26 FCS Invitees To 2015 NFL Combine

[Aho Old Guy]

Quarterbacks
Bryan Bennett (throwing QB), Southeastern Louisiana
Jerry Lovelocke (throwing QB), Prairie View A&M

Running Backs
John Crockett, North Dakota State
David Johnson, Northern Iowa
Gus Johnson, Stephen F. Austin
Ross Scheuerman, Lafayette
Tyler Varga, Yale
Zach Zenner, South Dakota State

Wide Receivers
Dezmin Lewis, Central Arkansas
Tre McBride, William & Mary

Tight Ends
MyCole Pruitt, Southern Illinois
Nick Boyle, Delaware

Offensive Linemen
Chad Hamilton (OT), Coastal Carolina
Robert Myers (OG), Tennessee State

Defensive Linemen
Ryan Delaire (DE), Towson
Kyle Emanuel (DE), North Dakota State
Zach Hodges (DE), Harvard
Derrick Lott (DT), Tennessee-Chattanooga
Deon Simon (NT), Northwestern State
Lynden Trail (DE), Norfolk State
Davis Tull (DE), Tennessee-Chattanooga
Zack Wagenmann (DE), Montana

Linebackers
None

Defensive Backs
Dean Marlowe (FS), James Madison
Tevin McDonald (SS), Eastern Washington
Tye Smith (CB), Towson

Specialists
Kyle Loomis (P), Portland State


The combine begins February 17th. Congrats to all!

[dal4018]

Quarterbacks
Bryan Bennett (throwing QB), Southeastern Louisiana
Jerry Lovelocke (throwing QB), Prairie View A&M

Running Backs
John Crockett, North Dakota State
David Johnson, Northern Iowa
Gus Johnson, Stephen F. Austin
Ross Scheuerman, Lafayette
Tyler Varga, Yale
Zach Zenner, South Dakota State

Wide Receivers
Dezmin Lewis, Central Arkansas
Tre McBride, William & Mary

Tight Ends
MyCole Pruitt, Southern Illinois
Nick Boyle, Delaware

Offensive Linemen
Chad Hamilton (OT), Coastal Carolina
Robert Myers (OG), Tennessee State

Defensive Linemen
Ryan Delaire (DE), Towson
Kyle Emanuel (DE), North Dakota State
Zach Hodges (DE), Harvard
Derrick Lott (DT), Tennessee-Chattanooga
Deon Simon (NT), Northwestern State
Lynden Trail (DE), Norfolk State
Davis Tull (DE), Tennessee-Chattanooga
Zack Wagenmann (DE), Montana

Linebackers
None

Defensive Backs
Dean Marlowe (FS), James Madison
Tevin McDonald (SS), Eastern Washington
Tye Smith (CB), Towson

Specialists
Kyle Loomis (P), Portland State


The combine begins February 17th. Congrats to all!

Great to see Lovelocke's name on this list.He was highly recruited coming out of high school he has excellent size 6-5 235 surprising mobility.Trail is a hybrid he can play OLB as well.

[Ivytalk]

Good to see Varga and Hodges on the list. Ivy players of the year.

[JohnStOnge]

I'm going to be interested in seeing what Zenner's 40 time is. When you watch him play he seems to be pretty darned fast. And that includes when he played against BCS league teams. It'll be interesting.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6qfjsPMMao[/youtube]

[dal4018]

Tre McBride clocked a 4.41(40) among top 10 at WR position.

[dal4018]

Crockett 4.62 NDSU ,G.Johnson SF Austin 4.70,D.Johnson Northern Iowa 4.50 Z.Zenner SDSU 4.61,Dezmin Lewis 4.58.

[clenz]

DJ also had 41.5 vert and 10'7 broad jump

[dal4018]

DJ also had 41.5 vert and 10'7 broad jump

Very impressive.

[dal4018]

Listening to ESPN 98.7 (NY)sports radio positive thoughts on Dezmin Lewis he caught everything in his radius his 4.55 was good enough according to Phil Savage ex-GM Cleveland Browns.

[Willie]

Wagenmann did pretty well, minus his 14 reps on the bench.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

Wagenmann did pretty well, minus his 14 reps on the bench.

Wonder if he had some kind of problem, the rest of his numbers looked good.

[HI54UNI]

Good article on UNI's David Johnson.

The 2015 running back class is deep and talented. Players such as Georgia's Todd Gurley and Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon are in consideration to become first-round selections. Yet, an unheralded prospect from the Northern Iowa Panthers displays the type of talent that could make him into an impact player from Day 1 and eventually develop into a true workhorse for his team.

David Johnson may not elicit the same type of response as the aforementioned prospects, but his draft stock continued to rise at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. Plus, Johnson may represent a far superior value for a team compared to those backs being considered in the first two rounds.

Using Bill Barnwell's Speed Score metric, which incorporates weight into 40 evaulation, the best RBs were Karlos Williams & David Johnson.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) February 21, 2015

Johnson's time was actually faster than the more highly touted Gordon, who weighed nine pounds less in Indianapolis.



