Noteworthy 2014 NFL Draft picks

Tag: Sammy Watkins


11May 2014
Uncategorized 2 comments

Noteworthy 2014 NFL Draft picks

Demetrius Hart (left) and Ha’Sean Clinton-Dix as high school teammates. Clinton-Dix was the #21 overall pick
while Demetrius Hart has struggled with injuries and off-the-field issues (image via Orlando Sun-Sentinel)

I have done my best to list as many relevant players for Michigan fans as possible using NFL.com’s Draft Tracker. Some of these players were offered by Michigan, so you may remember watching their high school highlights or hoping they would sign with Michigan three to five years ago. Some of them also attended Big Ten schools, so you may remember watching them frequently during the last three to five years.

All of them have accomplished a great feat, and special congratulations go to the guys highlighted in blue. Go Blue!

1st round:
1. Jadeveon Clowney – DE – South Carolina (Houston Texans)*
2. Greg Robinson – OT – Auburn (St. Louis Rams)*
4. Sammy Watkins – WR – Clemson (Buffalo Bills)*
9. Anthony Barr – OLB – UCLA (Minnesota Vikings)*
11. Taylor Lewan – OT – Michigan (Tennessee Titans)*
15. Ryan Shazier – LB – Ohio State (Pittsburgh Steelers)*
16. Zack Martin – OT – Notre Dame (Dallas Cowboys)*
21. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix – S – Alabama (Green Bay Packers)*
24. Darqueze Dennard – CB – Michigan State (Cincinnati Bengals)
29. Dominique Easley – DE – Florida (New England Patriots)*
31. Bradley Roby – CB – Ohio State (Denver Broncos)

2nd round:
37. Ra’Shede Hageman – DT – Minnesota (Atlanta Falcons)
39. Marqise Lee – WR – USC (Jacksonville Jaguars)*
41. Lamarcus Joyner – CB – Florida State (St. Louis Rams)*
44. Cyrus Kouandjio – OT – Alabama (Buffalo Bills)*
48. Timmy Jernigan – DT – Florida State (Baltimore Ravens)*
56. Cody Latimer – WR – Indiana (Denver Broncos)
57. Carlos Hyde – RB – Ohio State (San Francisco 49ers)
58. Stanley Jean-Baptiste – CB – Nebraska (New Orleans Saints)
59. Jack Mewhort – OT – Ohio State (Indianapolis Colts)
61. Allen Robinson – WR – Penn State (Jacksonville Jaguars)
63. Jarvis Landry – WR – LSU (Miami Dolphins)

3rd round:
65. C.J. Fiedorowicz – TE – Iowa (Houston Texans)
68. Dezmen Southward – S – Wisconsin (Atlanta Falcons)
71. Christian Kirksey – LB – Iowa (Cleveland Browns)
75. Tre Mason – RB – Auburn (St. Louis Rams)*
77. Chris Borland – LB – Wisconsin (San Francisco 49ers)
78. Spencer Long – OG – Nebraska (Washington Redskins)
83. Louis Nix III – DT – Notre Dame (Houston Texans)*
89. Chris Watt – OG – Notre Dame (San Diego Chargers)*
92. Trai Turner – OG – LSU (Carolina Panthers)*
95. Michael Schofield – OT – Michigan (Denver Broncos)*

4th round:
101. Jaylen Watkins – CB – Florida (Philadelphia Eagles)*
102. Bashaud Breeland – CB – Clemson (Washington Redskins)*
112. DaQuan Jones – DT – Penn State (Tennessee Titans)
115. Shaq Evans – WR – UCLA (New York Jets)*
117. Ka’Deem Carey – RB – Arizona (Chicago Bears)#
119. Anthony Hitchens – OLB – Iowa (Dallas Cowboys)
126. Khairi Fortt – ILB – California (New Orleans Saints)*
130. James White – RB – Wisconsin (New England Patriots)*
131. Brock Vereen – S – Minnesota (Chicago Bears)

5th round:
144. Telvin Smith – ILB – Florida State (Jacksonville Jaguars)*
147. Ricardo Allen – CB – Purdue (Atlanta Falcons)*
149. Kevin Pamphile – OT – Purdue (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
150. Aaron Lynch – DE – South Florida (San Francisco 49ers)*
161. Corey Linsley – C – Ohio State (Green Bay Packers)
175. John Urschel – OG – Penn State (Baltimore Ravens)
176. Jared Abbrederis – WR – Wisconsin (Green Bay Packers)

6th round:
186. Lache Seastrunk – RB – Baylor (Washington Redskins)*
209. Quincy Enunwa – WR – Nebraska (New York Jets)
212. Marquis Flowers – OLB – Arizona (Cincinnati Bengals)*#

