Off The Grid
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Grizzlies: The Offensive Front Line
A few Threads have come and gone, mostly because the authors have lives that are considerably more balanced than mine. If no one has any objection, and with the College season entering the stretch run, I thought I'd roll this thread out there ~ and a few others like it ~ as a means of consolidating the thoughts of anyone who wishes to make this Thread their own. Of course this is not intended to replace individual Threads; only to offer a One Stop Shop for each category.
My idea is to employ this thread as an Emporium ~ a gathering place ~ for any and all Rankings, Scouting Reports, Opinions, Arguments, and other assorted Random Thoughts that might occur to any of us on the subject, or that we might wish to pull in from other sources. I'll certainly be doing so, because it helps me to have all my thoughts on one subject consolidated, but if anyone else wishes to join in, or take over, I hope you'll feel free to do just that!!
I'll get things rolling with an overview...
75,000
Centers
This looks like a pretty weak class. I am a staunch advocate of drafting Grizzlies early and often. For instance, I would've jumped all over Marquis de Pouncey, last year. But although I am anxious to draft Dan Koppen's replacement as early as possible, it seems to me that it would probably be a reach, were we to touch anyone in the first few rounds, this year.
Top Tier
Steve Wisniewski, Penn State ~ 6.3/300 ~ 2-3rd Round Caliber. Technically proficient.
Kristofer O'Dowd, USC ~ 6.4/300 ~ Great tools, but riddled with injuries.
Some Day 3 Guys
Kevin Kowalski, Toledo ~ 6.3/300 ~
Brandon Fusco, Slippery Rock ~ 6.4/300 ~
Tim Barnes, Missouri ~ 6.4/300
Zane Taylor, Utah ~ 6.2/300
Jake KirkPatrick, TCU ~ 6.3/305
Ryan Bartholemew, Syracuse ~ 6.1/300
Alex LinnenKohl, Oregon State ~ 6.2/305
Ryan Pugh, Auburn ~ 6.1/300
X Factor
*Mike Brewster, Ohio State ~ 6.5/295 ~ High Grade Junior who might declare.
Binkie Alert!!
Brandon Fusco, Slippery Rock ~ 6.4/300
Brandon Fusco, in particular, is a guy I hear whispers about, as a potentially explosive Blocker: A Mauler with surprising athleticism who gets out to the next level consistently, but who's a Small Schooler ~ Slippery Rock!! ~ who's flying under the radar.
Guards
I'm none too thrilled about the Guards, this year, either. Give me the right guys, and I'll spend 3 1st Rounders on the O Line, if the D Line is set...But these aren't the right guys!!
Top Tier
Rodney Hudson, Florida State ~ 6.2/285
Mike Pouncey, Florida ~ 6.4/310 ~ As a Center, he makes one HELL of a Guard!!
Orlando Franklin, Miami ~ 6.7/315 ~ Left Tackle Conversion, I expect.
Benjamin Ijalana, Villanova ~ 6.4/320
Steve Schilling, Michigan ~ 6.5/310
Clint Boling, Georgia ~ 6.5/305
John Moffit, Wisconsin ~ 6.4/325
Justin Boren, Ohio State ~ 6.3/320
Some Late Rounders
Andrew Jackson, Fresno State ~ 6.5/295
Bryant Browning, Ohio State ~ 6.3/315
Will Rackley, Lehigh ~ 6.4/305
Zach Hurd, Connecticut ~ 6.7/325
Dave Arkin, Missouri State ~ 6.5/300
Keith Williams, Nebraska ~ 6.5/310
X Factors
DeMarcus Love, Arkansas ~ 6.5/315 ~ Possible Conversion. Many OT's are, this year, but he is the highest ranked: a possible 1st Rounder.
*Nate Potter, Boise State ~ 6.6/295 ~ High Grade Junior who'll probably come out.
*Ryan Miller, Colorado ~ 6.8/310 ~ High Grade Junior who might come out.
Binkie Alert!!
Benjamin Ijalana, Villanova ~ 6.4/320
Small School Raw Talent with enormous upside. Powerfull Punch. Strong Hands. Ferocious. Tremendous Lateral Agility. Exceptional Vertical Drive will win him the great majority of Leverage Battles when he gets coached up. Impressive athleticism on the move, and an aggressive, hostile regard towards Defenders. Raw as hell...and that's where we come in. Most teams will not invest a late 2nd Rounder or a 3rd on a Right Guard who's going to need a lot of work on his technique before he's ready to step in there...But most teams don't have Coach Bill's Vision...or Dante Scarnecchia.
Tackles
There's a little more, here, to work with, but the Tackles, too, are pretty weak, this year. That could change, though, if some High Caliber Juniors and Red Shirt Sophomores decide to take the plunge...
