White WRs/TEs 2009

[Jimmy Chitwood]

BYU's Dennis Pitta was snubbed for the Mackey Award, which was given to Florida's Aaron Hernandez. however, Pitta was nameda first-teamWalter Camp All-American.

Pitta's snubbing was very frustrating considering his stellar numbers. as compiled by BYU's staff, here are how hisnumbers stack up nationallyfor tight ends:

Through 11 games this season, Pitta ranks No. 1 in the nation among tight ends for yards receiving, total catches, yards per catch, yards per game and catches per game. He is second in touchdowns.

Pitta was recently named 2009 midseason first-team All-America by SI.com, CBSSports.com and the Sporting News. On Oct. 7, 2009, he was named John Mackey National Tight End of the Week for his two-touchdown performance against Utah State.

The Moorpark, Calif., native has caught a pass in 41 consecutive games, which ranks fourth in the nation among active FBS players. Pitta also leads all active tight ends nationally with 2,807 career receiving yards.

In 2008, Pitta was named third team All-America by Rivals.com and honorable mention All-America by College Football News and SI.com. He is also a two-time first-team all-Mountain West Conference performer and a two time Academic All-Mountain West Conference selection.

2009 NATIONAL TIGHT END RANKINGS (as of Nov. 22, 2009)
1st â€" Total yards receiving (753)
1st â€" Total catches (55)
1st â€" Receiving yards per catch (13.69)
1st â€" Receiving yards per game (68.45)
T1st â€" Catches per gsme (5.0)
2nd â€" Touchdowns (7)

 

[Deadlift]

Wide Receiver - Dylan Lane - had a solid Junior season for Sacramento State.

http://espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=241272


It turns out that he's the brother of UCLA Forward (basketball) Brendan Lane!

http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/football/rosters/displayPlayer.asp?PLAYER_ID=2186

So one brother is 6-2 and the other brother is 6-8 or so.

 

[celticdb15]

Looks like Colgate's Pat Simonds 6'6 220 and MSU's Blair White will be playing in the East v West Bowl. Kerry Meier will be playing for the West.


East Roster & West Roster

 

[celticdb15]

Looks like Blair White, Kerry Meier, andPat Simonds are proving themselves little by little. Here's a recap of their practice for the East squad. Pretty positive.
http://draftguys.com/index.php/articles/1/2010_east_west_shrine_game_day_1_practice_report_-_east/


Blair White (Michigan State) impressed me today with his overall ability as a route runner. His routes were very crisp, and even though most of the passes coming his way were off the mark White would go all out to get the football. White does have a tendency to body catch, and I saw him jump for a pass when he didn't need to. White's best play of the day may have come on an incomplete pass. John Skelton threw a deep pass inside when White was breaking outside. With an interception likely, White flew back to the ball and knocked the pass away from the defender.


Patrick Simonds (Colgate) presents a big target at 6'5"Â￾ 227 lbs. I like the way he would slide and go low for a pass if he needed to, in addition to his natural skill as a "jump ball"Â￾ receiver. Simonds also seemed adept at finding the soft spot in the zone. He would sit down on his route and float away from coverage to give his quarterback a larger throwing window.
Kerry Meier (Kansas) is a very intriguing prospect because of his size and athleticism. The converted quarterback is a savvy route runner, and knows how to find the soft spot in a zone. Meier also knows how to come back to the quarterback to help with a completion. I like the way he squares his shoulders to the line of scrimmage and presents a big target.

Pat reminds me of Joe Jerevicius!!I'm having a hard time trying to figure out who I can compare Blair's game to. As for Kerry Meier I feel the best comparision I can think of would be of a tight end(Dallas Clark!)Edited by: celticdb15

 

[Don Wassall]

Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski will announce Friday morning if he will enter the NFL Draft, and it sure appears as if he is gone.


Next stop: First round?


That was, according to Gronk himself, what he was looking for as he weighed the decision to leave school after missing all of his junior season because of a back injury that required surgery.