Full article

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2369 ... cebook.com

[JohnStOnge]

Crockett 4.62 NDSU ,G.Johnson SF Austin 4.70,D.Johnson Northern Iowa 4.50 Z.Zenner SDSU 4.61,Dezmin Lewis 4.58.

I'm genuinely surprised that Zenner's time wasn't faster. Like, I think obviously Zenner appeared to be the biggest home run threat in the MVC. Like the playoff game this past season against Montana State. He had TD runs of 45, 60, and 69 yard runs along with a 69 yard TD on a play that was catching a short pass then running. The guy just seemed to almost always be breaking off long TD plays.

I knew Johnson is more of a pro prospect and I think I could see why. But I'm surprised he has that much better a 40 time than Zenner.

[clenz]

You didn't watch DJ much then

[Grizalltheway]

Kinda sorta related, former Griz QB Jordan Johnson signed with the Ottawa Redblacks today.

Hope he does well, but I'd also love to see him back with the program in some capacity before too long.

[dal4018]

Crockett 4.62 NDSU ,G.Johnson SF Austin 4.70,D.Johnson Northern Iowa 4.50 Z.Zenner SDSU 4.61,Dezmin Lewis 4.58.

I'm genuinely surprised that Zenner's time wasn't faster. Like, I think obviously Zenner appeared to be the biggest home run threat in the MVC. Like the playoff game this past season against Montana State. He had TD runs of 45, 60, and 69 yard runs along with a 69 yard TD on a play that was catching a short pass then running. The guy just seemed to almost always be breaking off long TD plays.

I knew Johnson is more of a pro prospect and I think I could see why. But I'm surprised he has that much better a 40 time than Zenner.

If I were the coach would have encouraged him to run Track&Field to better his chances in the combine or maybe lose 10 lbs.

[polsongrizz]

Wagenmann did pretty well, minus his 14 reps on the bench.

That surprised the hell out of me...

[JohnStOnge]

You didn't watch DJ much then

I probably watched games on TV involving DJ MORE than I watched games involving Zenner. The reason I developed the impression of Zenner as a home run hitter is I kept seeing highlights of him breaking off long runs. If I saw highlights of DJ doing that at all (can't remember if I ever did) it certainly wasn't nearly as often. I don't know where one would go to find a stat on something like, say, runs over 50 yards. But just because I was always seeing highlights of Zenner doing that I think it's reasonable to think he did it more than DJ did.

Don't get me wrong. When I did watch Northern Iowa play on TV DJ looked very athletic and fluid. Very impressive. But I just didn't come away after the careers of him and Zenner as thinking he had as many "home run" type plays as Zenner did. Not even close.

Maybe somebody knows where to find stats on that.

[JohnStOnge]

Here's something I think is consistent with me having the impression that Zenner was more of a home run hitter in college than David Johnson was.

In 2014 Zenner averaged 6.0 yards per carry and had a long of 94. Johnson averaged 5.4 yards per carry with a long of 73.

In 2013 Zenner averaged 5.7 yards per carry with a long of 87. Johnson averaged 5.8 yards per carry with a long of 85.

In 2012 Zenner averaged 6.8 yards per carry with a long of 99. Johnson averaged 5.7 yards per carry with a long of 77.

In 2011 Zenner averaged 4.4 yards per carry with a long of 45. Johnson averaged 4.6 yards per carry with a long of 63.

Zenner averaged 6.0 yards per carry during his college career and Johnson averaged 5.4 yards per carry during his college career.

So Zenner had a notably higher yards per carry average over his career and had at least three runs longer than the longest run of Johnson's career. Very consistent with the perception that, as a matter of what actually happened. Zenner was functionally more of a "home run" type back than Johnson was while the two were in college. Also I think the two played comparable schedules each year.

And yes I know Johnson was also a kick returner who had at least one long kickoff return for a TD (98 yards I think) but I'm talking about from scrimmage.

Nothing against Johnson. I did see him play on TV a number of times and he's very athletic. Very smooth. And I think he's very dangerous as a pass receiver. I'm just saying I'm surprised Zenner didn't run a faster time given how he tended to make a lot of explosive plays. To me when you are doing things like getting a 99 yard TD run against a Big 12 team without anybody catching you you've got to be able to run. It was Kansas but that's still a team that's probably got more overall talent than any FCS team does. 99 yards is a long way to go without somebody catching you.

[clenz]

Do me a favor... Pull the conference only numbers for the two...include all numbers.

Pull all purpose numbers for all games.

Then pull numbers for DJ against NDSU, SDSU, ISUR, and SIU and same for ZZ but against UNI over the years. Basically, the good defenses.

You'll quickly see ZZ FEASTED on weak teams and struggled against good defenses

[clenz]

I can point it very specific games to see DJs speed as well, if you'd like.

