Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
The Cardinals' ties to Pennsylvania are numerous and very significant. What better place could there be to start a rebirth? As we know, the Cardinals really need to ring that bell over the next 10 days.
As I look at the list of draft prospects with Pennsylvania ties, several players stand out. Perhaps, no one more than Temple's Haason Reddick (6-1, 237). How symbolic would it be for BA to draft this highly regarded Temple Owl? Reddick's story heading into the draft is phenomenal -- he broke his leg as a junior in high school -- tore up his knee as a senior -- ruining any chance he had at a D1 scholarship--- so he walked on at Temple and there were no scholarships for him even after his redshirt year. It got so tenuous that his mom had to take out a loan just to provide Haason with a meal ticket, so he could eat with the other players. But once he got his chance, Reddick pounced and never looked back, starting out as a CB and then emerging as a pass rushing OLB.
Another great story is the story of Villanova's Tanoh Kpassagnon (6-7, 285). Tanoh's mother is a chemist from Uganda and his father is an economist from the Ivory Coast and all they ever wanted their son to do was play soccer and, most importantly, excel in school. Thus, Tanoh hadn't thought much about playing football until he attended a camp at Villanova, where he turned heads by running a 4.74 40. Villanova offered him a football scholarship on the spot -- which only pleased his mother in the sense that her son could enroll in one of the nation's best business schools. Not only has Tanoh excelled on the football field, he has established quite a name for himself in the business school, and in fact, delivered a powerpoint presentation in finance that wowed an entire convention of college business students and professors.
And the third Philly area prospect who has come out of absolutely nowhere and into prominent consideration as a late Day 2 or early Day 3 draft pick is St. Francis' Lorenzo Jerome (5-10, 202). So. how does a player from the Division 1 FCS Northeast Conference who plays against the likes of Robert Morris and Fairleigh Dickinson, make it all the way to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama? Well, despite lacking ideal prototypical size, Jerome is like a thief in the night in the secondary. He picked off 18 passes at St. Francis and then he got invited to play in the Collegiate Bowl where he picked off two passes on his way to becoming defensive MVP, and then was promptly invited to the Senior Bowl where he once again picked off two passes and even forced a fumble. While Jermome runs in the 4.5s...he plays with tremendous anticipation and has the hips to change direction on a dime.
Other Intriguing Pennsylvania School Prospects:
* Julie'n Davenport, T, Bucknell. At 6-7, 310 and with 36" inch arms and an 87.5" wingspan, Davenport has elite size and length. Coming from a small school, he will need time to develop his technique, but the physical talent is impressive.
* Nathan Peterman, QB, Pittsburgh. One of the more accurate, pro-style QBs in the draft.
* Chris Godwin, WR, Penn St. One of the best route runners in the draft. Smooth and sure handed.
* Dorian Johnson, G, Pittsburgh. Big, athletic 6-5, 300 pound mauler.
* James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh. Bruising runner and sneaky good receiver.
* Dion Dawkins, G/T, Temple. Could play RT or RG. Imposing strength and aggressiveness.
* Ejuan Price, OLB, Pittsburgh. Small in height, but is tenacious edge rusher.
* Brandon Bell, LB, Penn St. Always around the ball. Very good tackler.
* Jordan Morgan, G, Kutztown St. Small school mauler. Super sleeper.
* Garrett Sickels, OLB, Penn St. Feisty pass rusher. A real gamer.
* Garry Brown, WR, California (PA). Sleeper with nice combination of speed and hands.
* Scott Orndorff, TE, Pittsburgh. 6-5 258 solid blocker and receiver.
* Alex Torgerson, QB, Pennsylvania. Highly efficient, smart and disciplined.
As I look at the list of draft prospects with Pennsylvania ties, several players stand out. Perhaps, no one more than Temple's Haason Reddick (6-1, 237). How symbolic would it be for BA to draft this highly regarded Temple Owl? Reddick's story heading into the draft is phenomenal -- he broke his leg as a junior in high school -- tore up his knee as a senior -- ruining any chance he had at a D1 scholarship--- so he walked on at Temple and there were no scholarships for him even after his redshirt year. It got so tenuous that his mom had to take out a loan just to provide Haason with a meal ticket, so he could eat with the other players. But once he got his chance, Reddick pounced and never looked back, starting out as a CB and then emerging as a pass rushing OLB.
Another great story is the story of Villanova's Tanoh Kpassagnon (6-7, 285). Tanoh's mother is a chemist from Uganda and his father is an economist from the Ivory Coast and all they ever wanted their son to do was play soccer and, most importantly, excel in school. Thus, Tanoh hadn't thought much about playing football until he attended a camp at Villanova, where he turned heads by running a 4.74 40. Villanova offered him a football scholarship on the spot -- which only pleased his mother in the sense that her son could enroll in one of the nation's best business schools. Not only has Tanoh excelled on the football field, he has established quite a name for himself in the business school, and in fact, delivered a powerpoint presentation in finance that wowed an entire convention of college business students and professors.
And the third Philly area prospect who has come out of absolutely nowhere and into prominent consideration as a late Day 2 or early Day 3 draft pick is St. Francis' Lorenzo Jerome (5-10, 202). So. how does a player from the Division 1 FCS Northeast Conference who plays against the likes of Robert Morris and Fairleigh Dickinson, make it all the way to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama? Well, despite lacking ideal prototypical size, Jerome is like a thief in the night in the secondary. He picked off 18 passes at St. Francis and then he got invited to play in the Collegiate Bowl where he picked off two passes on his way to becoming defensive MVP, and then was promptly invited to the Senior Bowl where he once again picked off two passes and even forced a fumble. While Jermome runs in the 4.5s...he plays with tremendous anticipation and has the hips to change direction on a dime.
Other Intriguing Pennsylvania School Prospects:
* Julie'n Davenport, T, Bucknell. At 6-7, 310 and with 36" inch arms and an 87.5" wingspan, Davenport has elite size and length. Coming from a small school, he will need time to develop his technique, but the physical talent is impressive.
* Nathan Peterman, QB, Pittsburgh. One of the more accurate, pro-style QBs in the draft.
* Chris Godwin, WR, Penn St. One of the best route runners in the draft. Smooth and sure handed.
* Dorian Johnson, G, Pittsburgh. Big, athletic 6-5, 300 pound mauler.
* James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh. Bruising runner and sneaky good receiver.
* Dion Dawkins, G/T, Temple. Could play RT or RG. Imposing strength and aggressiveness.
* Ejuan Price, OLB, Pittsburgh. Small in height, but is tenacious edge rusher.
* Brandon Bell, LB, Penn St. Always around the ball. Very good tackler.
* Jordan Morgan, G, Kutztown St. Small school mauler. Super sleeper.
* Garrett Sickels, OLB, Penn St. Feisty pass rusher. A real gamer.
* Garry Brown, WR, California (PA). Sleeper with nice combination of speed and hands.
* Scott Orndorff, TE, Pittsburgh. 6-5 258 solid blocker and receiver.
* Alex Torgerson, QB, Pennsylvania. Highly efficient, smart and disciplined.
