North Dakota's Weston Dressler

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Here is yet another white skill player who is an incredible athlete that has had to play for a small school. Weston Dressler put up impressive stats for the University of North Dakota and the WR impressed at his pro-day.


COLLEGE NOTEBOOK: UND's Dressler turns some heads
By Tom Miller and Wayne Nelson, Herald Staff Writers
Published Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Former UND standout Weston Dressler still wants to play football. On Monday, Dressler apparently showed a handful of NFL scouts that he has a legitimate chance to play somewhere at the next level.

Dressler turned in an impressive performance at the NFL Pro Day in Fargo, where the former Sioux player was joined by former UND defensive back Donovan Alexander and four ex-North Dakota State standouts â€â€￾ quarterback Steve Walker, linebacker Joe Mays, running back Cinque Chapman and cornerback David Earl.

Dressler's time in the 40 was not available after the workout, but he impressed scouts with his ability to catch passes and his agility during the shuttle run drill.

"I didn't get to see any of the times," Dressler said. "But all the scouts said good things to me afterward. For the most part, they liked that I was well prepared and in shape."

Dressler's vertical leap was 35 inches and his broad jump was measured at 9 feet, 5 inches. Alexander, who has been drafted by the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, had a vertical leap of 37 inches and broad jump of 10-5.

The CFL also is an option for Dressler, a receiver-return specialist who set 19 career records during his UND career.

The scouts at the pro day also had Dressler field punts.

"Hopefully I'll get a chance to sign as a free agent," Dressler said. "I want to get into a camp and prove something. I'm just going to wait around until after the (NFL) draft and hopefully get a phone call."

He said he's also talked to Winnipeg and Saskatchewan of the CFL.

Dressler said he was curious about his time in the 40.

At the Cactus Bowl earlier this season, Dressler ran the 40 in 4.44 seconds. Last spring, his time was 4.46 in the 40.

Scouts from the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers were at the pro day.

"I want to play somewhere for a while and see how it goes," Dressler said.Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Here's a great video of Weston, a guy I've been keeping my eyes on for the last 3 years.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4Fz5H85a0I

 

[PhillyBirds]

One fellow makes a good point in the comments...

...and is promptly called a racist.Edited by: PhillyBirds

 

[SteveB]

Here's a great video of Weston, a guy I've been keeping my eyes on for the last 3 years.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4Fz5H85a0I

Reminds me of the Jeremy Bloom highlight video. Same size, speed, and moves.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Here's what I wrote about Weston in Footballsfuture.com's forums.

1st Post:
I think he could make a good slot guy, just look at the tape he's amazing. Dressler has a great burst, he's lightning quick and is great in space, he has great hands and knows how to run routes. So what if he is short and not a sub 4.4 guy. His skills project him as a slot guy.

It may only be Division 2, but Dressler just owned secondaries at his level. If I were a GM I'd use a 6th or 7th round pick on this guy, but I know he won't be drafted b/c of the too small/ bad competition level argument. I just hope this guy gets a chance to become the next Rashied Davis/ Wes Welker slot guy!

2nd Post:
ndfinfan, There has never been a player in NFL history who has played in the league who has gone sub 10 in the 100 meters. As of 2004 only 39 men total in the history of the world had gone sub-ten. I believe more than half of the guys that have done it are juicing. The first guy to run a 10 flat was West German Armin Hary in 1960. American Jim Hines in 1968, running a 9.95, is the only guy who has gone sub 10 "electronic timed" before the roiding era which IMO started in the mid 70s.

Jordy's PB of 10.63 is faster than average for an NFL starting WR. I would say your average NFL "starting" WR runs a PB of 10.9 or so. Dressler's 10.43 is an incredible time and Dressler is lightning quick and great in space. He could make a great slot WR. And I just checked Trindon Holliday ran a 10.1 flat according to the LSU website. He would be the fastest current guy in college football, I'm not sure if it is electronic timed though. Holliday isn't draft eligible this year though.

BTW: Devin Hester's personal best "in college" was 10.42 in the 100 meters and he is considered the face of electrifying speed for the NFL. Very few NFL players have world class speed.

 

[jared]

Your second post is spot on, hopefully it served to illuminate more than a few people.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Below is another article on the talented Weston Dressler who is now getting a shot with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. All reports including this one that I've read have talked about how quick out of breaks Dressler is; he is a brilliant route runner with a "world class" burst. He also has that second gear as evidenced by his PB 10.44 100 meters, so he is faster than Devin Hester who ran a PB "wind aided" 10.42. You would think that with the success of Wes Welker that an NFL team would give Dressler a shot. But teams never learn; a small white guy from small school Div. IAA might rattle team chemistry if he takes a spot from one of the big school "brothas" and steals their limelight.

:

Dressler hopes speed earns him a spot
Rookie receiver Weston Dressler is used to playing with the big boys
Darrell Davis, Leader-Post
Published: Wednesday, June 04, 2008

REGINA -- Speedy, rookie receiver Weston Dressler admits he has a lot to learn during the Saskatchewan Roughriders' training camp, but he would be well-advised to ignore what was going on around him following the team's workouts Wednesday at Mosaic Stadium.

