FCS PROSPECT DRAFT NOTES/TIDBITS FROM LEAGUE SOURCES

[BigDawgPop]

Ain't nothing wrong with that! Beats going out and trying to find a real job!!!!

[BDKJMU]

Scotty McGee?

Apparently the Colts think he's a third to seventh rounder:

http://www.whsv.com/jmufootball/headlines/90712284.html

That does not make him look very good. He blew off someone? I mean the fact a player is cocky and blowing people off in general at all before making it is stupid and tells you the type of person they are going to be in the NFL. I would stay away from guys like him but his pro day results were good and someone I was going to post about with a PFA grade on some boards tomorrow night.

You can honestly believe about 20 percent of what teams say in general at this point anyway. Teams tell every player they like them. The Colts could be telling him nothing but great things hoping that when/if they call him in the 7th round to sign him as a free agent he will feel like they really want him based on what they said just before the draft and go with them over a better offer from another team.

SCFB, re-read the article. You're slamming him for something he did 3 1/2 years ago in Sept of 06' at the beginning of his redshirt freshman year. He stated he didn't know who Green was, and when he later found out, felt stupid for doing that. Kids do (or say) dumb things as freshman.

The kid is very well spoken, and big on giving credit to his teammates and the man upstairs, as evidenced by this past pre season CAA media day interview:
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[SmallCollegeFBFan]

That does not make him look very good. He blew off someone? I mean the fact a player is cocky and blowing people off in general at all before making it is stupid and tells you the type of person they are going to be in the NFL. I would stay away from guys like him but his pro day results were good and someone I was going to post about with a PFA grade on some boards tomorrow night.

You can honestly believe about 20 percent of what teams say in general at this point anyway. Teams tell every player they like them. The Colts could be telling him nothing but great things hoping that when/if they call him in the 7th round to sign him as a free agent he will feel like they really want him based on what they said just before the draft and go with them over a better offer from another team.

SCFB, re-read the article. You're slamming him for something he did 3 1/2 years ago in Sept of 06' at the beginning of his redshirt freshman year. He stated he didn't know who Green was, and when he later found out, felt stupid for doing that. Kids do (or say) dumb things as freshman.

The kid is very well spoken, and big on giving credit to his teammates and the man upstairs, as evidenced by this past pre season CAA media day interview:
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I am not slamming him but pointing out that when you draft a player you have to look into everything and you decide whether a stupid comment they once said was just a mistake or the real person. I have no doubt that it is the real person but I do doubt that he will get drafted because he lacks the skills to play corner, had a down season as a return man, and he is short to boot. Hopefully he gets a legit shot and takes advantage because I know he has great talent as a return man and can change games.

[BDKJMU]

I normally only post links to articles. I hate posting whole articles, but the Harrisonburg Daily News Record went subscription last yr. This 07' article points out some of the background McGee had to deal with growing up:

With A Helping Hand, McGee Overcomes Brother’s Death Posted 2007-11-15
By Mike Barber

HARRISONBURG – His brother lay dead in a hospital bed, his mother hung collapsed in his arms, and all Scotty McGee could think was, he had to hide his tears.

“I swallowed a whole lot,” McGee, a sophomore cornerback on the James Madison football team, said this week. “It was tears that wanted to come out that I just knew couldn’t come out because I had to be strong for my mom.”

It was Nov. 3, 2003, and McGee’s older brother, Marcus, had been fatally shot outside Norfolk State University’s student center. A year later, a jury convicted 27-year-old Antonio D. Robinson of first-degree murder for firing 10 shots at the 19-year-old Marcus McGee, hitting him eight times, including four times in the back.

Scotty McGee was sleeping in on that Monday, and ignored the repeated ringing of his phone. When he finally picked up, his older sister delivered the news. Downstairs, his mother Cathy Jordan also found out.

“My mom screamed,” said McGee, who drove with his mother and younger sister to Norfolk General Hospital.

“On the way to the hospital, we were hearing so many different things,” McGee said. “It was crazy. I was getting phone calls. Heard he had got shot in the head. Heard he had got shot 16 times. It just felt like a big dream. I was like, ‘Wow, I’m about to lose my brother.’”

