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Athletes

Loyce Means #29, CB, University of Houston, 2011 Free Agent, CFL Hamilton Tigercats

Louis Vasquez #65, OL, Texas Tech University, 2009 NFL Draft Pick, San Diego Chargers

Player Scouting
For obvious reasons, every NFL team puts a lot of time and resources into getting ready for the NFL draft. They are continuously evaluating their needs and the players that they believe may fill them. All but five of NFL teams pay to belong to one of the two major scouting services, National Football Scouting and BLESTO. The five who do not belong choose to operate independently. Both of these services were founded in the early 60’s and the purpose of both is to help NFL teams evaluate prospective draftees.

National Football Scouting will provide each of its member teams a list of draft prospects sometime in the spring, usually after most college teams have completed their spring practices. They give them key information like position, size, 40-yard dash times, etc, and also assign an overall grade to each player. One of National’s scouts will usually also complete a personal evaluation form on the players. The member NFL teams will use this information in the process of deciding who they want their scouts to evaluate more closely.

National teams include: Arizona, Carolina, Cincinnati, Denver, Green Bay, Houston, Kansas City, New Orleans, New York Jets, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Tennessee.

BLESTO offers the same things as National. However, unlike National who employs its own scouts, BLESTO relies mostly on scouts allocated by each of its NFL member teams. This means that a BLESTO scout may also be a scout for a particular NFL team that is a member of BLESTO.

BLESTO teams include: Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Jacksonville, Miami, Minnesota, New York Giants, Pittsburgh.

All-Star Games
A number of college seniors deemed to be potential NFL players will be invited to participate in one of several all-star games which take place after all of the bowl games have been played. Most invitations will go out toward the end of the college season. The major all star games are the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, the Players Classic All Star in Little Rock, AR, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Los Angeles (formerly known as the Texas vs. Nation Bowl), the East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, FL, and the Casino Del Sol All-Star Bowl in Tucson Arizona. Since teams participating in the Senior Bowl are coached by NFL coaches, many see it as the premier all-star game.

NFL Combine
At the end of the month of February, the NFL hosts its annual Combine to give players who have NFL draft potential the opportunity to display their abilities. For the past 20 years, it has been held in Indianapolis, Indiana at the RCA dome. Players are invited to attend by a selection committee that consists of NFL player personnel directors as well as scouts from both National and BLESTO. Collectively, the event lasts for a week, but a player’s individual time there lasts only four days. The schedule is staggered based on position. Typically, invitations will be sent to players toward the end of December. Players receiving invitations can include both seniors and underclassmen that have declared themselves eligible for the draft.

The committee usually invites between 320 and 350 players to attend. Each player will go through a number of tests designed to measure their physical and intellectual abilities. The physical tests include bench press (225 lbs.), 40-yard dash (also timing 10 and 20 yards), 20-yard short-shuttle run, 3-cone drill, broad jump, and vertical jump. Players will also be tested in position specific drills such as passing, catching, etc. The intellectual tests include several written tests like the Wonderlic Personnel Test, an intelligence test primarily known for being administered to prospective employees for the use of recruitment, placement, and development. During the Combine, players may also be physically evaluated by NFL team doctors.

A player’s 4-day experience at the Combine will usually look like this:
    Day 1 – Pre-exam, X-rays, Cybex tests
    Day 2 – Drug test, Physical tests, Measurements,
                Wonderlic test
    Day 3 – Team Interviews
    Day 4 – On-field workouts

NFL Draft
The NFL Draft is held over a two day period on one of the last weekends of April in New York City. The Draft consists of seven total rounds, with the first three on Saturday and the remaining four on Sunday. Some teams are allowed supplemental picks that compensate them for free agent losses during the year, usually another 15 to 30 picks. Typically, an average of 250 players are drafted each year.

Know Your Grade?

5.00 to 4.00 -- Franchise Prospect -- A player who can change the course of a game and a consistent performer. Multiple Pro Bowl possibilities and top ten selection.
3.99 to 3.10 -- Quality Prospect -- Someone that consistently gives good performances. Occasional Pro Bowl appearances.
3.09 to 2.75 -- First-Year Contributor -- Prospect that has the ability to make plays from the get-go and start early into his rookie season.
2.74 to 2.45 -- Future Starter -- A good athlete that must learn to be a football player or someone who is an "overachiever". Quality prospect with long term potential
2.44 to 2.35 -- Fence Player -- Prospect on the fence that has the skills and abilities to succeed but needs time and patience to develop those skills to the fullest.
2.34 to 1.99 -- Practice Squad -- Late-round draft pick or priority free agent that must develop his talents on the practice squad
1.98 to 1.50 -- Free Agent -- Player who will make a 60 or 80 man roster.

RB, Michael Hayes, UH- 2012 NFL Draft Prospect

LB, Sammy Brown, UH- 2012 NFL Draft Prospect