"I have to be tough,'' he said. "When you're smaller than everyone out there, you have to be tough, otherwise you're not going to make it.''

While Dressler was answering questions about his size, speed and toughness, veteran CFL lineman Mike Abou-Mechrek was sneaking around with a shaving-cream pie that he smushed into the face of unsuspecting lineman Glenn January, who was in the middle of a television interview. Defensive tackle Scott Schultz, like Dressler an alumnus of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux football program, finished a radio interview and walked by the youngster with an affable taunt: "When you went to the Sioux, they spelled it S-U-E, like the girl.''

Dressler just laughed and kept right on going, as he does on the football field whenever he's chasing a football, even if there's a bigger defensive back in his path. And all the DBs are bigger than Dressler, who is listed generously by the Roughriders as being 5-foot-7 and 179 pounds.

"There are all kinds of guys who aren't real big or tall, but they have speed,'' said Roughriders offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice. "When guys talked to me about him coming to camp, I said, 'I don't mind if he's small, as long as he can change direction.' You have to be able to avoid people if you're that small. He can change directions quickly.

"The thing that surprise me is he's durable and he's tough. Sometimes little, track guys can't run every day, you bump them and they get knocked down. Not him. He's a powerful kid.''

Dressler, 24, has been catching footballs and everyone's attention through four days of training camp. A high school sprinter from Bismarck, N.D., whose father was also a track athlete, Dressler won the North Dakota championship four years ago by running 100 metres in 10.44 seconds. The world record at that time was 9.79 seconds, set by American Maurice Greene. Dressler is used to being the smallest player on the field, which provides extra incentive to also be the fastest player on the field.

"I played some football in the second grade,'' said Dressler. "My brother played on something called midget football, The League. It was for fifth- and sixth-graders; my brother was a fifth-grader and my dad helped coach. I put some pads on and practised with the big boys. I did that for a couple years until I could play for real. I've been playing ever since. You have to be fast against them.''

Football scouts love to time prospects over 40 yards -- Dressler was told by one scout he covered the distance in 4.44 seconds, which is nearing world-class speed. But his speed couldn't convince NFL teams to draft him this year, even though he was coming off a 13-game senior season at UND during which he caught 76 passes for 1,272 yards, returned 127 punts for 1,698 yards and returned 67 kickoffs for 1,478 yards. He earned his fourth-straight berth on the conference's all-star team, three times was an academic all-Amercian in his conference and was a national semifinalist for the Draddy Trophy, the highest academic honour in NCAA football.

Instead he came to the Roughriders as a free agent, eager to learn about Canada's wider field, extra man, unlimited pre-snap motion, the importance of special teams in a three-down game and the fact that punt returners cannot signal for a fair catch but that they are allowed a five-yard restraining zone.

"The scouts I talked to all said good things to me,'' said Dressler. "They said they liked the way I run my routes, my speed in and out of cuts and the way I catch the football. The biggest thing for them is that my size is a concern. There are (small) guys in the NFL who had success, and here in the CFL, so it's something I try not to let bother me. I just try to use my speed as much as I can.

"It's really been a learning experience for me. It's a different game from what I'm used to. I'm adjusting to it and learning the playbook, just trying to get better every day. There's a lot of space. You get that motion at the receiver's spot and can get a quick start. I'm trying to learn more and more about it and get better at it.''

The Roughriders have been deploying Dressler primarily as a slotback. Most times when Dressler is on the field, the quarterback throws deep, with the intention of hooking up on a gasp-inducing bomb. Sometimes it works. Dressler has also been fielding punts, which seems to be his quickest path onto the roster.

"I don't know exactly in the final scheme of things where he's going to fit,'' said Roughriders head coach Ken Miller. "Right now I think he'd be an excellent Number 2 receiver (on the wide side of the field) because he has the ability to stretch the defence so much. If he didn't start there he would be somebody we would consider strongly.

"He also fields the ball really well in the punting game. Whether he starts as a punt returner, he certainly figures in that. I don't know if he's the leading guy because experience is important, so to put a rookie in there who has played only American football with all the nuances of the Canadian game, it might not be the best decision right away.''

ddavis@leaderpost.canwest.com

 

[Bronk]

There are a lot of very good white players coming out of colleges in the Dakotas, Idaho, Montana. They have produced a number of them for quite awhile.

 

[chisel]

Dressler Fans! Weston will be at the Universal Athletics Store in Bismark, ND.
Saturday March 28th Meet and Greet. 10am-12pm

Come down and meet the 2007-2008 CFL Rookie of the Year!!!!!!!

 

[celticdb15]

Stan Zwinggi was compared to Wes Dressler by draftdaddy the other day. They also painted an accurate picture that he may have to go the cfl route, like Wes, which is unfortunate

.I think Zwinggi may have more burst and straight line speed, but i feel Wes has more movesbut speed as well.

 

[chris371]

Whats with all the German names in North Dakotas team

Roehl, Heckendorf, Dressler....Kleinsasser.

Interesting for me, because im german.

 

[celticdb15]

Chris NDSU recruits from North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota! All states with huge German\Scandanavian populatons