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TOP 10 YOUTUBE STARS
For those of you, like me, who dig through hours of video to evaluate potential talent, know that there’s nothing like a clip that sticks in your mind. Every year, I have my favorite moments on tape; here are my 5 favorites from the 2017 draft season:

1. S/LB Shaquem Griffin INT vs Temple  OLB Griffin lines up wide inthe slot to the top, facing Temple’s WR/KR speed receiver. He uses good leverage and position to redirect the route and stack the WR away from the throwing lane, turns, and adjusts to the football, making the INT 30 yards downfield.

2. Shaquem Griffin FG block to preserve undefeated season/AAC Championship  Memphis lined up for what might have been a game-winning FG in the closing minute of the AAC CHampionship game. If the kicker had made it, UCF would also have lost for the only time in 2017 and they would have been out of a New Year’s Day Bowl game. So, of course, Shaquem Griffin made a play to stop it. (Unfortunately, the play clock ran out before the kick, so the kicker got a second chance… and he missed. The game eventually went to OT and UCF won)

3. Chris Warren III TD vs entire Texas Tech team  It’s a cliché to say “beastmode” but the 250lb RB (and son of Seahawks great RB Chris Warren) basically runs around, by, and through the entire Texas Tech defense.

4. RB Ryan Nall shaolin YAC  The 235lb RB from Oregon State has a nice pass-receiving component to his game, has very good speed for his size, and can really make defenders miss in the open field. On this play, he appears to have supernatural ninja skills, as he tosses a player to the side with his life force.

5. OL Desmond Harrison pancaking two different classifications of football  Harrison was a Texas signee– the 34th ranked high school player in the country. Then he ran into problems… a failed drug test led to missing a game, then he failed a second test just after being reinstated from the first suspension. With a new, no-nonsense coach starting his tenure, Harrison got dismissed.  He then floated around trying to get a new team, finally went through Juco, and onto Division II West Georgia. Suffice to say that the level of competition in the Juco world and the D2 world wasn’t really up to facing a 6’7″ 290lb top recruit with a lot to be pissed about. If he doesn’t make it in the NFL, it’s clear from this tape that he could get a job at IHOP.

6. Dallas Goedert one hand catch of the year

7. All 14 of Skai Moore’s career Interceptions.  A thing of beauty.

8. Trenton Cannon ninja kick posterize TD  I’m not sure this is legal… I’m not even sure how he did it.

9. Spin City, with  EDGE Aaron Tiller, Southern  Probably the best spin move compilation you’ll see this year, and then a nice counter to the bewildered OL who begin to  overcommit to it.

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RS Khalil Dawson, Portland State  Beep Beep. and a jump cut to make Santonio Holmes jealous.

RS/WR/CB Blaise Taylor, Arkansas State  Small package, plenty of punch.

 Honorable Mention:

QB Kevin Anderson, Fordham
RB Jarvion Franklin, Western Michigan
RB Detrez Newsome
RB Delance Turner, Alcorn State
RB Jeffrey Wilson, North Texas
RB Stacey Bedell, Stony Brook
WR Jaleel Scott, New Mexico State
WR Jake Weineke, North Dakota State
WR J’Mon Moore, Missouri
WR Brandon Shed, Hobart
WR Brandon Britton, Bowie State
TE Damon Gibson, Minnesota State University Moorhead
TE Andrew Caskin, William & Mary
TE Ben Johnson, Kansas
TE Cam Serigne , Wake Forest
TE Marcus Baugh, Ohio State
OL  Tony Adams, North Carolina State
OL Patrick Morris, TCU
OL Matt Pryor, TCU
OT Timon Parris, Stony Brook
LB Al-Rasheed Benton, West Virginia
LB Nick DeLuca, North Dakota State
LB Demarquis Gates, Mississippi
EDGE Trevon Young, Louisville

EDGE Kaniya Anderson, Towson
EDGE Myles Humphrey, Shepherd
EDGE Brian Womac, Rice
EDGE Justin Lawler, SMU
EDGE Kendall Donnerson, Southeast Missouri
EDGE Javon Rolland-Jones, Arkansas State

EDGE/LB/S Keelon Brookins, Northern Iowa (played nickel back– lots of edge rushing, cover TE, some deep 1/3
DL Kevon Perry, Louisiana
FS Joshua Cox, Central Michigan
S Kameron Kelly
S Taliuaki Suliafu, Azusa Pacific
S/CB Wayne Harris
S/CB Tavierre Thomas, Ferris State

CB Charvarius Ward, Middle Tennessee State  He came to MTSU as a skinny kid from nowhere, by the end of his tenure and after devoting himself to the weight room and film study, he was the team’s shutdown corner on a very good defense. Continuously matched up against the opponent’s best WR, he used great explosion and speed to garner 14 passes defensed, and held some very good receivers to  minimal results. Has NFL bloodlines with cousins Malcolm Butler and Glover Quin.