7th round:
217. Ted Bolser – TE – Indiana (Washington Redskins)
224. Beau Allen – DT – Wisconsin (Philadelphia Eagles)
237. Seantrel Henderson – OT – Miami (Buffalo Bills)*
241. Christian Bryant – FS – Ohio State (St. Louis Rams)
242. Corey Nelson – OLB – Oklahoma (Denver Broncos)*
244. Jeremy Gallon – WR – Michigan (New England Patriots)*

*Offered by Michigan out of high school
#Played for Rich Rodriguez at Arizona

12Dec 2011
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Jake Ryan, Freshman All-America

Jake Ryan (image via AnnArbor.com)

Congratulations to redshirt freshman linebacker Jake Ryan, who was named to Rivals’ freshman All-America second team.  Ryan finished the regular season with 30 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 forced fumble.

The teams are littered with players Michigan recruited in the past couple classes, including . . .

  • USC wide receiver Marqise Lee (73 receptions, 1,142 yards, and 11 touchdowns)
  • Oregon running back/wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas (1,011 yards from scrimmage, 12 touchdowns)
  • Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins (77 receptions, 1,153 yards, 11 touchdowns)
  • South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (32 tackles, 6 sacks, 5 forced fumbles)
  • Florida State defensive tackle Tim Jernigan (28 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks)
  • USC linebacker Dion Bailey (81 tackles)
  • Tennessee linebacker A.J. Johnson (80 tackles)
  • South Carolina offensive guard A.J. Cann
  • Michigan State defensive end Marcus Rush (50 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 4 sacks)
  • Miami defensive end Anthony Chickillo (38 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks)
  • Virginia cornerback Demetrious Nicholson (56 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions)
4Dec 2010
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2011 Offer Board Update

Wide receiver prospect Devin Lucien (#15)

The 2011 Offer Board has been updated:

Added Darien Bryant (TE).

Added Robert Trudo (DT).

Marquise Williams (QB) changed his commitment from North Carolina to Virginia Tech.

Melvin Gordon (SB) changed his commitment from Iowa to Wisconsin.

Sammy Watkins (WR) committed to Clemson.

Added Devin Lucien (WR).

Austin Traylor (OLB) committed to Wisconsin.

Added Shane Wynn (SR).

Dallas Crawford (CB) committed to Michigan.

16Nov 2010
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Dallas Crawford, Wolverine

Dallas Crawford (#4) committed to the Wolverines on Friday.

Last Friday Dallas Crawford called up Michigan’s coaches and told them that he would be joining their defensive backfield in 2011.  Crawford is current a quarterback/safety for South Fort Myers High School in Fort Myers, FL.  At 5’10” and 180 lbs., he’s a 3-star recruit to both Scout and Rivals, but a 4-star to ESPN.  He chose Michigan over offers from Georgia Tech, Iowa, Miami, North Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee, and West Virginia, among others.

Elite high school defensive backs often play free safety; opponents can fairly easily run and throw away from a cornerback for an entire game.  That holds true with Crawford as well, who racked up 10 interceptions as a junior and already has 8 this season (his team is still in the playoffs). 

As mentioned above, though, Crawford also plays quarterback.  I really like prospects who play quarterback for their high school teams – not only because teams usually put their best athletes at quarterback, but because quarterbacks are usually intelligent and have good awareness of the entire field.  That’s one of the main reasons I like Desmond Morgan as a linebacker prospect, too; when he’s not playing linebacker, he’s behind center.

I like what Crawford offers as a defensive back on his merits solely on that side of the ball, too.  He does a good job of going up to get the ball at its highest point, and he breaks on the ball quickly.  He’s also a quick-twitch athlete and can make people miss when he gets the ball in his hands, not a long strider like some of Michigan’s other cornerbacks.  Perhaps the most impressive thing about Crawford is that, despite his middling size, he’s a very solid tackler.  Many high school coaches don’t even want their quarterbacks playing defense, let alone flying into ballcarriers at full speed like #4 does.

I’m not sure how much Crawford’s commitment affects his teammate Sammy Watkins, a stellar wide receiver recruit.  The two are not a package deal and Watkins reportedly has Clemson as his leader.  Regardless, I really like the Crawford commitment.  He’s a playmaker at a position that currently lacks them.  I like him more as a cornerback than any of Michigan’s cornerback recruits in the last few years, save Demar Dorsey (who obviously never arrived on campus).  And yes, that includes the highly touted Cullen Christian.  How immediately Crawford makes an impact at Michigan probably depends on what position Troy Woolfolk plays in 2011 when he returns from that ankle injury, but Michigan finally seems to be gathering some depth at a position that sorely needed it.