Big East- Cincinnati

Tony Pike, QB, Sr- Pike is a long term project as he absolutely has to get bigger and stronger. He’s like a toothpick on the field, and he’s at risk for injury going forward. He’s strictly a pocket passer, and if you get him on the move, he loses his accuracy when he can’t plant and throw. I think he’d make a great late third pick for a team like the Colts as a potential long term replacement to Manning. He’s got some of the same physical qualities, and in 4-6 years when Manning wants to hang it up, he’d be more than ready to step in. He’s streaky with his accuracy though, which scares me, but I think some team may over draft him based on potential and his prototypical height.

Mardy Gilyard, WR, Sr- Gilyard is incredibly quick, but doesn’t seem to be very fast, if that makes sense. He gets open not by running away from people but from being able to make his cuts at top speed with very little movement up top. He’s going to make an outstanding slot receiver and a top notch returner right away. I think that he may not run the fastest 40, which could drop him, but it’s not something to be concerned with as he’s plenty fast enough on film. Playing him on the outside will be a chore though as he may get overpowered by bigger corners. If he can shake those guys here, he’s a lock for the second round. After seeing his Combine numbers and Pro Day workout results, it confirmed what I thought in that some experts are saying his 4.55+ 40 time will drop him. I’m not surprised at all though as straight line speed is not his game. The teams that liked him before should still like him. If he’s around when the Bengals pick in round two, he’d make a nice home town slot compliment to their outside receivers.

Armon Binns, WR, Jr- Binns will be one to watch closely next year. He has all of the physical traits of a top flight NFL caliber WR: great size, good leaping ability, and decent speed. His hands are a bit inconsistent though, so he needs to work on this. With Gilyard gone, he will get the chance to be the man next year. If he can show some improvements next year, he’s going to be a hot player come draft time next year. .


Kazeem Alli, TE, Sr- Alli was a seldom used blocking TE. I don’t think he’s draftable.

Jeff Linkenbach, LT, sr- Linkenbach is interesting. He will definitely need to move to RT as he does not have the foot speed to play LT at the next level, but he will make a nice mid to late round sleeper as a RT prospect. He has good run blocking ability and size, and he does a good job of recovering if he gets beat by the initial move. He does not give up on the play either and has a good motor and demeanor to finish blocks. Linkenbach isn’t a huge sleeper or anything, but he could make a serviceable starter on the right side for some team.

Chris Jurek, OC, Sr- Jurek struggles with quickness and makes some fundamental mistakes in his blocking technique. If he’s drafted, it will be very late, and the odds are stacked against him.

Ricardo Mathews, DE, Sr- Matthews has some potential as a 3-4 DE. He’s solid against the run, and just OK as a pass rusher. He’s a good value pick for a team that runs an odd an front and needs an experienced body for the position to play in a rotation.

Alex Daniels, DE, Sr- Daniels seems to be playing out of position as a 3-4 DE, as he’s an ideal fit as a 4-3 DE. He shows good speed around the corner and demonstrated decent pass rushing moves. I really liked what I saw in Daniels against the run. He’s not the biggest guy but he does a great job of keeping his shoulders square to the LOS to help hold the run, and he has long arms which he uses well to shed blockers and get in on tackles. He’s going to slip pretty far under the radar, but I think with a move to a different front, he could actually find his way into a rotation and be a better pro than college player.

Curtis Young, OLB, Sr- Young plays the 3-4 rush OLB spot in college, which is tough to find and very highly regarded with the proliferation of the odd man front in the NFL. He’s not bad in coverage, not bad as a pass rusher, and not bad as an edge setter. He’s not great at any one phase, but he’s not bad either. Young is just a decent role player worth a late round pick.

Andre Revels, MLB, Sr- At times Revels reads his keys well, shifts through the trash, and makes plays in the backfield. The next play he’s 15 yards deep and running after the ball carrier with a guy pushing him back. He’s someone who could make a nice back up in a 3-4, but he’s a late rounder to potentially an UFA.

Brad Jones, CB, Sr- Jones just didn’t show up on film, but that doesn’t mean anything in particular. As I’ve said before, grading boundary corners can be difficult with TV footage and not coach’s tape (shot from the end zone), so I won’t say he isn’t worth drafting but he also didn’t make any significant plays in coverage as well.

Aaron Webster, FS, Sr- Webster is very up and down. In one game I saw, he made a huge impact in the pass and run game. In the next, he bit very hard on play action fakes and was left trying to catch up to the receiver who was well behind him at that point. That showed he doesn’t have the catch up speed of a top shelf FS prospect, and it means he may be better off moving to the SS position. Webster has upside in the run game though as he is big, physical, and can wrap up tackles securely.