Go watch the film of ZZs 99 harder. It was against a 1 high gl defense with a home big enough he didn't have to make a cut and the safety you a terrible angle.

You weren't watching very closely if you thought ZZ was faster.

ZZ had to rub full speed all of the time to make a play. SJ could go 70 percent speed and make the plays because he understood lanes, angles and cuts

[JohnStOnge]

Ok Clenz I did something along the lines of what you suggested and to me it just makes my case stronger. First I looked at how Zenner and Johnson did against common opponents this past season. I also looked at how each did against their "Big 5" FBS foe.

They each played seven games against teams the other played. Six common teams: Illinois State, Missouri State, Indiana State, Western Illinois, South Dakota, and North Dakota State. Northern Iowa played Illinois State twice and South Dakota State played North Dakota State twice. I think the "double plays" are pretty close to a wash as Illinois State finished 18th in FCS rushing defense at 121.5 yards per game while North Dakota State finished 22nd at 125.4 yards per game.

Against those common opponents Zenner averaged 5.6 yards per carry (165 carries for 923 yards) while Johnson averaged 4.8 yards per carry (173 carries for 835 yards). Also, Zenner had at least two runs longer than any run Johnson had against those opponents. That's because Johnson's longest "long run" for any game against those teams was 44 yards while Zenner's long against Indiana State was 94 yards and his long against Western Illinois was 67 yards. Zenner had a better average against Illinois State at 5.3 yards per carry vs. Johnson's 3.8. Johnson did better against North Dakota State at 4.9 yards per carry to Zenner's 4.7. But as you can see it was close. Overall Zenner had a better yards per carry average against four of the six common opponents. Also, the highest yards per carry for Johnson was 6.6 against Missouri State. Zenner averaged 7.8 yards per carry against Western Illinois and 7.1 yards per carry against Indiana State.

Now to the "Big 5" opponents: Zenner had a 75 yard run against Missouri to help him average 6.1 yards per carry (17 for 103) against Missouri; which ended up at 27th in FBS rushing defense, won the SEC East, and finished 11-3 overall. Johnson averaged 2.6 yards per carry (13 for 34) with a long run of 8 yards against an Iowa team that finished 64th in FBS rush defense, placed 4th in the Big 10 West, and ended the season at 7-6.

So your assumption that Zenner ran up big numbers against weak opponents so that Johnson looks better by comparison when strength of opposition is taken into account just doesn't work. Zenner had longer runs and averaged more yards per carry against common opponents. He also did a lot better against South Dakota State's "Big 5" opponent than Johnson did against Northern Iowa's "Big 5" opponent even though South Dakota State's "Big 5" opponent was clearly a better team with a better run defense than Northern Iowa's "Big 5" opponent was.

I know Johnson is a better pro prospect. But Zenner really was functionally a bigger home run threat running the football during college and after breaking it down against common opponents as well as "Big 5" foes, in order to respond to your post I don't even really think it's that close between him and Johnson in that regard. For whatever reason Zenner was just more likely to rip off really long runs.

Now if you're going to ask me who the better receiver out of the backfield is I don't think THAT'S close either and I don't feel I have to even look it up because when I've seen Johnson play that really jumped out. The guy is an almost impossible matchup out of the backfield and he's got great hands as well as a "sense" for running routes.

[JohnStOnge]

Here's another one that makes the point.

Zenner played in four games against what we now call "Big 5" conference teams during his career (2011 Illinois, 2012 Kansas, 2013 Nebraska, 2014 Missouri). Johnson played in five games like that (2011 Iowa State, 2012 Wisconsin, 2012 Iowa, 2013 Iowa State, 2014 Iowa).

Zenner did a LOT better against that caliber of competition in terms of running the football. In the four games he had 66 carries for 499 yards and a sparkling 7.6 yards per carry average. He had a long run of 99 yards against Kansas, a long of 40 yards against Nebraska, and a long of 75 yards against Missouri.

Johnson gained 364 yards in 70 carries for a 5.2 yards per carry average in his five games against "Big 5" teams. And the thing that really stands out with respect to what we're talking about is that his longest run during any of the five games was 37 yards (Iowa State 2013). In his other four games, his long runs were for 15, 8, 12, and 8 yards.

I'm sorry Clenz. Zenner, for whatever reason, was CLEARLY more of a "home run" threat running the ball than Johnson was. He just was. We can look at 40 times all we want but when you lay out what the two actually did during their college days running the football Zenner just clearly was more likely to pop off big runs. And the argument that it was just because he did that against weak competition just doesn't hold water.

[kalm]

I can point it very specific games to see DJs speed as well, if you'd like.

Go watch the film of ZZs 99 harder. It was against a 1 high gl defense with a home big enough he didn't have to make a cut and the safety you a terrible angle.

You weren't watching very closely if you thought ZZ was faster.

ZZ had to rub full speed all of the time to make a play. SJ could go 70 percent speed and make the plays because he understood lanes, angles and cuts

Did you drink another bottle of rum?