CB Brandon Facyson, Virginia Tech  With his height (6014) and arms, might be the longest CB in this draft. Is a sneakily effective cover corner who just doesn’t leave a lot of room for balls to be completed against him, especially when facing more of a height/speed opponent. At 4.53 in the 40, is fast enough to be a nice matchup CB.

CB Andre Chachere, San Jose State. Long arms, makes great plays on the ball without creating penalties. Recognizes and mirrors routs. Good tackler who uses wrap-up technique and never gives up on the play. Numerous examples of him running 60 yards plus from the other side of the field to prevent a TD. Great hustle.

CB Tremon Smith, Central Arkansas  Great high pointing ability and awareness. Made one of the best INTs of 2017, high pointing a would-be TD throw, and twisting his body in the air to land inbounds. Good return skills.

CB Parry Nickerson, Tulane  Has ‘my ball’ mentality, in the extreme. Probably could play some WR, with great body control and hands when playing the ball. lso, great guy to have as your widest risher on kick block team. 188 tackles from the CB spot, 16 INTs … oh, and he ran 4.32 in the 40!

CB/S Bradd Ellis, Ohio  Undersized, but had 18 passes defensed in 2017 and is always around the ball as a tackler.

CB Demetrius Monday, Kent State  Built like a LB and uses arm length to effectively bat away slants and outs from trail position. 10+ career INTs from having great awareness and coming off coverage to make plays.

CB Ronnie Scott, Alabama State   A little undersized at 5’11 175, but uses vertical ability and anticipation to make plays on the ball.

CB Arrion Springs, Oregon  My kind of corner. Unafraid to be physical and punish ball carriers, yet not grabby– plays the pocket of receivers and high points without undue contact. Makes the occasional highlight catch but if he just caught the easy ones, he’d be selected a couple of rounds earlier in the draft.

SS/LB Shaquem Griffin (see above)

S Dane Cruikshank, Arizona  One of the things I love about draft prospect season: a player who is outstanding while playing in a power 5 conference, yet no one mentions him or even know who he is, largely because there are bigger names who were more highly recruted out of high school, and/or amateur scouts don’t watch bad teams for good players. Then, when that player lights up the combine

Height: 6012 Weight: 209 40 Yrd Dash: 4.41 20 Yrd Dash: 2.59 10 Yrd Dash: 1.55

225 Lb. Bench Reps: 25 Vertical Jump: 38 1/2 Broad Jump: 10’01” 20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.24 3-Cone Drill: 6.89

or shines at an all-star game, suddenly he jumps up draft boards. Isn’t it 90% film? You mean you couldn’t see him working as a physical CB or making play after play as a safety? Not as polished or as good as he’s going to get, but right now he’s a hitter and can run and cover.

S Tarvarius Moore, Southern Mississippi  Explosive and extremely fast (4.32) FS, with long arms and a physical style. Has not reached his peak as a player, but still had 87 tackles, three interceptions, and 10 passes defensed in 2017.

FS/CB Jeremy Reaves, South Alabama  Dropped on boards despite an excellent showing at Senior Bowl practices and game in his hometown of Mobile. Why? Only thing working against him is small hands. Amazing that that was enough to change the talk on him from a 4th or 5th rounder to undrafted. Tape shows him as a ferocious hitting, ball-hawking safety who played both deep and strong safety spots. His tape prior to 2017 showed him as a really effective outside CB with great mirroring skills and ability to take the ball away. Posted eye-popping stat line in 2017: 104 tackles, 7 TFL, 3 INTs, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles, 8 passes broken up. Safeties who have CB cover skills and a knack for making plays and forcing turnovers are supposed to be valuable.

EDGE Darius Jackson, Jacksonville State  Just a holy terror on FCS and FBS opponents alike. Didn’t have a great combine, but if disrupting plays and getting to the QB is what you desire, he does a great job of it. Buck Buchanan award winner as best defensive player in the FCS.

EDGE Mat Boesen, TCU  Started at Boise State and transferred in. Reminds a little of a Kevin Greene, natural bend and singular focus. Really effective edge rusher.

EDGE Hercules Mata’afa, Washington State  How could an undersized DL with a relentless motor and a name like Hercules escape his destiny? Of course he’s a 2018 B2B Directional Stater. Is he an EDGE at the next level? A special teams star? All I know is: he’s a football player who can play for my team any day.

