My new thing: Players I noticed and will be watching. Week 1

SharkHawk

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I'll be updating this thread throughout the weekend as I see specific players who catch my eye and look the part and play the part of NFL players. I've always done it informally. Now I'll just track one season. I won't go overboard on how many guys stand out. I'll probably try to talk about a star/sure bet type and then a sleeper or 2.

Game - Wazzu at BYU:
1- Future NFL Star Player - Marquess Wilson - WR - WSU - 6'4" 185 lbs. Jr. Wilson had the two most amazingly athletic catches in the game. The first a toe touch TD extended up to about 10 feet in the air that was nullified by an awful hold by #77. Wilson then had about another 50 yard catch and the same thing happened. Even BYU players were giving him five on his second catch and realizing he was losing out on his great play. Wilson runs great routes. He gets open. He finds the ball, even if it isn't thrown all that accurately. He can catch with his hands, and does so very well. This is the guy you want on your team as the go to WR. I'm totally impressed, especially considering who he's playing with. He doesn't have a great supporting cast, but as Leach grows the program, then I think Wilson will put up massive numbers. My prediction is All-American, NFL Pro Bowler talent level.

2- Future NFL Starter - Kyle Van Noy - OLB - BYU - 6'3" 235 - Jr. Van Noy is an intense athlete. Very smart. Has a nose for the ball. Is all over the field. The guy creates havoc. He was instrumental at holding Wazzu to negative rushing yards as we hit the end of the 3rd quarter. Van Noy can rush the passer on delayed blitzes, can line up as an extra lineman, and can drop back and cover RB's and TE's without issue due to his speed. He's not filled out all the way, but already hits hard and causes balls to hit the turf. He creates turnovers. I think he'll be a future NFL player. I think he'd be wise to finish up next season as well though as his body fills out. He kind of reminds me of Bobby Wagner in the build and way they approach the game.

3- My sleep pick of the game, who I will be following all season. Ezekial Ansah - 6'6" 270 lbs. DE from BYU. Is a track runner from Accra Ghana Africa and decided to come out for the football team. Now get this... the guy's size is legit. He's built like Bruce Irvin. He ran a 21.9 200 meter for the BYU track team. AT 270 lbs!!! I watched him closely and was impressed with the moves he had for a guy who was so raw. He understands the swim, the roll, getting off of initial blocks and is able to do so. He was deprived of 2 first quarter sacks on obvious holds (feel free to watch replays on espn and check him out). I saw enough today to say that there is a chance that he continues to improve and becomes an Antonio Gates like player who just learns incredibly fast and naturally becomes a serious player. He is relentless. I saw him cut in on one play, got doubled, spun back out of it and circled around the end and pursued the runner across the field and ran him down and helped make the stop. No way he should have been on that play after getting stonewalled trying to cut between tackle and guard. He chased all night extremely well and was a disruptive force. This kid's size, strength, speed, and quickness with which he has learned the sport has me watching him very closely throughout the season.
 
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SharkHawk

SharkHawk

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Thanks! I'll keep it going as long as I can. It gives me something to do. I've been on bed rest for 28 straight days already. I may miss a week here or there if I'm in having testing, and I'll mainly be picking random games from the intermountain region. I typically follow BYU, the old WAC and MWC teams, the Washington schools and national games.

I'm really interested to see if Ezekial develops. The kid knows next to nothing about football a year ago and started last night for a very good D1 team who typically wins 10+ games and usually has a defense in the top 20. Should be interesting for me at least. :)
 
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SharkHawk

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Ezekial will play in the NFL. I'm predicting he'll get a shot as an OLB/Leo type. He seems to be picking up the game extremely fast. The competition he played this week was pretty poor, but it was good for him to get a chance to show some growth.

Van Noy was even more impressive. The guy is SO fast around the end. He sheds blocks even with his skinny-ish frame, and absolutely destroys people on tackles. His form on tackles is perfect because he uses the shoulder and plants guys into the ground as you're taught to do, but so many guys do incorrectly and end up injuring themselves and others.

