A month or so ago, I happened to catch a replay of Oregon State-Cal from 2010 and while I was watching, #99 from the strongside kept jumping out at me every other play. He had a quick first step, he made it near the QB constantly. He had to have at least 4-5 hurries in that game, he was literally a step late from sacking the QB at times. So I hopped on the interwebz to find out exactly who #99 was, turns out it was Senior DE Gabe Miller. Former 4* high school LB turned TE turned DE whose biggest claim to fame was probably his "No Shave November" campaign in '09. His career stats won't "wow" you, only 67 tackles(29 solo), 12 TFLs, 8 sacks, and 2 FF in his 2 year career at DE for the Beavers, but his measurables will. H: 6032 W: 250 40: 4.62(Would have been tied for 5th at the Combine for DL/LB) 20: 2.65 10: 1.56(Only Brooks Reed had a faster time between DE/OLB) Reps: 33(6th best DL/LB) Vertical: 36(Tied 9th DL/LB) Broad: 09'06" Shuttle: 4.12(5th best DL/LB 3-Cone: 6.97(11th best DL/LB) Not to mention he's a former team captain and an Academic All American. He does have some negatives though(why else would he be largely unknown?), besides his lack of great production, he has had a right Achilles problem since high school, tearing it twice. Bright side is, he tore it his last year in HS and again in his 1st year at OSU, no major problems since. At his Pro Day, he participated in DE,LB, and TEs drills, so he could possibly be used in goaline situations like Mike Vrabel or Jason Taylor. I'm not lauding him as the next big OLB, but he's a situation to watch. He's probably a 6th Rd pick at best, I could even see him going undrafted. But with UDFAs like James Harrison and Cam Wake demolishing QBs, late rounds and farther shouldn't be taken lightly. And I found this while searching for more info, I don't know if any are familiar with Waldo and his Explosion formula, but it's a pretty interesting read: http://www.footballsfuture.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=11306362 To save everyone the trouble, here's a "Didn't Read LOL" .gif for you.
Dude this is fantastic. The research is appreciated and it keeps this forum active with interesting discussions. And I laughed heartily at your sig. That some funny shit right there.
exceptionally well done magilla! Way to bring about a prospect that most of the board, including myself, has probably never studied, much less considered him as an option. He sounds like an excellent developmental guy. Could very likely be the poor man's version of Dontay Moch, except he might actually have some football instincts.
that analysis is based purely on physical abilities. Which is why Moch is considered to be in the "extremely low risk group" but what he doesnt take into account is the football IQ. Not that fans have a real way to measure that... but that is a reason Moch won't be drafted that high. However, it does make me more interested in Gabe Miller... It just re-affirms to me how much I would love justin houston to fall into our laps at 30...
Great stuff, magilla!!! Thanks. Interesting read, and it opened my eyes not only to Miller, but Moch and to several other prospects as well. It does seem to confirm my thinking that Ayers is slow (foot speed). One question I'd ask that guy is he says he has them listed by draft position, but in the Moderate Risk table, he has Martez Wilson rated about Robert Quinn, then Chris Carter over Brooks Reed. Also, he has Dontay Moch and Justin Houston as the two best OLB prospects in the draft, since he has them as the lowest risk, then Sam Acho, Von Miller and Gabe Miller in the 2nd best group.
Nice, not much on him out there and I don't remeber seeing him play. This is the stuff UDFA's are made of. Sidline scouting has him at 42 of the DE's, CBS has him at 395 overall. The Lack of production is a telling sign though. Sounds like a very good athlete to give a look at for special teams/practice squad and perhaps an expanded role down the line.
Since the Vilma Draft, I payed close attention to the 3 cone drill. I remember Vilma's was something like a 6.7- better than a lot of RB/WR. I just now realized that Akeem Ayers ran a 7.49 3 cone. That's HORRIBLE. Little scary. As for this guys formula-- good for him for taking the time. The formulas seem to make sense, and look like practical ways to gauge Speed, agility, etc. Lets just fucking draft Justin Houston and get this over with. I'm tired of this shit.
Good Stuff. Be interesting to see where he gets drafted. Waiting for Mr E. to jump in and give us more info...and to tell someone to die in a fire.
Akeem Ayers' time in that drill is 7.19. Brian Orakpo, who's pretty damn good at getting to the quarterback, had a time of 7.26. Tamba Hali clocked in at 7.28. Finally, why in the hell are you comparing Jonathan Vilma to 3-4 OLBs?
By the way, this is a good thread MG. I'll be excited if the Jets go after more than one pass rusher. A high pick and then a developmental guy in the later rounds would be an ideal draft.
It's going to be a damn shame when the Jets don't draft Justin Houston and this clown bitches about it all season long.
Shit, the Jets MUST draft at least two pass rushers in this draft. Nice job MG, and from your report Miller sounds solid. That said, I would be opposed to drafting a developmental prospect who has an injury history, especially an Achilles problem, even if he's been clean for the past few years
This is an interesting paragraph from NFLdraftscout.com. The fact that the injury can almost be dismissed is truly amazing: 08/20/07 - It would be overly dramatic to call Oregon State redshirt freshman tight end Gabe Miller a medical miracle. But how many college football players can come back after tearing their right Achilles' tendon not once, but twice? "It's really like I'm back to the same person I was, almost," said Miller, the 4A defensive player of the year at Lake Oswego High School in 2005, when he was one of the most fiercely sought recruits on the West Coast. On Friday, the 15th day of OSU's preseason camp, Miller ran routes and caught passes without putting the training staff on red alert. He was able to jump for balls in the end zone and come down on his right foot without hearing a sickening tearing sound. A week ago, even Beavers trainer Barney Graff admitted to being nervous about how much the 6-foot-3, 242-pound Miller could do. Graff said he has never worked with an athlete who was coming off two tears of the same Achilles' tendon. For people in their 30s, 40s or 50s, one popped Achilles' usually means the end of vigorous athletic activity. Two torn Achilles' would doom most people to a life of sitting on the couch with a bag of chips, watching TV. Miller, whose determination during his two rehabilitations was off the charts, says his ankle doesn't bother him at all. - Paul Buker, The Oregonian
time to address all of the haters... I've seen multiple publications list his 3 cone as a 7.49. I don't know which time is correct. Second, I didn't see where I compared anyone to John Vilma. I said that the year we drafted him, I started giving the 3 cone drill more consideration. Vilma had a great time.
Thanks for the comments guys! If he were a 1st-3rd round prospect, I'd agree. However we are talking about a likely 7th rounder, there isn't a lot of risk involved IMO. Unless there is someone that should have been drafted 2+ rounds ago, the 7th is very free flowing in terms of value...
Its similar to stuckey in 07. He had a bad foot injury. Jets took a flier on him. They got a damn good slot WR that turned into Braylon Edwards. But I do believe stuckey was a much higher rated prospect before his injury happened. And Stuckey's a FA. Let's resign him so that the Edwards trade was that much more of a fleece job than it was originally.
To hater #2: I wasn't exactly being literal. I'm excited, and I can't take the anticipation any more. It's my favorite time of the year, but the draft can't come soon enough, that's all I meant. Why do I have to explain myself? All you guys do is try to catch someone and call them out for something. Although, there is nothing of substance to complain about, so you just grab at straws. God forbid you just ignored my post.
Not me guy. I like Houston, but I'm hardly set on any one prospect. It was a joke-- lets just take the best guy on this list, and call it a day. I'm tired of waiting for the draft. That kind of thing. There's plenty of guys I'd be ok with at 30.
