Senior Bowlin’ and the Rise of Raji
We’re three days into practices for the Senior Bowl and also getting our first real picture of how the draft will shape up. The NFL scouts, GMs and other team personnel that convene in Mobile love two things above all: getting excited over young male bodies and telling everyone they can find about it.
And with this comes the first too-completely-hawt-to-miss board-climber of 2009: Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji. The All-Big East product was previously pegged anywhere from the low-teens to the mid-twenties but is suddenly looking like a top 10 pick.
Here he is feasting on Notre Dame:
There are two more days of practice, the actual game, the combine and then finally, the Wonderlic hilarity wave, so there is certain to be many more risers and fallers in the days to come, but for now at least, Raji is looking like the first OMG prospect of this draft.
But you’re reading a Buckeye blog, so you want to know how Robo and Freeman are looking and well, that depends. Carlos "Big C" Holmes of the Dayton Daily News checks in from Mobile and says Freeman is opening eyes:
It was evident that Freeman caught some evaluators off-guard with his athleticism and versatility. One member of the Buffalo Bills’ scouting staff called him a very intriguing prospect. That scout was not alone. Freeman interviewed with a boatload of teams Sunday, Jan. 18, that included Dallas, Miami, Washington, Minnesota and Denver.
On Robo:
He didn’t get tangled up once in his shoelace-skinny legs. They actually provided him with the balance of a tightrope walker and the graceful speed of a gazelle. I think he surprised defenders when he blew by them. Robiskie is not known for his speed but did show that he can stretch the field.
This guy might be my new favorite writer. But is the Robo evaluation just a bit too kind. Yes, according to these guys:
Monday Practice Notes: Clearly the former Buckeye is not the fastest or quickest receiver, but he had a very solid day all around. Ran good routes, and the inconsistency seen with his hands late in Ohio State’s season was not apparent today. Also doubled as a punt returner.
Tuesday Practice Notes: Robiskie is sure handed but slow and does not stand out. He caught the ball well but was unable to shake defenders out of breaks or down the field.
Wednesday Practice Notes: Robiskie made several nice catches today in traffic and showed reliable hands. No single aspect of his game sticks out.
They do have some nice things to say about Freeman, at least.
ESPN said Robiskie is the best route runner of all the receivers at the Senior Bowl. Glad to hear he and Freeman are doing well.
Call me Captain Obvious, but does it surprise ANYONE that the pro scouts noted: “He caught the ball well but was unable to shake defenders out of breaks or down the field.”
Clearly didn’t/couldn’t do this against Florida, LSU, USC, Penn State or any other upper-tier competition. He doesn’t have any explosiveness, which will be substantiated by what I project to be a pedestrian 40-time for a WR.. O/U = 4.6 (Dwayne Jarrett-style).
He’s a valuable possession receiver with good football instincts, but should never have been (or will be) a #1.
….but props to Freeman who’s performing well and looks good in a #55 uni…
Boston College is in the ACC now. Not like anyone can tell the two leagues apart.
“Big C” is a joke. None of his commentary is ever insightful – it all plays into what he thinks his dayton/ohio readers want to see.
That’s what I kind of gathered.
Big C is a reporter for the DDN. So he usually reports on things that interest people who read the DDN. Just as a Dispatch reporter wont usually write all his articles on the New York Yankees. He is also not an analyst, so most of his articles pertain to factual information and not opinion.
I live in the Dayton area and cant stand the DDN for the most part, but Big C is one of their more respectable writers. I tend to like to form my own opinions, and usually only give opinions of those who actually played the sport any credit.
I know who he is and where he works. A friend of mine used to work with him a couple years back and so I took note of his articles and checked his website a few times. And a lot of the time his “articles” look like they should be posted on a fan message board – not in a real newspaper.
Saying Freeman caught some evaluators off-guard? It’s the freaking Senior Bowl – not the Combine. I’d think most of us here would have expected Freeman to garner interest from most teams at this event. The girls at Ohio Stadium love their 33 jerseys, but we know #1 is a serious NFL prospect as well.
His remarks about Robo were similarly over-the-top. He panders to his audience – that is not real reporting.