In other games there were 2 players on Utah that looked like potential NFL stars, even in a loss to Utah State (which is a better team than they get credit for, and provided us with Turbin and Wagner). I'll write up more on the Utah players when I get some more time. They have 2 WR's that are NFL caliber... one of them is a guy that I think the Hawks should target due to his size and ability to get separation. Their defensive line is pretty impressive but Star Lutulelei or whatever the heck his name is reminds me a lot of Haloti Ngata. He has that type of size, strength, speed, and ability to change the whole game plan for the opponent.
 

pehawk

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No joke, I rely on Shark as my WAC/Mountain West scout. I've PM'd him before to get a bead on the players coming out of those underrated conferences.

Keep it up Shark! Thank you!
 
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SharkHawk

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BYU is playing Utah tonight. I'm going to put in some time evaluating the guys I've already mentioned and see if they are progressing, regressing, or stagnating. Being a huge rivalry, the guys tend to turn it up on both sides and I think it gives a pretty good measure of what they are capable of. Game is at 7:00 pacific time. Check it out if you get a chance and watch Utah's WR's and DL. Watch BYU's LBers and how Bronco Mendenhall uses stunts and blitzes from all over the place. You'll see guys coming at the QB from everywhere and it is typically disguised really well. Both Mendenhall and Whittingham get amazing production out of their defenses and are incredibly smart usually in how they do things. It is always a fun game to watch. Mendenhall and Rocky Long basically came up with the Urlacher position (Lobo back which BYU calls a Cougar back). He will move all over the field from a rush end to a cb. Whittingham ended up using Eric Weddle in much the same way and he's been an excellent NFL player. Should be a good chess match.

Just watching the UW now and I'm so impressed with Shaq Thompson. The kid is oozing NFL talent. What an amazing athlete. I'd love to see him on the Hawks someday as a threat all over the field. It's early, but he reminds me of a guy like Ken Easley who could grow into being a superstar wherever they line him up on the field. Not many true freshman come in looking this comfortable. I realize they are playing a weak team, but his talent is obvious. I'm also beyond impressed with Sefarian-Jenkins. I think he could go into the draft after next season if he wanted to and will be a huge score for anybody who gets him. He's massive, quick, runs nice routes, and has amazing hands. He uses his hands better than many receivers and he's nearly the size of a left tackle at about 6'6" and 270. How great would it be to have had that guy on our last drive against AZ last week? He's going to create mismatch hell for opponents at the next level. Db's will get chewed up, and LBers won't keep up with him. Plus his size will enable him to block and release providing a safety valve option for the QB plus a guy with the mass to work in the running game if he is coached up on how to be a blocker.... And as I type this I see him make a flying leap catch like he's Steve Smith, but he's literally almost a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier. This dude is scary good. Hopefully he stays in Seattle. :)
 

chris98251

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Sefarian-Jenkins has all the tools if he chooses to use them, I still would like him play with a bit more physical attitude, he has that size but plays like someone much smaller and goes down much to easy if you ask me. As a pass catcher he has that look though, just hate to see him be soft after he catches the ball.
 
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SharkHawk

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I know what you're saying Chris. The announcers alluded to the fact that he was "graceful" which to me is a nice way of saying he's really agile and fluid, but that he plays a bit soft. That is why I was saying I'd like to see him coached up on blocking. To me he looks like John Carlson did in college with his pass catching ability, but Carlson was so skinny and wasn't a good blocker as they didn't use him as one much. He did learn a bit and got better of course. But I think with Cable still here and a guy like Sefarian-Jenkins getting coached up by him, we could have a real massive threat. Just think if we had that kid able to line up at H-Back, Fullback, TE in a 2 TE set, as a WR, etc. Itula Mili was used that way in college and he was absolutely unstoppable.