His father, Gordon Gronkowski, told us last week that the family had heard from 18 NFL teams â€" nine of which projected Rob as a first-rounder if he could show he was healthy, while nine others said he was a second-rounder.
http://tucsoncitizen.com/wildcatreport/2010/01/14/if-gronkowski-is-going-first-round-could-be-a-reach/

 

[whiteathlete33]

I never heard of Patrick Simonds before Celtic. I hope some team picks him up to add to our already fantastic 2010 draft in regards to white receivers.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I hate to hear that Dennis Pitta didn't win the Mackey Award. He deserved it and more. Hopefully the White WRs will impress as well as Gronkowski as TE.

 

[JReb1]

I think it's smart to leave school early if you're going to be a 1st or 2nd round pick. You can always finish college in the off-season or after your professional career is over. There are so many injury risks playing football that it isn't worth waiting IMHO.

 

[backrow]

Blair White report:

Blair White (Michigan State) didn't have as good of a day today as he did yesterday. White was slipping on the field (see above about field conditions) and had a few uncharacteristic drops today. The best play of the day came when he slipped on a slant route. While on his hands and knees the pass was thrown just ahead of him (where he should have been had he not slipped). Like some sort of ancient ninja, White leaped forward from the ground and secured the pass in his arms. It's just another example of how much this guy wants the football. It looks like White hates for the ball to hit the ground, and that type of attitude will help make him a great slot receiver.

love the description, some sort of an ancient ninja, hahaha!

 

[celticdb15]

Tennessee's Austin Rogers is declaring for the draft.

DD.comment: We are mildly surprised to see Tennessee wide receiver Austin Rogers is preparing for the draft after missing the 2009 season due to a knee injury. We assumed he'd apply for a sixth year of eligibility in order to continue his college career and gain more on-field experience. Regardless, he could make a fascinating developmental type prospect because he's a good athlete and possesses a nice combination of size and speed.

 

[dwid]

Blair White having a nice day in the East West Shrine game so far, 4 catches for over 50 yards.

Apparently they moved TE Richard Dickson to FB, but he had a nice run after the catch for a big gain, they said he stepped out of bounds but the replay showed he didnt, but there is no replay review in this game. On one of his scouting profiles it said he would have trouble eluding defenders after the catch, he had no problem there.

Dickson was very underused at TE last year for LSU. Well, he was a little underused his entire career.

Dennis Pitta is also having a good game, hes one of those TE's that are basically wide receivers labeled tight ends. Has 4 receptions for over 70 yards so far in the game.

Patrick Simonds just had a nice leaping catch but it was called back due to a holding call.

Ive only seen Kerry Meier get one pass thrown his way which was a little over his head, he managed to grab it but he didnt maintain possession all the way to the ground, it popped out of his hands when
he landed on the ground.

TE Nathan Overbay just had a 41 yard reception, followed by a catch by Pitta and then TE/FB Ryan Moya made the td catch from Max Hall for the first td in the game. So far White guys have made most of the nice receiving plays in this game.

Haven't heard much of Overbay or Moya before this game but apparently Moya ran a 4.6 out of high school which is pretty decent for a big guy.

Ali Villanueva is an interesting TE prospect. The guy played WR last year for Army but the year before that he played Left Tackle, he is 6'10. Hes had a few nice catches in this game. Don't know how he would play at the next level being that he played for Army.


Blair White just had a 24 yard reception, now has 6 catches for over 80 yards but the announcers keep mentioning his lack of speed. The guy ran a 4.52 last year and I bet with a little more training could get it a little lower, there are plenty of times where he flat out burned a db with just straight line speed.Edited by: dwid

 

[Jack Lambert]

Listen to Todd McGay and the rest of the commentators is nausiating. McGay was trashing McCoy and Tebow, saying they are at best fringe 1st-2nd round picks. He also thinks Bradford is the only QB worthy of being a 1st round pick. Funny, I don't remember any hating on Vince Young when he was drafted.

McGay: "Dennis Pitta is a good TE, but he doesn't have elite speed, however, if the ball comes near him, he is like a vacuum cleaner, catch anything that comes near him." He said something similar about Blair White. (except said he was a WR.)

 

[dwid]

McShay is a tool, its sad that he makes Kiper seem White friendly. McShay bashed Toby Gerhart and said he would have to play fullback/te at the next level while Kiper said he would be a halfback at the next level that would share carries with a scat back now that most NFL teams have two back systems.