Marcus McGee was in and out of surgery. Scotty was just walking back into the waiting area as the doctors came out of the operating room and said something to his mother.

“My mom just dropped,” McGee said. “As she dropped I just went and grabbed her.”

Marcus had lost too much blood, and McGee had lost his brother.

McGee had just started to grow really close to Marcus, and they were now “chilling” as often as they were butting heads.

“Part of that was because I had a driver’s permit and he didn’t like driving all the time,” McGee said with a hearty laugh. “So I would just chauffeur him around.”

The younger McGee, however, had another focus. He was an emerging football star for Ocean Lakes High School.

McGee’s mother, Cathy Jordan, didn’t want him attending the same hard-knocks school Marcus had, so Scotty moved in briefly with his aunt, establishing residency within Ocean Lakes’ zone, McGee said. The coach there was friends with McGee’s youth coach, Bruce Pearl.

McGee played for Pearl’s team out of the Woodstock subdivision of Virginia Beach.

“He was a scrawny little 10-year-old who just had so much feistiness and confidence, you couldn’t help love the kid,” Pearl said.

Pearl did. A father of three, he took McGee under his wing.

“He kept me out of trouble,” McGee said. “Kept money in my pocket, gave me work to do, cutting grass, stuff like that. He allowed me to see that there’s a whole lot more than the neighborhood I was living in.”

The other kids in the neighborhood took note, and McGee caught some flack, because the 30-something white guy was driving him here and there and buying him this and that.

“He didn’t have two nickels to rub together,” said Pearl, now a 44-year-old who also runs a trophy shop and has a cell phone that plays Queen’s anthem, “We Are The Champions,” when you call it.

Pearl even took McGee on a family vacation to Disney World. The flight to Orlando – with a connection in Detroit – was the first time McGee had ever been on an airplane.

But Pearl said the relationship wasn’t a one-way street. He said his daughter, Michela, now a freshman at James Madison, learned life lessons from seeing McGee’s struggles.

And, when Michela got to Ocean Lakes High School, she had a de facto big brother roaming the halls in Scotty.

While his neighborhood was fraught with pitfalls for youngsters, McGee’s mother said her younger son wasn’t as likely to get in trouble as his older sibling.

“Marcus was more of a follower,” Cathy Jordan said. “Scotty’s a leader.”

It didn’t hurt that he had Pearl – Coach Bruce, McGee and Jordan call him – looking out for him. Jordan said she thinks Pearl was an answer to one of her prayers. McGee’s father, Marcus Sr., wasn’t very involved in his life, McGee said. They didn’t meet until he was 8.

Jordan would pray that someone would come into Scotty’s life as a father figure, a role Pearl stepped into, especially after Marcus’ death.

“It really got to Scotty,” Jordan said. “But he took his emotions out on the field playing. They told him he could take a break, but he played the whole time.”

It wasn’t an easy time for McGee. He wrestled with how to cope with his brother’s death, trying to find ways to use the tragedy for motivation. He wore T-shirts with the letters RIP on them, to the chagrin of his high school coach, former JMU assistant Jim Prince, who thought the symbolic gesture were keeping McGee from moving on.

“It was a battle,” Prince, the coach at Ocean Lakes for the past 14 years said. “I thought it constantly drug him back into the grieving process, when it was his way of showing how much it meant to him and how much he cared.”

McGee even envisioned his brother standing in the end zone, waiting for him while he was carrying the ball.

“There was a point in times during games where I’d like trip out, and look down in the end zone like he was down there,” McGee said. “It was something that I shouldn’t have did, because whenever I didn’t get there, I just beat myself up about it.”

If McGee was down, he didn’t stay there long. At the urging of his family, he found religion in the wake of his brother’s murder. A sturdy conviction that the tragic murder was part of a bigger plan has helped him come to peace with what happened.

He also found himself as a football player.

McGee rushed for 1,336 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior, and 1,304 and 17 scores as a senior, even while balancing his daily attendance at Robinson’s trial.