I know there are those who don't remember Itula being much, but he was one of the best tight ends in team history, and in his last college game he tore every ligament in his knee. It was horrendous. I don't think people know the scope of what happened to him. One of my best friends was married to him shortly after the injury in college (they are now divorced) but she told me recently how bad the injury was. She volunteers at the hospital because she saw a need after all of the time she spent in the hospital with her then new hubby right after the incident. She said that the only thing holding his leg together was skin. Every ligament tore completely. Gone. He was minutes away from losing his leg from the knee down. It was essentially the equivalent injury to his knee to what Bo Jackson had happen to his hip. They were able to prevent the bone death though by getting things moved right and immobilized properly immediately. Thank goodness that the surgeon (same one who saved my foot and did my 3 ankle rebuilds) was there and saved Itula's leg. If he hadn't gotten injured so badly I think he would have been a Shannon Sharpe/Tony Gonzalez type easily, but Itula would also line up as a blocking FB, H-Back, WR as well and he could block. I remember him lead blocking on goal line stands and blowing guys up. Prior to the injury he ran a 4.45 (my cousin had the BYU football beat and worked for the University so he had way more access than the "normal press" who was locked out of many things like the fitness testing and such). Anyway, I see pre-injury Mili in this kid as far as the leaping, hands-catching, capabilities and such. He does need to learn to toughen up and realize he's not a WR, but the way he catches he'd be a weapon from day 1.

I look forward to seeing him progress. But after next year, I think we'd be very wise to acquire him if we had the chance. Guys with that kind of talent are building blocks. I can picture Russell or Flynn loving a 6'6" tight end with butter soft hands and the ability to lay out for a ball.

If anybody else watches the BYU/Utah game tonight I'd love to hear your opinions on Utah's DL and WR's. I'm not giving out the names now, because I want to see if anybody stands out as an NFL quality player. I already mentioned Star, but everybody knows him. There are a couple of receivers on Utah though that look like legit NFL players. BYU has one WR that has NFL capability, and one TE that I'm sure if he plays his usual game will stand out and people will say, "Hmmmm.... it looks like there are a few NFL guys hiding out there in the mountains."

I think it's important, because it is obvious to me that the Hawks have a scout based here in Utah and they are watching certain players closely. The fact that we have Wagner, Turbin, and McQuistan on the roster shows that somebody from this area is watching guys for the Hawks, and Ruskell didn't seem to have a scout that even watched the Mountain West or Intermountain region at all. He seemed to have a guy covering the Pac 10 and the SEC and that's about all.
 
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SharkHawk

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Ezekial is a monster. He hit the QB on 3 straight plays, then ran a receiver down 20 yards downfield to get in on a tackle, and then nailed the QB again the next play. He is progressing extremely fast. He understands what to do when doing switches, stunting, delaying, swimming, and the whole deal. If you get a chance watch #47 on BYU and keep in mind that the guy is from Accra, Ghana and hadn't even played a football game until this year. He walked onto the team last year and didn't even know how to put on a uniform, and now he's a terror that is rushing every pass and punishing the QB. He's Bruce Irvin fast, but is much better at fighting through multiple blockers.
 
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SharkHawk

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#2 BYU - Cody Hoffman. WR - NFL size, speed, and hands. I've been impressed with him since high school. I don't think he's a first round talent, but I think he's an NFL level talent. He can catch in traffic. He's tall. He's VERY strong. He runs fast, and runs really nice routes. He also blocks down field. He's like K-Rob without the dropsies or the other problems, meaning that he's got that size and speed and blocking ability. Keep an eye on him.

I've noticed something about Star Lutululei. He gets doubled and tripled a lot, and like I think English mentioned he seems to take plays off. I don't think it's so much that. I think that when he has 3 guys on him, he doesn't expend a bunch of energy because he knows that he's done his job and it has freed up a lane for a teammate. I haven't seen many guys that could consistently smash through double or triple teams since Cortez Kennedy. I see how he kind of gets a bit of a "lazy" rep though. The guy has the NFL size, speed, and strength for sure. He's a force when he wants to be or gets the matchup he wants.
 

chris98251

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He's 6'6" and like 260, one guys should not be able to bring him down, especially a college DB. Thats the other side of toughness I would like to see him get, he should be able to blow a single tackleing DB up 70 percent of the time if he keeps them away from his legs. Long legged guys are easier to bring down since they are mostly long striders. A stiff arm and lowering of a shoulder and driving through them when that situation is there is more of what I would like to see from him. If he gets into the league and is labeled afraid of contact and mixing it up he will be treated like Randy McMichael I think was his name, started off great in Miami and then coaching change and was asked to block some and could not seem to have the right attitude and was benched and then traded around the league for a few years after an all pro season as basically just a receiver.

He got a label and guys started hitting him and his head got messed up somehow. I think Sefarian-Jenkins could be the Gates/Stevens/ type player(Stevens without the off field headcase stuff) Better yet, scratch those two a actual Kellon Winslow Senior type player if he is willing to physical his game up.
 
