Good morning from the first day of the NFL’s annual job fair – the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine. During the next couple of days we will be blogging live from the media center in effort to bring you the latest happenings as collegiate stars showcase their talents in front of over 600 NFL personnel including head coaches, general managers and scouts.
Feel free to shoot questions and I will do my best to answer them. Today in the media room we are expecting to see offensive lineman, kickers, punters and tight ends.
Workouts will be televised on NFL Network and to get more information on the event, visit NFL.com/combine.
10:25 a.m. EST We have been in the media room for the better part of two hours and all has been quiet on the player front. 49ers head coach Mike Singletary and Lions head coach Jim Schwartz have been holding court on both ends of the media room, but no prospects thus far.
11:11 a.m. EST And we have our first player – a punter from Southern Illinois’ Scott Revanesi. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
11:22 a.m. EST One of the shortest players at the combine, LSU’s Trindon Holliday has taken to the podium. At 5-foot-5, Holliday is one of the premier returner’s in this year’s draft. You think Darren Sproles is hard to find, this guy can disappear around blockers and would-be tacklers only to reappear in the endzone.
11:35 a.m. EST Michigan punter Zoltan Mesko has entered the press center. Mesko, who immigrated with his family to the United States from Romania at the age of 12, said he got into football after a kickball game in gym class. It seems his powerful left-foot rocketed a ball off a light, breaking it into several pieces. The gym teacher ran up to him and gave him two options, either pay for the light or come out for football. He chose the latter and as they say, the rest is history.
12:40 p.m. EST Baylor center J.D. Walton just spent some time with the gathered press. Most of the questions for Walton concerned his decision to transfer from Arizona St. to Baylor. Walton said that he got a little homesick and said part of it was being an 18 and away from home for the first time. Most draft pundits see Walton as a top-five center in the draft.
1:17 p.m. EST Two of the top tackle prospects have made their way to the media room. Rutgers’ Anthony Davis and Trent Williams from Oklahoma have reporters running back and forth trying to get a sound bite from each player. Williams took a large number of questions about Sam Bradford. Williams said that Bradford’s strongest asset is his leadership and said that when Bradford speaks, you listen.
2:27 p.m. EST The press center is starting to heat up with activity and the first local player has entered the room. CSU’s Cole Pemberton has taken to the tables just to my right. The former Ram is one of the biggest men we have seen thus far standing 6-foot-7. But the player who has the majority of the media attention is Idaho guard Mike Iupati. Iupati has rocketed up the draft charts after his standout performance at the Senior Bowl.
Also in the media room is former Loveland High School standout Jeff Byers. Byers said that he considers himself a center, but has the flexibility to play guard and like most is willing to play any position NFL coaches want him to play.
2:30 p.m. EST Iupati has been at the podium for at least 10 minutes with questions still rolling in. He has been very engaging and you can tell how excited he is of this opportunity. We will post a segment of his media session on the site tonight.
Iupati also had the line of the day thus far when he said, “I like to destroy people.” The comment true a laugh from the gathered media but only a sly smile from Iupati.
2:53 p.m. EST The first tight end has appeared and a good one at that, Rob Gronkowski from Arizona, who many consider the top tight end prospect. Gronkowski calls himself a “true tight end” with the ability to block and catch passes. He said that he will only do the bench press and go through the interview process while he is here.
3:33 p.m. EST Two of the top tackle prospects, Iowa’s Bryan Bulaga and Russell Okung from Oklahoma State just spent a few minutes in the press room. Bulaga said that last night he did some “speed dating” interviews meeting the about 10 teams and about 12 more tonight. He says that he is enjoying the process and the opportunity to show off his athleticism.
After those two walked out of the room, the press center has become pretty quiet. I think that rush of players has sent everyone back to their keyboards to began transcribing and writing. It is always an interesting grouping of media at the combine. Some NFL media, some college football writers and some who cover the draft exclusively.
5:00 p.m. EST Well looks like we are wrapping up day one. We will be back tomorrow as the quarterbacks, running back and wide receivers make their way to the media room at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Later tonight, Broncos TV will show the full press conference of Idaho offensive lineman Mike Iupati and some of the best sounds from today’s session.
Tags: NFL Scouting Combine
When is the coin flip for #10 or #11?
brian_schneider:
Coin flip is tomorrow (Friday) morning. We are trying to get an exact time, but we will let you know the results once it happens.
Trindon Holliday now that is a returner. I would love to pick him up in the late rounds. Let Royal focus on nothing but being a WR. Although I could very well just be LSU biased.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlX7F7EaXp4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1Q0vlN
What is all the chatter about Rolando McClain being the best ILB option in the draft?
hometeam007,who do you think is the top ILB in the draft Spikes???
Casey Hampton signed a deal with Pitt so he’s definitley off the market.
Lets hope this works.
I can’t wait to see all these hopefuls work out today.
