaking to the Miami Dolphins staff…

Mississippi’s JONATHAN NICHOLS (South) -- was consistent on his field goal attempts… missed a few from 40-plus yards… seems to be solid up to 40-yards and then became somewhat average at times between 40-48 yards… which was surprising, as he has shown the leg strength to convert 45-50 yard attempts in the past… also did good, but not great on his kickoff attempts… had a few too many line drives… plus his ball seemed to hang up in the wind, coming down between the 5-10 yard line… may just be more of a “Game Day” performer, but was outclassed by Nugent during the practices, as both players were kicking under similar weather conditions, but Nugent’s all-around leg strength seemed to eclipse that of Nichols…

PUNTER: Tennessee’s DUSTIN COLQUITT (South) -- left-footed punter that was able to boom a number of his punts when working on his own or with the Buccaneers special teams coaches… his hang times were impressive during those sessions… average between 4.02 and 4.90 seconds for the most part on nearly 12-15 attempts… his low time was 3.49 and highest time recorded was 4.92... however, when he got into team drills his hang times were not as consistent or impressive… ranging between 3.28 and 4.30... a number of them had strong hang times, but did not really turn over… better in terms of directional kicking when he is trying to hit the right corner… bounced too many into the end zone, although he was working with limited space… concerns me some because he has only average hand size (8 1/2”) for the position… not totally a boom-or-bust type punter… but 2-3 out of every 12-15 punts were very average… will either do very well or average-to-mediocre at the Combine…

Oklahoma State’s COLE FARDEN (North) -- probably struggled more this week than any of the other four specialists… the stiff, and at times swirling winds created tough conditions for him, especially with his kickoffs… the majority of them never landed inside the 10-yard line… what worse is that they had very little hang time and most were of the line-drive variety… his best punting day came on Wednesday… although he did not get near the hang time or distance on his punts, as Colquitt was able to get under similar weather conditions… had several hang times in the 3.0-3.2 second range… and not many that reached or eclipsed the 4.0 second mark… will need to bounce back at the Combine, but likely more of a free agent after this week’s performance…

RETURN MAN: Oklahoma’s MARK CLAYTON (North) -- some teams may hesitate to use a potential first round pick on returns, but he is very elusive in the open field, showed an extra burst of speed once he hit the seam and could also be an exciting, creative guy on punt returns…

Georgia’s FRED GIBSON (South) -- Not your average return man… little too tall for my liking… and a bit of a long strider who takes time to build up to full speed… carries the ball loosely at times… also does not look to change hands if/when he changes direction on a return…

Kansas State’s DARREN SPROLES (North) -- Exciting speed and quickness in the open field… tougher than his size indicates… secures the ball well… hard to see for some defenders when they are running down on coverage units… shows an extra burst once he finds the seem… very good vision and runs with a lot of determination… could receive a lot of reps, as both a kickoff and punt returner, but might perform best on kickoffs…

Oklahoma State’s DARRENT WILLIAMS (North) -- Very quick and elusive, as a punt returner… secures the ball well… shows very good confidence back there… can show an extra burst once he locates an opening…

Clemson’s AIRESE CURRIE (South) -- Has track speed, but looked a little tentative at times… secures the ball against his body on occasion… does not have fail-safe hands, so that concerns me… might be worth more of a look on kickoffs if he can improve in some areas…

UCLA’s CRAIG BRAGG, Florida State’s CRAPHONSO THORPE, Indiana’s COURTNEY ROBY, Tennessee’s CEDRIC HOUSTON and even Arkansas’ MATT JONES were also used during either or both kickoff or punt return drills, but did not see enough reps to be accurately evaluated.

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