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SharkHawk

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Sorry I didn't update this for a while. I've been pretty sick, and got behind on watching my local games. I did check them all out on my DVR though.

I'm going to just update on 3 players right now.

1- Kyle Van Noy - BYU - OLB. This guy is getting better and better by the week. He's had multiple NFL scouts out every chance they get to watch him play, and reports have been really high. One scout said he was "NFL ready right now.... but not big enough." I'm going to compare him to one man.... Pat Tillman. He's got everything Pat had on the field. He's intense, fast, not scared of anybody, and absolutely finds the ball on every single play. Another scout (this isn't stuff said in public, this is stuff I get from people I know who talk to them.... I won't say too much, but I will say that the closest person to me in my family writes for the Salt Lake Tribune, and obviously has a press pass and has been in contact with NFL teams, scouts, major colleges, etc. for the last 20 years). But anyway, one of the scouts says Van Noy could be an all pro safety from season 1 if he decides to not bulk up. Right now his size and speed are just fine for college, but he has to decide where he wants to be playing on Sundays (not city, but place on the field) and then NOT come out for the draft and focus on that position next year (either bulk up and play OLB or ILB, or stay the same or even trim down a bit and become a safety full time next year).

I know the Tillman comparison is strong, and I am grateful to Pat for all he did. His military service speaks for itself, so I'm not going down that path. I think what he did for "smaller guys" in college has had a large impact. Teams realized that the measurables were just overrated. He was the PAC 10 defensive player of the year, and was told he was too small because he played LB. He came to the NFL and was a dominant safety. I'd also say Kyle is a bigger version of Eric Weddle who I watched a ton. Equally athletic and hits a heck of a lot harder than Weddle. He also has his nose for the ball.

2- Cody Hoffman - WR - 6'4" 220. Cody gets better every week. He is a receiver that can do it all. Scouts have watched him closely and feel that he has the tools to be a superstar. I agree. He's the best receiver BYU's ever had. They've had some pretty good ones. They don't typically have NFL size receivers though, or NFL speed receivers. Ben Cahoon is a guy they had that won multiple MVP's in the CFL. Cahoon is a good guy and was my physical therapist intern prior to going pro. Cahoon had hands like glue, ran in the 4.5 range, and was cursed with only being 5'9". He would have gotten a shot in the NFL today, but back in 1996 things were much different. He was Wes Welker before Wes Welker. How does Ben compare and relate to this.... well I named my son Ben after him. :), But also, Cahoon is Cody's WR coach now and has taught him the skills that made Ben so deadly in the open field, in the slot, working across the middle, AND catching the deep ball. Cody has first round measurables, and first round hands. He's putting up ridiculous numbers with terrible QB play and a team that has essentially run the option for the majority of the last 2 years. Knowing they will run teams are stacking the box and putting 2 guys on Cody on pretty much every play. He's still getting about 5-10 catches in a game. He's on pace for another 1,000 yard 10 TD season like last year. I think there's a good chance if he'll go in the first 3 rounds that he comes out of school this year, and I don't blame him.

3- My sleeper pick. Ziggy Ansah. I said this kid looked good on week 1 and I was surprised at how natural and fluid he looked. Well.... everybody else noticed. He had 4 "first round" scouts from different NFL teams there specifically to watch him against Oregon State 2 weeks ago, and he didn't disappoint. He was also a demon against Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. The scouts who were there to see him said they currently had him graded as a first round talent, and that is why they were sent out to watch him specifically. My understanding from them was that a player will work his way up in the scouting system until they eventually have guys watching them every week that are way up the ladder. If it gets to the point of falling head over heels then the GM or somebody similar will arrive at a game. So if I hear Schneider is in town, I'll say so. ;)

Ziggy as I said is around 6'6" and 270 lbs. and on the track team runs the 200 in about 20 seconds. He is literally a 270 pounder with world class speed. Many times BYU runs no blitz at all and generates all the pressure they need just by Ziggy literally zig zagging back and forth pressuring the QB. He's a pretty incredible athlete. I wish I could put a highlight reel together here for you guys. I've seen him literally leap guys and nail the QB. He seems to have the natural instinct to blast in and pressure the QB using whatever move he needs to, but then sticking his hands in the air when his internal clock hits about 3. He has repeatedly knocked down balls by just seeming to have the instinct to do this. This is huge at the NFL level, when you're not going to get to the QB as often due to the high quality tackles you'll face.