Its ridiculous to think these guys with great hands don't have any speed. In order to catch the ball you usually to get separation to get open, unless its a jump ball, both Pitta and White possess the speed to get open. White was last timed at 4.52 which is not slow. Looking at his college highlights Id say he looks more like a 4.4 guy if he trains hard enough for the combine.Edited by: dwid

 

[TwentyTwo]

I heard one of them mentioning speed being over-rated the WR position; were they refering to all ofthe affletes who can't catch a cold??

Still don't appreciatehow ex-RB Robert Smith (commenting for ESPN earlier this season) basically shunned Blair White saying "this guy is not fast at all"...but somehow he gets open??

LSU TE-Richard Dickson didn't have a better Sr. season numbers-wisefor a few reasons...no one else(back-up's) ever stepped up help block; so he had to block more; inconsistent QB + he had a dinged ankle...he'sa good athlete &plays with an attitude/toughness..interesting prospect at FB/H-Back...BTW I second that motion...he was NOT out-of-bounds!!

At 6'-5" 270 Nathan Overby is an intruiging prospect..similar measurables to NYGiant TE-Kevin Boss...should enjoy sucess on the next level!Edited by: TwentyTwo

 

[dwid]

They mentioned speed was overrated when they were talking about Freddie Barnes, an afflete that runs in the 4.6 range. Somehow speed is overrated for someone like him but they didn't say it for Blair White, who they claimed lacked speed when he ran a 4.52. Like I said earlier I think Blair White could even get in the 4.4 range.

Barnes was not invited to the combine so we will not see his true speed during his pro day. McShay seemed to think he was a better prospect than someone like Blair White who was invited to the combine.

Somehow 40 yard times only hurt a receiver's NFL future only if he is White. Mike Hass ran a 4.6 had around the same stats as Barnes but Hass played in a much better conference (Pac 10 compared to the MAC), and Hass averaged 17 yards per catch while Barnes averaged 11 yards per catch. When an afflete runs a time like this they say "watch the tape and you can see that he can play"Edited by: dwid

 

[JReb1]

The 40 yard dash time was used to discriminate against White athletes but the problem with that is White athletes are now (probably always were but the Caste system can no longer hide these times) running the same 40 times and even faster than most blacks "speedsters." A 40 time can be trained for to make a difference of anywhere between 2-4 tenths of a second which will only makes the athlete look better on paper, having ZERO effect in an actual game. 40 Speed is WAY overrated at WR because the position is all about timing, cutting, leverage and having "sure" hands which Whites seem to have an advantage over most of the so-called black "speed" receivers...Edited by: JReb1

 

[sehornlives]

May Mayock seems to be unimpressed with Gerhart, Cooper & Shipley, does not have any of them in his top 5, unbelievable!

 

[celticdb15]

here's an article talking about Austin Rogers decision to go pro. http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2010/feb/14/knee-ok-but-rogers-decides-to-move-on/

 

[Don Wassall]

May Mayock seems to be unimpressed with Gerhart, Cooper & Shipley, does not have any of them in his top 5, unbelievable!

The only good thing I can remember Mayock ever doing is advocating for Brian Leonard to be a tailback. Other than that he's always been a Caste clown, drooling over "hip torque" and other magical qualities he believes only blacks possess.

 

[celticdb15]

Vote at www.draftdaddy.com and support some of our guys in their best 3wide recievers poll.

 

[Don Wassall]

Checking in with Blair White

Blair White likened his NFL Combine experience to a glorified job interview.

