Draft

[Poacher]

Concerning Vince Young;

I think it is a huge mistake to draft a guy based on one performance. Michael Vick has been living off of the residue of his performance in the Sugar Bowl (?) against FSU for some time now. Vince Young bought himself 5 years as a starter in the NFL along with millions of dollars with that performance. But in the end NFL defenses which have been exposed to the likes of vick, culpepper and mcnabb for years now, will smother him.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

i almost forgot...Josh Golden, the corner from Arizona State who caught reggie bush from behind last year and was their top cover guy this year, also somehow slipped through the cracks and didn't get his combine invitation in the mail. d@mn US postal service!

 

[white lightning]

Those are some big names on defense that they have left out.Nothing suprises me anymore with this draft or this league for that matter.It's great to have you back posting again Jimmy C.It's been a long time.

 

[hollywoodnorth]

Where will Hass go? Leinart? Cutler?

 

[white lightning]

Leinart & Cutler should both go within the first 10 picks of the first round.Hass could fall to the 2nd or 3rd round depending on his 40 time.In my opinion,Hass should be a top 5 pick in the first round but he is the wrong skin color.They just don't think he can be a star.He has been hearing that his whole life and I hope he lights up the NFL like a Christmas Tree!!

 

[white lightning]

Here is two more guys to keep an eye on for the draft later on this year.They are both sleepers with incredible speed and the ability to be a star if the right team gives them a chance.

Nic Costa is a qb but would have to be a running back or wide receiver.He was timed last year by NFL Scouts three different times.He ran a 4.34,4.36 and a 4.40 in the 40!They couldn't believe their eyes.He has a great vertical leap and is strong as a bull.He just needs a chance.He was a qb at the University of Arizona but never played much and went to a Div.II School.Excellent prospect.

Matt Birkel is a record setting running back in Div.II who just might get a shot.He had over 200 yards rushing on 4 occasions and went over 100 yards 16 times over the last couple of seasons.He is extremley fast but is only 5'9.Hopefully,he can get a chance to be at least a punt returner.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

realistically height is an INCREDIBLY overrated attribute for running backs. most folks don't know that there are more RBs in the NFL 5'9" and under than 6'0" or taller. so being 5'9" shouldn't hurt Birkel at all.

that being said, a white skill position player already has two strikes against him in the caste system, so any other physical shortcomings (pardon the pun) seriously hurt their chances. funny how the black kids make it work though...

 

[hollywoodnorth]

Scouts.com extensive draft prospect list:
At runningback, Steven Silva of Holy Cross is rated at #35. Also, Nick Hartigan, star RB for Brown, is officially listed at FB. And Matt Birkel, star RB from Div2 is not even listed.

Scouts.com

Silva

more Silva

more Silva

Silva bio

He's up for the Walter Peyton Award which I assume is the award for the top Div2 player, as well as a WR called Dave Ball and various other players.
Ball

Silva is also the national special teams player of the year due to the fact that he also returns kicks well as well as being a top rusher.
awardEdited by: hollywoodnorth1

 

[Don Wassall]

In Mel Kiper's latest response to letters from readers, someone writes in to ask about Mike Hass and Mel pays homage to one of the Caste System's most hallowed traditions, that of comparing every single white receiver of the past 15 years to Ricky Proehl, and also calls the unstoppable Hass a "possession receiver":

Q. I am a die-hard Oregon State fan and wanted your thoughts on wide receiver Mike Hass. Where he might go in the draft? -- Wes, Lebanon, Ore.

[Mel's answer]: Hass is what he is, a possession receiver. He doesn't have a lot of speed, but has decent ability to make the quick burst out of his cut. Hass also gets more separation from cornerbacks than people give him credit for.

The one thing Hass has is outstanding hands and extremely good hand-eye coordination. If he gets his hands on the ball he'll catch it. Right now he's considered a marginal prospect, a second-day pick. We still need to see if cornerbacks in NFL are going to eat him up. As a college receiver he was outstanding, but we'll have to see how that translates to the NFL.

The comparison I've drawn with Hass is to Ricky Proehl, although Proehl is quicker but a similar kind of receiver. If Hass has a career anywhere near what Proel has had, the team that drafts Hass is going to be very happy.

 

[sport historian]

In 1981, there was a cover story in SI on then-rookie Bengal WR Cris Collinsworth. I remember Collinsworth complaining in the article about always being compared to Lance Alworth because he (Collinsworth) was white. In those days any white WR with some speed was compared to Alworth in the way that all white receivers now are compared to Ricky Proehl.

Collinsworth said something like, "I want to be compared to guys like Lofton. That's who is playing now." In fact, Collinsworth did resemble Lofton more than Alworth, but no sportwriter was going to mention a white receiver in the same sentence with someone like James Lofton.

 

[Don Wassall]

Speaking of Collinsworth, I have written that he was the last white wide receiver drafted in the first round until Matt Jones. My memory failed me on that one. I just checked and Collinsworth was actually the ninth pick of the second round in '81.

Many believe that Kirk Gibson was a first round draft choice, but he went in the seventh round in '79. The last one I'm sure of now was Roger Carr, who went in the first round way back in '74.

The Colts drafted a WR out of Kentucky in the first round in '77 named Randy Burke. Sport Historian, do you or anyone else remember if he was white? Sounds from the name like he might be. He played just 4 seasons with but 30 career catches.