EDGE Duke Ejiofor, Wake Forest  For the life of me, I can’t figure out why more people aren’t talking up Ejiofor as one of the very best EDGE players in this class. Guys who get injured and can’t work out in the draft season are forgotten sometimes. Ejiofor might be the most polished and scheme versatile player available. Not sure how he would have tested, but he plays like a top 50 pick.

EDGE Anthony Winbush, Ball State  So much to like. He’s got a plan for every rush; can beat you with surprising power (38″ VJ & 29 reps of 225lbs) but generally wins with a burst right as he turns the corner of a tight arc. The antithesis of a one speed rusher–it’s like he hits the turbo right at the bend point.  So many rushers slow down for an instant at that point or make it look like segmented action.

EDGE Marcel Frazier, Missouri  Wins with size (6045, 256), a quick get off (1.61 10yd split), and playing within a system that forces defensive players to be responsible, good tacklers. I think that results in players from this system performing better than expected once they get to the NFL. Frazier won’t wow anyone with bend, but he can be a solid contributor right away because he plays advanced football from a responsibility standpoint and he’s a sure tackler who is an asset vs the run game.

EDGE Joe Ostman, Central Michigan  You play for a team with a losing record, in a non-power 5 conference… you have short arms for an edge defender… yet all you do is make plays. Very good vs both run and rushing the passer, if he can continue to use technique and leverage to win without length, could make it at the next level.

EDGE Kylie Fitts, Utah  Fitts has great length (6036, 263lbs, 33″ arms) and can turn the corner at a 90° angle.In his sophomore season, it looked like he was going to be a superstar. Struggled some with injuries and was used as a rotational player simply because Utah has had 3 EDGE players go to the NFL during the time Fitts was there. He certainly has the athleticism and build for the job.

EDGE Sharif Finch, Temple  Another great edge prospect with prototypical size (6041, 251), great speed (4.65 40, 7.00 3-cone, and productivity. He also blocked 5 punts.

LB Freddie Luvu, Washington State WSU’s defense is a unique scheme, with basically a whole bunch of wound-up, crazed, and versatile parts. Luvu played sort of an ILB in 2016, then switched to a rush LB, similar to an Elephant position for 2017. Tested like an elite athlete and his versatility will help him in the right scheme.

LB Eric Boggs, Appalachian State  Averaged 100 tackles, 7 TFL, 4 sacks, 3 INTs, and 2 passes defensed over the past 3 years as a starter. POY in SunBelt. One of the few all-around LBs in this class.

LB Brett Taylor, Western Illinois  Throwback MLB, appropriately playing for the Leathernecks. Sideline to sideline and does a good job of recognizing plays.

DL PJ Hall, Sam Houston State  (see above)

DL Nathan Shepherd, Fort Hays State  A man amongst boys is a little overaged, but dominated his league and then the Senior Bowl practices with powerful hands and strength.

DL Zack Sieler, Ferris State  Prototype 5-tech, with length and movement skills.

DL Dedrick Senat, South Florida  Nimble big man who is a relentless pursuer of the football. Quick enough to get penetration with his first step and is strong enough to break away when is is initially blocked.

DL Frank Herron, LSU  Not only the solid run stuffer required for the SEC, showed signs of more explosion and movement skills than he might have always displayed in the disciplined system the Tigers utilized.

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TE Dallas Goedert (see part 1)

TE/H-Back Ryan Yurachek, Marshall Not enough love for a slightly undersized, versatile receiver who was Chase Sutton’s go-to guy in the red zone. His 10 TDs in 2017 were the most by any TE in this class.

TE Deon Yelder, Louisville  Unheralded former walk-on who worked his way to a starting job this year. Shows rare ability to run routes and catch the ball like a wideout, work effectively as an inline TE, and pass protect as an H-Back

TE Tyler Conklin, Central Michigan  Old school vibe, but used mainly as a split WR to get matchups on smaller DBs. Not the biggest TE not the most athletic, but a nice all-around TE.

More of a move TE or big WR, he wins with straight speed off the start line: a 1.57 10yd and a 4.6 40 at 6’4″, 244lbs.

TE Tanner Hudson, Southern Arkansas  Hard to get a read on just how athletic or fast this Mulerider TE is, but he seems better than his LOC in D2. At 6’5″ and 242lbs, he moves really well in the open field.

TE Ross Dwelley, San Diego  You want a move TE who can make acrobatic catches, with great hands, a wide catch radius, and some shake-n-bake after the catch? Dwelley is your man.

TE Dillon Beard, Southern  Bull in a china shop and a good blocker. The opposite of the athletic, lean modern types, but it sure is fun to see a big dude run over other dudes. Get out of my way!