White, a former MSU wide receiver who has been training in Irvine, Calif., for the NFL Draft in April, recently participated in the combine this past weekend, an experience White said he thought went well.
"It was a good experience. I like to call it the most unique interview in the world,"Â￾ White said. "It was a job interview and it went well, I think. You just kind of go with the flow and everything worked out well."Â￾
White was considered a top performer in several drills. He was the fastest wide receiver in the 20-yard shuttle, running the drill in 4.03 seconds. He ran the 60-yard shuttle in 11.07 seconds, which was second best among receivers. He did 18 bench press reps, which was sixth among receivers. He ran the 3-cone drill in 6.69 seconds, good for third among receivers.
Despite some of these performances, White said his overall performance was "average."Â￾
"I thought I was just average. I've been training and I had been running a little bit faster and so I kind of expected to run faster than a 4.5 (40-yard dash),"Â￾ White said. "My shuttles were alright and my vertical was a little down, which was disappointing. I feel like that was just a matter of warming up properly. I didn't do that. Overall I would say average. The interviews went well, I think. Everything else went pretty well."Â￾
White said he has heard various opinions about him from scouts. He has been told he could go anywhere from the third round to not being drafted.in April.
"I've heard a lot of things,"Â￾ White said. "I think the most important thing is focusing on working hard and controlling the things that I can control. I think that's the best thing I can do because when you're worrying about all those things, you kind of lose track of what you're trying to do and it makes it that much tougher."Â￾
White said he will be participating in MSU's pro day on March 17 and he is excited to return to campus.
"I haven't even been in Michigan for more than two months,"Â￾ White said. "It'll be nice, minus the weather. The weather is kind of nice back here but it will be nice to get back and see some people. I'm excited."Â￾
http://www.statenews.com/index.php/blog/msu_football_blog/2010/03/checking_in_with_blair_white Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[whiteathlete33]

Despite running a good 40 time of 4.63, putting up 27 reps on the bench press and having a very respectable 34 inch vertical Pitta isn't considered to be the best tight end this year. Many of these idiot scouting services were concerned about his athleticism which he addressed with his Combine performance. He's also the all time NCAA reception yards leader for tight ends. Jermaine Gresham ran a slower 40 time of 4.73 but is considered the best tight end this year. What a bunch of baloney.

 

[itsme]

Blair White ran about a 4.4-second 40-yard dash, an improvement from his 4.5-second performance at the Combine, which was from Feb. 24 to March 2.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound White has been told by NFL teams that he is a possession receiver, but White has been working hard to prove he is an all-around, skilled receiver that will bring a lot to a team.

"I hear most of the time that I'm just a possession guy, and I think most of that is speed and the ability to go up and make a play on the ball,"Â￾ White said. "I'm just working to dispel that any way I can. I think running faster is definitely the first step in that."Â￾

White, who said scouts have told him he could be drafted as high as the third round or not at all, is hoping for the best come draft time.

http://statenews.com/index.php/article/2010/03/white_happy_with_pro_day_performance Edited by: itsme

 

[Don Wassall]

From Rotoworld: According to NFL Network's Mike Mayock, there are rumors that Arizona TE Rob Gronkowski is dealing with spinal stenosis. Redskins LT Chris Samuels played through spinal stenosis for years, but it ultimately caused him to retire prematurely. Gronkowski has been unable to work out at pre-draft events after missing nearly all of his final college season. Mayock predicts that he could slide to the top part of round three.

 

[Don Wassall]

Much racist stereotyping in this article previewing WRs by Dan Pompei

.

Eric Decker is merely a "dependable possession receiver" who "isn't a speed demon" and is comparable to Jordy Nelson. Riley Cooper has "deceptive speed" yet he too is only a "possession receiver" who could have a problem "creating separation." Does this Caste clown even look at film or just pull out these summaries of White receivers from biased articles he's written in the past?

Another game breaker, Jordan Shipley, is a "Wes Welker" type. Blair White, despite his 4.49 40 timeis another "possession receiver" who "doesn't play fast" and "is more consistent than he is flashy, but he finds ways to be productive." That's a key element of the Caste System and its accompanying propaganda:being "flashy" -- almost always a black thang--is considered more of an asset than being consistent, reliableand productive.

Chris McGaha also is found deficient in the area of "flashiness" -- "though he is not a flashy player, he is a dependable receiver who can come up with clutch catches."

Danny Boy, you're not flashy but you are "consistent" -- consistently biased and utterly predictable. I'm sure in the Chicago Tribune's roster of sports writers you're considered an overachiever with aslow-working but non-stop motor. . .

Article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/nfldraft/ct-spt-0411-web-wide-receivers-nfl-draft-20100410,0,3720722,full.column
Edited by: Don Wassall