 

[sport historian]

Don:

Yes, Randy Burke was white. The late Joel Buschbaum rated him this way, "A great hands and move type who works the sidelines to perfection. Looked excellent in the Senior Bowl, but still didn't prove he can be a good deep threat." Buschbaum had Burke's Triangle numbers as 6-1 3/8, 184, 4.55. Buschbaum had Burke as a high third rounder, not a first. This is from Buschbaum's 1977 draft book, which I still have.

The NFL scouts called Kirk Gibson (inevitably) a "bigger, faster Lance Alworth," based on his play on the Michigan State football team. After he signed with the Tigers, an article in SI that I recall stated that scouts were surprised that a white athlete like Gibson had such a phenomenal time in the 40. He would have gone in the 1st round if he had indicated that he would play football.

 

[Don Wassall]

Thank you, SH. Burke then was the last white receiver drafted in the first round until Jones. Talk about a great trivia question! Also interesting that Burke ran a 4.55 and still went in the first round. A I-A school today wouldn't even give a guy like that a sniff at WR.

 

[speedster]

Only 30 catches in 4 years.Oh well.Whenever a poster brings up a player in question I like many of you check-up on his numbers.The popular site to go to is pro-football reference but the one I like,if some of you didn't know,is www.databasefootball.com.It has more numbers.

 

[Don Wassall]

Yeah, that's a good site. They have every NFL draft in an easy to read format, among lots of other good info.

 

[sport historian]

Speaking again about Collinsworth, a black reciever named David Verser was taken in the 1st round by the Bengals in 1981 ahead of Collinsworth. Verser held out, as I remember, and Collinsworth got the starting assignment opposite Isaac Curtis.

Collinsworth got a lot of good press that year, in large part because he was such a "good interview," as they said in those days. I read once that he was "the best interview for a football player since O.J. Simpson." Verser stayed in the NFL for six seasons with a total of 23 receptions.

 

[Don Wassall]

It was interesting when I was going through the drafts of the late '70s and early '80s to see how many of the highly drafted wide receivers were flops. The percentage of first and second round busts is substantial and doesn't seem to have gone down in the intervening years as more and more of the picks at all positions were blacks. The huge industry that's grown around analyzing and scouting college football players still involves a lot of guesswork, and of course talented and capable white players have been completely removed from the equation except at quarterback, o-line and the occasional defensive player.

 

[JD074]

[Mel's answer]: Hass is what he is, a possession receiver. He doesn't have a lot of speed, but has decent ability to make the quick burst out of his cut. Hass also gets more separation from cornerbacks than people give him credit for.

The one thing Hass has is outstanding hands and extremely good hand-eye coordination. If he gets his hands on the ball he'll catch it. Right now he's considered a marginal prospect, a second-day pick. We still need to see if cornerbacks in NFL are going to eat him up. As a college receiver he was outstanding, but we'll have to see how that translates to the NFL.

Okay, so Hass has a quick burst, gets separation, has outstanding hands, and extremely good hand-eye coordination, and is still considered a "marginal" prospect. What does a white player have to do to get some respect? Oh yeah, there's nothing he can do.

Given that Hass was the best WR last season, shouldn't every other WR be considered a very questionable prospect as well? Why would players who were less dominant against collegiate CB's be granted by the Almighty Draft Gurus a better shot at dominating against NFL CB's? I don't get the logic.

 

[whiteCB]

I acutually just saw a mock draft that had Hass getting picked in the 1st Rd by Denver. Granted its a stupid online mock draft but at least somebody else besides the people on this site that think Hass should go in the 1st RD.

 

[white lightning]

Draftdaddy has had nothing but good things to say about Hass too.He has been working with a strength & speed coach.Mike is faster,stronger,& even more explosive.He should be ready to wow them at the NFL Combine!

 

[whiteCB]

Did you see how they commented about all the positive emails they have gotten about Hass. They even said his jersey would be a top seller if he does good. You gotta love to hear that especially all the fan and reader love for a white WR. I sent dfratdaddy an email today expressing my graditude for the wonderful work they've done especially on Mike Hass and encourage all of you to do the same.

 

[Guest]

I visit DraftDaddy all the time and they do a very good job of covering white college players...I think they are probably aware of the Caste and are trying to do something about it. I think it is a great site.

 

[white lightning]

After Castefootball, Draftdaddy is where I go to stay up to date on all of the latest news as football is one of my 2 favorite sports.I agree guys,they are very fair to the white athlete and have the best coverage of any football site that I have come across.I'm so excited to see Hass,Anderson,and many others playing on Sundays.

 

[whiteCB]

Draftdaddy actually sent me an email responding to my email I sent them. I wrote to them and told them how I think its great that they give Hass the props he deserves and so on. They replied that they just don't go on what other people or sites say and that to them Hass has been nothing but a playmaker and deserves more credit than he is getting. Nothing but great stuff on Hass and guys like Bloom. It is definitly my favorite draft web site because they tell it how it is; not by what the caste system says.

 

[Don Wassall]

Hass is learning the jargon of the Caste System. This is from a site's notes about today's events at the Combine:

Mike Hass/WR/Oregon State

- Measured in at 6-0 ½/208 pounds

- Described himself as a good route runner and a reliable target.

- When asked what pro receiver he would remind people of when they saw him play, Hass picked veteran NFL WR Ricky Proehl, saying he has admired the length of his career and how he plays.

- He said he is comfortable both in the slot and as a wideout.

- He has talked to a lot of teams, but isn't sensing that one is more interested than another.