So the draft concluded today with a few surprises for the Michigan Wolverines. From Jake Long as the #1 pick, to the controversy surrounding Manningham to the speculation over where Hart and Henne would fall, the Blue played a major role in drama of the 2008 draft. A few takes on these guys:
Chad Henne: The guy is going to be a very good quarterback if things fall his way, and I think they will. Without getting too far into the comparisons I just don’t understand how a guy like Flacco can be taken way ahead of Henne. Brohm and Ryan? Fine. Now I hear the scouts say Flacco’s arm is stronger (which is also hard to believe) but based on the solely on the four years of experience at Michigan I just don’t get it. I guess we’ll see.
Mario Manningham: He kind of lost me during the Wisconsin game this past fall. Bitching at Mallett and at times, seemingly dogging it…I just don’t have any patience for that. So when the drug stuff came down followed by the bite sized Wonderlic score, well, I just started to feel like the guy was getting a taste of what he deserved. He was projected as recently as today (the current ESPN rating) to go late first round and he ended up being the 14th WR taken – ouch.
Mike Hart: Must have been a tough day for Hart. I don’t know where he really thought he was going. I heard him on The Huge Show Friday on WTKA saying he was told late 2nd to 3rd round. In the end he was pretty close to not being drafted. Hart was the 21st running back taken, obviously teams didn’t give much weight to his status as the all-time Wolverine rusher.
The Colts get a tough guy, a great leader and a warrior. The dude has made a career out of proving people wrong about his abilities so now he gets to do it on the big stage. I’ve heard all the knocks on the guy and obviously size and speed are huge. A lot of it has to do with the size of NFL rosters. While I’m sure a lot of teams would be willing to take a chance on a guy like this given room on the team, a back up running back in the NFL needs to do something on special teams to earn a spot. There are questions there for Hart. Again, we’ll see. He gets into a good situation in Indianapolis.
Adrian Arrington: Man, this guy barely got drafted and really rolled the dice by leaving early. He was just a few picks away from Mr. Irrelevant and may live the real life version of that role if he can’t get out of training camp. I hope he does. He’s a guy that seemingly turned it around after getting on the wrong path and wanted to take his shot at the big time after a highly productive game in the Capital One bowl. He’s got a tough road now.
5 Comments
Chris
I just don’t understand all those no name RB’s going ahead of Hart. Hart has played on the big stage for 4 years, and he’s done it against some of the best defenses in College Football. How about his machine like grip on the ball!!?? Three fumbles in 4 years!!?? Are you kidding me? I just don’t get it, what else does he need to do? I suppose it’s good for him because, like you said, he loves a challenge and he loves it when people count him out. Dude, totally with you on the Flacco thing. That guy wouldn’t even be able to hang with Anthony Morelli in the Big Ten, how’s he going to fair in the NFL?
andrew
I would guess that the whole “wear and tear” thing probably was a factor. Scouts don’t like small guys with a ton of carries. Not saying it’s right, but it seems to be a fairly universal perspective.
As for Flacco, I do recall that he won the longest throw competition in the college all-star challenge (or whatever it’s called). Henne was 2nd, about 3 yards short of Flacco’s throw. Not a big deal, but enough to make scouts drool, i guess. I suppose he did well at the combine, too.
Webmaster
Andrew, on size, there’s no doubt about that. We’ve just seen smaller backs succeed in the NFL, that’s all. I read on SI.com today that the average size of Miami’s 9 draft choices is 6-3, 274.
Jenna
Hart needs to take a new tack — humility.
Some of his classic quotesL
“There’s nothing special about that defense.”
“You want to beat Ohio State. I got one more year left. I’m going to get them next year.”
“You know, but if we played them again, it would be a whole different game. Guarantee that.”
Just like Henne, Manningham and Arrington, his NFL number (if he makes the Colts) should be:
0-4.
Michael Tilmann
It is great to see these athletes make the big league! Looking forward to seeing what this fall brings! Go Blue!