If I had to put a reminder of a player.... size wise he's built about like Clem or a bigger Bruce Irvin. He has the speed of some defensive backs (and I'm not exaggerating... he's like Irvin in the speed department, but seems to have an even bigger motor). But if I had to pick somebody right now. It's Jevon Kearse. This guy is a Freak. No doubt about it. Check him out. I'll be very happy for Zig and his family when he signs his first NFL contract. Nobody deserves it more or has worked harder to get there. His story is inspirational and it is good for a lot of reasons. I think he'd fit in well with the Hawks, especially with him being from Ghana and all of Paul's efforts in Africa. Ziggy could be the spokesperson for the NFL and their efforts to help in Africa. That would be very cool. Check him out. He's a specimen for sure and is absolutely relentless.
 
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SharkHawk

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My cousin the sportswriter said he was looking at this national stat database that sportswriters use and he found a stat that listed Ziggy as #1 in the nation in QB pressure. It isn't just "hurries". It is some complicated formula that scouts and teams use, and Ziggy is far and ahead #1 and has a ridiculous amount of batted balls (much more per snap than any other player in the country). He didn't give me exact numbers as we were just talking about stuff randomly, but I found it quite interesting. He said they're getting calls at the paper about Ziggy as well and what the beat writers there think in watching him (calls from scouts, agents, teams, etc. etc.).
 
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SharkHawk

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Tomorrow they will be playing Idaho. Probably not a real measuring stick, but Idaho typically has a pretty good offensive line (I think Iupati went there). I'll post an update on Ziggy after the game. I'll be flipping around the mountain region tomorrow and see if anybody else looks noteworthy. There are a couple of guys on Utah that I get so close to writing up, and then they suck the next game. I just haven't seen any consistency from that team at all. They have a lot of young players, and their OC is Brian Johnson, who was their QB just a couple of years ago. I believe he's the youngest OC in the NCAA.

Lutuleilei is pretty much a lock to be an early pick just based on potential and strength alone. But I've not seen him improve a great deal throughout the year, but he's an interesting player. He could be Haloti Ngata (consistently great), he could be Sam Adams (one play great, next play lazy), he could be Marcus Tubbs (great when on the field, but spends a lot of time off of it), or he could be none of the above. It's really hard to tell with that guy. He is a monster one play and then seems to be just sort of hanging out the next.
 
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SharkHawk

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Cody Hoffman put up 12 catches for 180 yards and 5 TD's. It was against New Mexico State, but their coach is a good defensive coach and knows how to create good matchups on receivers. Hoffman is just a great receiver. His size, speed, hands, and route running combo is pretty amazing. He's a better receiver than Austin Collie was at BYU, and that's saying something. Collie has been a really fine NFL receiver if it weren't for concussions. Hoffman is the best wideout to play at BYU, which is saying something when you consider all of those yards the great QB's were throwing for at BYU back in the day. They were throwing to somebody. :)

As for Ziggy... he picked up another sack today and a ton of pressure. I think he has 5 or 6 sacks is all on the year, but they are using him as the primary source of pressure. Most sacks in their defense come from the LBers and safeties. I think he's going to have a fine pro career and I really look forward to seeing what he does. His sack was a thing of beauty. He tracked to one hash, across to the other, and back all the way across and got the QB in the middle. He maintains constant pressure on the QB from side to side which is very rare. Most guys will pressure from their edge and that's it. Ziggy maintains and then shoots in for the sack if he sees it is available. He seems to know that pressure constantly is just as (or much more) important as selling out for a sack all the time.
 

ivotuk

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i couldn't find the BYU game today. Still want Ansah in the first though, even if we have to trade up to get him. He would put this defense over the top as I believe he is a 3 down player, actually a 4 down player, and can play all over the field.
 
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SharkHawk

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Bumped for some Ansah and Van Noy talk from earlier in the year for those who are interested. I have watched them both from day 1. Van Noy since high school.
 

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