SMALL SCHOOL NOTES 3/29

OH CANADA!
Attention NFL teams! Looking for an inside or middle linebacker with strength, quickness and agility? Want a winner who knows what it is like to be a champion? Time to look north of the border and Vanier Cup Champion Byron Archambault. At 5-11and 243 lbs, NFL teams may say he is a bit on the short side, but that is the last negative thing they will be able to say. At the recent CFL Combine, Archambault did not run a good 40 at an electronically timed 4.83, but his 4.18 shuttle would have placed him 9th at the NFL Combine, his 7.16 cone would have slotted him 14th and his 41 presses of 225lbs would have seen him 1st by 6 reps over any other linebacker. When you match him versus the top ranked inside linebackers, he matches up very well and his desire, motivation and heart of a champion gives him an edge. ______________________________________________________________________________ FOLLOWING THE BOSS
No player from Western Oregon has been drafted since tight end Kevin Boss was drafted by the Giants in the fifth round in 2007, but that may change in 2015. When the NFL scouts arrived at the Oregon State Pro Day it was not a Beaver but one of the Wolves that caught their attention. A 6-3/200lbs receiver by the name of Tyrell Williams caught the scouts’ attention with a 4.42 second 40-yard dash; 39 1/2 inch vertical; 4.22 second shuttle drill; and a 10 foot, 7 inch broad jump, but when Williams finished the 3-cone agility drill in 6.55 seconds, which would have given him the top time at the NFL draft combine, attention became legitimate interest. Watch for the Lions, Chargers or Patriots to come calling on draft day. ______________________________________________________________________________ FORMER HAWKEYE RB OUT TO SHOW HE’S MATURED AND READY
Brandon Wegher’s dream of playing in the NFL was filled with nightmares. After getting quality time as a freshman for Iowa, including key carries in the Orange Bowl vs Georgia Tech, Wegher left the football program after just one season. He tried to walk-on at Oklahoma, had run-ins with the law and ended up out of football for three years; then he enrolled at the NAIA’s Morningside College. There, Wegher rushed for 2,680 yards and 39 touchdowns, averaging eight yards per carry and caught 29 passes and four more TDs. Suddenly, the one-time Iowa high school legend was getting notice from “THE LEAGUE”. Now more focused and mature, the 5-11/210lb running back supposedly ran the 40 in the 4.40 range at Iowa State’s March 24th Pro Day.
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HAMSTRING? WHAT HAMSTRING?
Davis Tull Tennessee-Chattanooga, a college DE projected as an OLB, who had the top vertical jump (42 1/2 inches) and the second-best broad jump (11 feet) among front-seven defenders at the combine. Ran the 40 with a bad hamstring in 4.57 seconds. _______________________________________________________________________________ TALL, FAST AND DRAFTABLE
Dezmin Lewis, WR-Central Arkansas 6-4/215 continues to impress scouts by running sub 4.5 forties and displaying great hands. An explosive player. Was second in the SLC in receiving TDs, 3rd in receiving yards per game and 4th in receptions per game. He finishes his career 2nd in UCA history in career receptions (197), 3rd in receiving yards (2,618) and receiving TDs (24). ________________________________________________________________________________ AVERAGE HEIGHT, BLAZING SPEED, STRONGER THAN SOME LINEMEN
He stands 5-9/175 and runs a 4.38 but WR Austin Willis of Emporia State pressed 225 twenty-one times at his Pro Day.and ran a 4.39. He finished 2014 with 56 catches for 757 yards and six TDs. He was 5th in MIAA in receiving yards and receptions, 4th in touchdown catches, and 10th with 967 all-purpose yards. ________________________________________________________________________________ NOT ALL THE TALENT IS AT THE COMBINE
Running back Terrell Watson of D-II Asuza Pacific wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine but at 6-1 230 (seen him listed as big as 245) and with great athleticism he’ll be invited an NFL team. At a recent Pro Day, Watson completed the 40-yard dash in 4.49 to 4.51 seconds, posted 23 repetitions of 225 pounds in the bench press and had a 35” vertical jump and 10’3” broad jump. A talented blend of power and explosiveness. A dynamic back who can be elusive or run you over. ______________________________________________________________________________