Beware of the work out warrior. LOL
I want to hear about the buzz the Broncos are making about possible free agents, trades, re-signings or tags. Thank you for allowing the fans to get into the action. Real exciting to hear from you. Go Broncos!!!
wearemr:
Most of the buzz around here is draftcentric, but if we get word of anything like that we will be sure to pass it along.
Just to let you guys know we don’t flip the coin the bears get to flip it and may wanna sabotage us
Uh, Chaoticblaze? I’m pretty sure there’s no way to sabotage a coin flip, buddy. Unless you use a double-sided coin, which I’m reasonably sure the NFL will prevent from happening.
Peter Schrager has us taking Brandon Graham, Michigan DE/LB. Scout.com has us taking Dez Bryant. College Football News has us taking DE Carlos Dunlap, Florida. For some reason, I suspect it will be none of these. We’ve already seen that McDaniels is unpredictable in the draft.
Although I remember seeing a poster at foxsports last year say we’d take moreno- in January.
I think this is why chaoticblaze said that about the coin flip.
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_14466416
The article has a more interesting part about KM getting into a bar fight. And also suggests we may take ANOTHER punter late in the draft? I guess none here now are too impressive. A four punter competition.
Draft boards really don’t matter until after the combine and FA. But then again it doesn’t matter what the analysts say who we are gunna pick. It’s ultimately up to Xman and McD.
Also, some GMs already know who they want to pick in the draft in January. I guess you really don’t know unless you are on staff.
I think that guy that said those things about KM was just looking for his 15 minutes.
The guy probably deserved to get what he got because they closed the investigation and probably won’t bring any charges on KM. Only thing is he will probably be fined by the NFL for violating the personal conduct policy.
Combine. fun stuff. all i need is more football in my life lol. I hear today is the last day for tagging players. What does it mean in the grand scheme of things if neither Dumerville or Marshall are tagged?
I like Brandon graham but we need more help in the middle than on the outside in my opinion a (NT, DT or ILB). We never shoulda dropped kern, and never shoulda dropped Jack williams….
McBath is my fave draft from last year (like moreno too) and Alphonso and Ayers cant afford a sophmore slump this year since their freshman year wasnt all that. Sure could use that 1st round pick we spent on Alphonso now.
P.S: Miss Darrent Williams and the more I follow this court case the angrier and sadder I get. Such senseless violence…RIP Darrent
Im a little concerned about #27 and his involvement in an altercation at a bar.
Kyle,what’s your thoughts on Pouncey,and do you think we have a chance of drafting him in the 2nd round????
Does anybody know if Denver has put the franchise tag on a player?
BeastFromEast92-
I am very curious about Pouncey and have been looking forward to seeing him in person, but he has yet to show in the media room. I have heard a lot of teams like him, so he may not last to round two.
I saw the top 5 QB prospects and Jevan Snead’s name isnt on the list..is he entering the draft? I heard so much hype about at the beginning of the college season..if he has the arm, could he be a steal?
Orange_Crusher, I am with you.
What is going on with our big name players? Marshall, Orton, Dumervil?
Then I will know who to focus on in the combine and the draft.
Is this some kind of sadistic strategy for secrecy? Maybe other teams wont know if they should release thier players if they aren’t sure who will be available.
broncofanlvnm, I didn’t catch anything relating to the coin flip from that article. Maybe I got the wrong one. It wanted me to subscribe to Denver Post to see your link, so I had to navigate from the home page. Any help?
Actually, I know I got the wrong article. I can’t get to the one about the coin flip. What did it say?
Orange crusher I asked the same about tags….Denver is two hours behind from where i am so not much time has passed in the day. I guess we will find out soon.
Broncos20, yes snead is in the draft but Pike and lefevour have reason up the QB list so now the list stands, Clausen, Bradfor, Tebow, McCoy, with Lefevour and Pike tied at 5th. At least if i remember correctly. Lefevour did really well in senior bowl so his stock rose
or maybe not on SNead..sorry for the cut in post
…oh boy! finding immediate impact D-Linemen this year will be a lot difficult than I thought…the FAs wont be the answer considering all the moves that have been made…Marcus Spears from the Cowboys could be a good 3-4 end if he isnt resigned by them…Spears and Seymour on our D-line would’ve been awesome..IMO…
footballMANIAC,
Sorry, I forgot I was signed into premium at the DP when I posted that link. (You should really sign up for it, it’s free.) Here’s what it said about the coin flip:
“The Broncos need the Bears to get motivated. For if ever a team had reason to tank a coin flip, it’s the Bears.”
“As it currently sits, the Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars are tied for the No. 10 overall pick in the April 22-24 draft by virtue of their 7-9 records in 2009.”
“The Bears already traded their first-round pick to the Broncos as part of the Jay Cutler deal. Essentially, on Friday, the Bears will be flipping for the Broncos. Winner picks No. 10. Loser picks No. 11.”
I loved the comment by Iupati. “I like to destroy people.” I would like to see him doing that in a Denver Bronco uniform! What a pick up for OL he would be. Come on big guy. Come to Denver and destroy some people! LOL!