His athleticism drew the attention of big-time colleges, including Tennessee, McGee and Pearl said. But the Volunteers were interested in the 5-foot-9 McGee as a defensive back. His heart was set on being a ball carrier.

JMU happened upon McGee because it was recruiting two of his high school teammates. After seeing McGee’s highlight film, tacked onto the end of the tape, the Dukes offered him a scholarship to be a running back.

But after redshirting McGee his freshman year, JMU coach Mickey Matthews asked him to move to cornerback. McGee was despondent.

“Wow, was that tough,” McGee said. “I remember sitting in my dorm room, like, I can’t believe this. I was just thrown off guard. I felt betrayed.”

McGee considered quitting, transferring. He called Pearl.

“I called him up, ‘Coach, Coach. They’re trying to move me,” McGee said, mimicking heavy sobbing. “He’s like, ‘Calm down, I can’t hear you.’”

Eventually, Pearl convinced McGee to write down a list of questions to ask Matthews. Satisfied that he’d be given the instruction he needed to learn his new position, and with the promise that he could move back to tailback after a year, McGee stayed at JMU.

Last season, he started every game at corner and became a force on kick returns, despite playing with a broken bone in his foot. This offseason, he had surgery to correct a sports hernia that has limited his playing time.

He returned to the field Saturday against William & Mary and gave JMU’s lagging kick return game a spark. He hurdled his now-muscle packed frame through the violent pin-ball machine world of kick returners. Then, McGee emerged from the collision-filled demolition derby of pads and helmets and raced 66 yards, being caught at the 11-yard line, setting up another JMU touchdown.

McGee no longer pictures his brother in the end zone and he’s weaned himself off the RIP shirts. He still has a mural of his brother hanging in his living room, and a spot for him in his heart.

He wishes the man who killed his brother had been sentenced to more than the 28 year a judge gave him in September 2004, but said his religion tells him to forgive the shooter.

Besides, McGee said he isn’t interested in assigning blame for the way Marcus’s life turned out.
“When your number’s up, your number’s up,” McGee said. “It wasn’t like I blame it on the neighborhood, I blame it on my father for not being there. All of that’s irrelevant. He’s gone and there’s no need to point fingers. It was his time to go.”

[BDKJMU]

SCFB, re-read the article. You're slamming him for something he did 3 1/2 years ago in Sept of 06' at the beginning of his redshirt freshman year. He stated he didn't know who Green was, and when he later found out, felt stupid for doing that. Kids do (or say) dumb things as freshman.

The kid is very well spoken, and big on giving credit to his teammates and the man upstairs, as evidenced by this past pre season CAA media day interview:
" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I am not slamming him but pointing out that when you draft a player you have to look into everything and you decide whether a stupid comment they once said was just a mistake or the real person. I have no doubt that it is the real person but I do doubt that he will get drafted because he lacks the skills to play corner, had a down season as a return man, and he is short to boot. Hopefully he gets a legit shot and takes advantage because I know he has great talent as a return man and can change games.

I agree it is likely PFA for McGee as a return specialist, as he isn't an NFL corner. If he doesn't get drafted it won't have anything to do with some character flaw- his character is one of his biggest assets.

As far as his down year as a returner, there were probably several factors at play:
I think it was a combination of factors.
-Offseason surgery when left him out of shape according to MM coming into camp.
-His jr year with 2 pretty good seniors starting at corner and a 4 corner rotation, he was playing maybe half the snaps at corner.
-Last season you had the other JMU starting corner (coming into the season) missing 3 games due to injury, another 2 deep corner missing a 1/2 doz due to injury, another who was on the 2 deep corner the season before but got moved to safety and then back to corner, and a true freshman corner who had his redshirt pulled was moved into the 2 deep. McGee probably played 80+% of the snaps at corner. He had by far his best season at corner (2nd Team All CAA) but he definitely didn't have as fresh a legs last season as in 08' from having to play so much more defense. Big difference going back to return a kick or punt after just having played 3,6, 8, or more straight plays vs coming off the bench well rested.

Well see if he can make somebody's roster as a return specialist.