Top Tier
Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State ~ 6.5/305
Anthony Castonzo, Boston College ~ 6.7/310
DeMarcus Love, Arkansas ~ 6.5/315
Nate Solder, Colorado ~ 6.8/315
Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin ~ 6.7/320
*Matt Reyonolds, Brigham Young ~ 6.6/320
Some Second Tier Guys
Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh ~ 6.4/310
Marcus Cannon, TCU ~ 6.5/360
Some Day 3 Guys
*Blake DeChristopher, Virginia Tech ~ 6.5/305
Danny Watkins, Baylor ~ 6.4/310
Jim Carpenter, Alabama ~ 6.5/300
Marcus Gilbert, Florida ~ 6.5/320
Jim Brewer, Indiana ~ 6.6/330
Joe Barksdale, LSU ~ 6.5/320
Chris Hairston, Clemson ~ 6.7/325
Curt Porter, Jacksonville State ~ 6.7/315
Lee Ziemba, Auburn ~ 6.6/320
Late Round Dark Horses
Darius Morris, Temple ~ 6.4/310
DJ Young, Michigan State ~ 6.5/300
Cody Habben, Washington ~ 6.6/290
Jah Reid, UCF ~ 6.7/325
X Factors
*Tyron Smith, USC ~ 6.6/285 ~ An exceptional talent, Smith could vault ahead of the LOT of them, were he to declare.
*Al Netter, NorthWestern ~ 6.6/310...And Netter could, in turn, edge out Smith.
**Bobbie Massie, Mississippi ~ 6.6/312 ~ The top rated Offensive Tackle out of a class ~ 2013 ~ that is replete with Red Shirt Sophomores who are far more dangerous than their Senior counterparts at this position.
**Matt Kalil, USC ~ 6.6/295 ~ Smith is, potentially, the best prospect in this Class...and Kalil's addition to the USC lineup forced Smith to remain at Right Tackle. He is...very good.
**Tanner Hawkinson, Kansas ~ 6.36/295 ~ Yet another UnderClassMan with more FirePower than any of the Seniors!!
**Riley Rieff, Iowa ~ 6.6/300 ~ Rieff might be the best of them all.
If ANY of those 6 UnderClassMen declare, they’d be worth considering, because any of them could eventually go Top 10, if they hold off for a year…
Binkie Alert!!
Nate Solder, Colorado ~ 6.8/315
I think these guys are prime candidates to get over drafted. But Nate Solder does offer an absolutely amazing blend of Size, Power, and Athleticism. He, too, needs a lot of work, though, and, as with Benjamin Ijalana, that could play in our favor: The reluctance of 31 other GMs to invest such a critical Pick in a guy who's skills are raw ~ he's a recent Offensive End Conversion ~ could very well drop a 1st Round Caliber Talent to the mid or later 2nd Round...where we could pounce on him, put him to work in The Dante Scarnecchia School of Extraordinary Grizzlies...and spend the rest of the decade with, potentially, the best Offensive Tackle Tandem in the nation.
A few Threads have come and gone, mostly because the authors have lives that are considerably more balanced than mine. If no one has any objection, and with the College season entering the stretch run, I thought I'd roll this thread out there ~ and a few others like it ~ as a means of consolidating the thoughts of anyone who wishes to make this Thread their own. Of course this is not intended to replace individual Threads; only to offer a One Stop Shop for each category.
My idea is to employ this thread as an Emporium ~ a gathering place ~ for any and all Rankings, Scouting Reports, Opinions, Arguments, and other assorted Random Thoughts that might occur to any of us on the subject, or that we might wish to pull in from other sources. I'll certainly be doing so, because it helps me to have all my thoughts on one subject consolidated, but if anyone else wishes to join in, or take over, I hope you'll feel free to do just that!!
I'll get things rolling with an overview...
75,000
Centers
This looks like a pretty weak class. I am a staunch advocate of drafting Grizzlies early and often. For instance, I would've jumped all over Marquis de Pouncey, last year. But although I am anxious to draft Dan Koppen's replacement as early as possible, it seems to me that it would probably be a reach, were we to touch anyone in the first few rounds, this year.
Top Tier
Steve Wisniewski, Penn State ~ 6.3/300 ~ 2-3rd Round Caliber. Technically proficient.
Kristofer O'Dowd, USC ~ 6.4/300 ~ Great tools, but riddled with injuries.
Some Day 3 Guys
Kevin Kowalski, Toledo ~ 6.3/300 ~
Brandon Fusco, Slippery Rock ~ 6.4/300 ~
Tim Barnes, Missouri ~ 6.4/300
Zane Taylor, Utah ~ 6.2/300
Jake KirkPatrick, TCU ~ 6.3/305
Ryan Bartholemew, Syracuse ~ 6.1/300
Alex LinnenKohl, Oregon State ~ 6.2/305
Ryan Pugh, Auburn ~ 6.1/300
X Factor
*Mike Brewster, Ohio State ~ 6.5/295 ~ High Grade Junior who might declare.
Binkie Alert!!
Brandon Fusco, Slippery Rock ~ 6.4/300
Brandon Fusco, in particular, is a guy I hear whispers about, as a potentially explosive Blocker: A Mauler with surprising athleticism who gets out to the next level consistently, but who's a Small Schooler ~ Slippery Rock!! ~ who's flying under the radar.
Guards
I'm none too thrilled about the Guards, this year, either. Give me the right guys, and I'll spend 3 1st Rounders on the O Line, if the D Line is set...But these aren't the right guys!!