Seriously, Iupati may be the guy that is too good to pass on. I know we need that NT badly, but you never know what Xanders and McD are thinking. History already tells us that!
lvnm, I don’t know if you watched the Senior Bowl, but Iupati was a HUGE disappointment in it, he consistently got beat by guys way smaller than him, I mean he got leveled by guys nearly 50 lbs under his weight, I was not impressed at all. There is a lot of hype about him, but I think it will be tough for him to live up to it once he is up against the big boys in the NFL. Lots of body, very limited knowledge on how to use it, I am definitely not buying it as a first round pick.
i’m getting mixed messages..some say, and its on this post, that Iupati was a standout at the senior bowl week, but Baylin you see it differ….I never saw the bowl game…
i have seen his highlights though, he was as he said it” destroying other players”….still his measures for a guard are pretty much too good to pass up, along with Pouncey….those two with Kuper, Clady and Harris, maybe Olsen could be the best o-line for years…IMO
Great, then how do we stop the run?
if you cant get a top notch NT, upgrade DEs and MLB
I was just playing with you since you are so set up on having this great O line, I would like to take care of the D line FIRST, just saying. Let’s not waste our 1st pick on O again, PLEASE…
We need to go Williams , Cody or McClain with our first, somebody to help us stop our biggest deficiency, stopping the run, not an O lineman just because this website is chosing to post his combine interview here, makes no sense at all.
with our biggest deficiency
we got to start somewhere. And no matter what someone will say it is wrong.
IMHO I think it has already started with a new DC. it may have been the only spot that hurt the D the last 10 games. think about it , why was he let go the day after the season ended? why is he not a HC then or now?
McD will pick the best player on the board at the time, in his oppinion. And that comes from the help of others, like coaches and scouts. who ever he picks up in FA or the draft there will be someone calling for his head, other than the some one(s).
My gut feeling tells me he will go D with the first pick this time, unless it’s a QB.
Thanks for the response:) What was the most interesting thing to you, today? look forward to your resonse.
Rolando McClain, Dan Williams or Dez Bryant. Right now those are the 3 most likley to be drafted by the Broncos at the 10/11 pick. But Bryant is only there if Marshall is dealt away.
Me personally? I like McClain cuz with him and DJ in the middle we have 2 tackling, hustling machines in the middle. Andra Davis has been good but a youth upgrade isnt a bad thing. Plus Davis can teach him too. i dont see Greisen staying and Woodyard, Larsen got significantly less playing time last year.
Williams is looking pretty sweet too cuz Ronald Fields isnt the youngest of players and he can be taught NT from the start, unlike Powell and Thomas were these last couple years.
Corey Wootton out of Northwestern looks like a solid 3-4 DE prospect in the second round too. He has size, athletisism, strength and production. We could go guard in rounds 3 or 4 and maybe 7
baylinorcrush -
Please don’t read anything into who’s video we post on the site. Each day a different position group comes through the media room. Today it was offensive line, tight ends and specialists. We chose Iupati because he was the most compelling interview of the day. Tomorrow the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers make their way to the interview room and we will post some of their media sessions.
Kyle, thanks for the feedback, I personally didn’t read anything in what he had to say (talk is cheap), but obviously he made a big impression on others so I just pointed it out. Keep up the good work. Please, let us know tomorrow about the coin toss as soon as you find out, thanks.
bay,
I really think we should get the DL (especially NT) and I too like Dan Williams, but the fact is we need OL help still also and all I was saying is you never know what pick McD and Xanders will come out with. Also, I think some people are placing too much emphasis on how players did in the Senior Bowl. Granted it is the best of the college seniors, but you have to consider that they have never played together before and are learning a different schemes, etc. Anyway I gotta go to work now.
ahah,,,true Bay,,by no means was i implying a dire need for a O-lineman to be first pick,,,just being amazed by the measureables…which are always enticing…lol
what happened to Cody? it was him being mentioned a while ago…now its all Dan Williams…could he be dropping value over his weight?
Yeah, broncos20, that’s a fat fact, LOL, 370 lbs, gained like 20 lbs between his last game and the Senior Bowl, a world record I think, LOL. About Iupati, if you really want him you would have to get him with the first pick, he wouldn’t last until the middle of the second, IMO.
I hear you lvnm, no one knows but the big wigs, we can only wish, and we do need help at both the O line and D line, but now that all the NT FA are gone, it really seems like it pushes our hand to Williams, that’s what Im’ hoping anyway.
I’m with Baylin on this one.We need to get Williams,McClain,or Cody,to help stop the other teams from running it down our throats.If we end up with McClain,I can live with it,but I prefer a NT.McClain can help against the run though,he’s a 250 lb stout LB.Plus Doom,Davis,and Haggan need to brush up on pass coverage,we got killed with those short passes over the middle last season.
Kyle,thanks for the info keep it coming.Like to know what you think about us taking a NT in the 1st round.
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