[GrizFan5]

[I think I recall some character issues being mentioned on egriz last season. Take that for what it's worth

I read egriz alot, know Horn, and did not see any such thing. I would have noticed that. Your recollection must be incorrect.

[GrizFan5]

[
Exactly. There is some issue there. Seems like Montana OL always have issues. There have been some really good ones the last 4 years and none drafted all because of either bad pro days or off field concerns. Horn falls in line with both of those two things. That is why I don't think he gets taken but I would say he has a 40 percent chance.

I am telling you that he doesn't have character issues. I know him well. I know his friends. He's a good kid. Bobby Hauck said over and over again at qb club meetings that he absolutely loved Levi Horn. The NFL must have bad information or rumors. They had bad information on another Griz o-lineman last year too. That one was just plain untrue. His agent finally tracked down the information, but it was too late to undo it.

[BDKJMU]

As far as his down year as a returner, there were probably several factors at play:
I think it was a combination of factors.
-Offseason surgery when left him out of shape according to MM coming into camp.
-His jr year with 2 pretty good seniors starting at corner and a 4 corner rotation, he was playing maybe half the snaps at corner.
-Last season you had the other JMU starting corner (coming into the season) missing 3 games due to injury, another 2 deep corner missing a 1/2 doz due to injury, another who was on the 2 deep corner the season before but got moved to safety and then back to corner, and a true freshman corner who had his redshirt pulled was moved into the 2 deep. McGee probably played 80+% of the snaps at corner. He had by far his best season at corner (2nd Team All CAA) but he definitely didn't have as fresh a legs last season as in 08' from having to play so much more defense. Big difference going back to return a kick or punt after just having played 3,6, 8, or more straight plays vs coming off the bench well rested.

Well see if he can make somebody's roster as a return specialist.

I forgot to mention his "down" year as a returner was still 2nd in the nation at over 30 yards a return:
http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?y ... IAA&dest=O" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[GOKATS]

Maybe just missed it, but I didn't see anything on Jeff Hansen, C, Montana St. Some sources have him going as early as the 2nd Round. Are you hearing anything?

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Maybe just missed it, but I didn't see anything on Jeff Hansen, C, Montana St. Some sources have him going as early as the 2nd Round. Are you hearing anything?

[GOKATS]

Maybe just missed it, but I didn't see anything on Jeff Hansen, C, Montana St. Some sources have him going as early as the 2nd Round. Are you hearing anything?

Fuck you, Squeaming Seagull.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Fuck you, Squeaming Seagull.

[GOKATS]

Fuck you, Squeaming Seagull.

Sorry, kid. I just wasn't in a sugar coating mood.

[Catattack]

Maybe just missed it, but I didn't see anything on Jeff Hansen, C, Montana St. Some sources have him going as early as the 2nd Round. Are you hearing anything?

I can't remember the site but it was a mock draft of small school players only.


Fletcher has had contact with 20 teams and I'll guess he goes in the 5th round and Hansen signs as a FA.

[SACCAT]

Maybe just missed it, but I didn't see anything on Jeff Hansen, C, Montana St. Some sources have him going as early as the 2nd Round. Are you hearing anything?

I can't remember the site but it was a mock draft of small school players only.


Fletcher has had contact with 20 teams and I'll guess he goes in the 5th round and Hansen signs as a FA.

When it comes to the later rounds it is always tough to tell. Alot of teams will hold off on drafting a player if they think he will be around in free agency. This is what happened to Lulay. He didn't get drafted because the 2-3 teams looking at him all felt no-one else would pick him up.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Sorry, kid. I just wasn't in a sugar coating mood.

Don't fret it, pops.

[Catattack]

When it comes to the later rounds it is always tough to tell. Alot of teams will hold off on drafting a player if they think he will be around in free agency. This is what happened to Lulay. He didn't get drafted because the 2-3 teams looking at him all felt no-one else would pick him up.

I agree but when 25 teams(20 was incorrect) are interested, compared to 2-3, it can only be a good thing for Dane. Somebody might take him earlier than planned because they know other teams want him or like you said, he gets a call Sunday morning.