Top Tier
Rodney Hudson, Florida State ~ 6.2/285
Mike Pouncey, Florida ~ 6.4/310 ~ As a Center, he makes one HELL of a Guard!!
Orlando Franklin, Miami ~ 6.7/315 ~ Left Tackle Conversion, I expect.
Benjamin Ijalana, Villanova ~ 6.4/320
Steve Schilling, Michigan ~ 6.5/310
Clint Boling, Georgia ~ 6.5/305
John Moffit, Wisconsin ~ 6.4/325
Justin Boren, Ohio State ~ 6.3/320
Some Late Rounders
Andrew Jackson, Fresno State ~ 6.5/295
Bryant Browning, Ohio State ~ 6.3/315
Will Rackley, Lehigh ~ 6.4/305
Zach Hurd, Connecticut ~ 6.7/325
Dave Arkin, Missouri State ~ 6.5/300
Keith Williams, Nebraska ~ 6.5/310
X Factors
DeMarcus Love, Arkansas ~ 6.5/315 ~ Possible Conversion. Many OT's are, this year, but he is the highest ranked: a possible 1st Rounder.
*Nate Potter, Boise State ~ 6.6/295 ~ High Grade Junior who'll probably come out.
*Ryan Miller, Colorado ~ 6.8/310 ~ High Grade Junior who might come out.
Binkie Alert!!
Benjamin Ijalana, Villanova ~ 6.4/320
Small School Raw Talent with enormous upside. Powerfull Punch. Strong Hands. Ferocious. Tremendous Lateral Agility. Exceptional Vertical Drive will win him the great majority of Leverage Battles when he gets coached up. Impressive athleticism on the move, and an aggressive, hostile regard towards Defenders. Raw as hell...and that's where we come in. Most teams will not invest a late 2nd Rounder or a 3rd on a Right Guard who's going to need a lot of work on his technique before he's ready to step in there...But most teams don't have Coach Bill's Vision...or Dante Scarnecchia.
Tackles
There's a little more, here, to work with, but the Tackles, too, are pretty weak, this year. That could change, though, if some High Caliber Juniors and Red Shirt Sophomores decide to take the plunge...
Top Tier
Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State ~ 6.5/305
Anthony Castonzo, Boston College ~ 6.7/310
DeMarcus Love, Arkansas ~ 6.5/315
Nate Solder, Colorado ~ 6.8/315
Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin ~ 6.7/320
*Matt Reyonolds, Brigham Young ~ 6.6/320
Some Second Tier Guys
Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh ~ 6.4/310
Marcus Cannon, TCU ~ 6.5/360
Some Day 3 Guys
*Blake DeChristopher, Virginia Tech ~ 6.5/305
Danny Watkins, Baylor ~ 6.4/310
Jim Carpenter, Alabama ~ 6.5/300
Marcus Gilbert, Florida ~ 6.5/320
Jim Brewer, Indiana ~ 6.6/330
Joe Barksdale, LSU ~ 6.5/320
Chris Hairston, Clemson ~ 6.7/325
Curt Porter, Jacksonville State ~ 6.7/315
Lee Ziemba, Auburn ~ 6.6/320
Late Round Dark Horses
Darius Morris, Temple ~ 6.4/310
DJ Young, Michigan State ~ 6.5/300
Cody Habben, Washington ~ 6.6/290
Jah Reid, UCF ~ 6.7/325
X Factors
*Tyron Smith, USC ~ 6.6/285 ~ An exceptional talent, Smith could vault ahead of the LOT of them, were he to declare.
*Al Netter, NorthWestern ~ 6.6/310...And Netter could, in turn, edge out Smith.
**Bobbie Massie, Mississippi ~ 6.6/312 ~ The top rated Offensive Tackle out of a class ~ 2013 ~ that is replete with Red Shirt Sophomores who are far more dangerous than their Senior counterparts at this position.
**Matt Kalil, USC ~ 6.6/295 ~ Smith is, potentially, the best prospect in this Class...and Kalil's addition to the USC lineup forced Smith to remain at Right Tackle. He is...very good.
**Tanner Hawkinson, Kansas ~ 6.36/295 ~ Yet another UnderClassMan with more FirePower than any of the Seniors!!
**Riley Rieff, Iowa ~ 6.6/300 ~ Rieff might be the best of them all.
If ANY of those 6 UnderClassMen declare, they’d be worth considering, because any of them could eventually go Top 10, if they hold off for a year…
Binkie Alert!!
Nate Solder, Colorado ~ 6.8/315
I think these guys are prime candidates to get over drafted. But Nate Solder does offer an absolutely amazing blend of Size, Power, and Athleticism. He, too, needs a lot of work, though, and, as with Benjamin Ijalana, that could play in our favor: The reluctance of 31 other GMs to invest such a critical Pick in a guy who's skills are raw ~ he's a recent Offensive End Conversion ~ could very well drop a 1st Round Caliber Talent to the mid or later 2nd Round...where we could pounce on him, put him to work in The Dante Scarnecchia School of Extraordinary Grizzlies...and spend the rest of the decade with, potentially, the best Offensive Tackle Tandem in the nation.