He had a severe knee injury less than 2 seasons ago. He did not have a great QB (Steve Moffitt) , but for Conference USA standards he was decent. I watched a lot of his games and he was the main man catching in triple and quadruple coverage. Brandon Marshal was more of the new age prototypical WR (Big guy that's not blazing fast). Mike ran an impressive 4.35 at the combine, but I think some teams may still worry about his knee. For the record, Rocky Ross is going to be the next stud receiver coming out of the University of Central Florida, but he'll be out in '09
Wait for SJSU Dwight Lowery to come out next year, the man is a BALLHAWK, 7 INTS in his fisrt 4 games...talk about a cover corner
Good player, has nice size but only played one season of D-1 ball. I think the stats are a bit skewed. Very good corners don't have a lot of picks because they are avoided (See Arron Beasley, CB for West Virginia years ago who had 10 picks; see Dre Bly with his 11 picks because of the zone blitz scheme). Secondly, playing in the WAC, where QB's are not exactly the best, shows me that they are likely to throw the picks and make his job a lil easier; especially after this season when the WAC's QB's were amongst the worst, if not, the worst in the collegiate ranks.
Sweet: Saw the Johnson comparison and I remember saying the same thing on another board. Similar size, build, speed, jumping ability, Florida school...the difference is that Walker was the one and only guy at his school. Johnson still played with some kickass TEs and RBs.
I'd love to see us grab this guy in the third. It seems like he's sprinting up bords, but I don't think he's gonna be a flash in the pan by any means. He's got all the talent you look for and is big as well.
Take him with the first of our two second rounders, IF he is still there. Blalock at 25, Walker in the 2nd, Count in TJones as part of your draft, and no matter where you go you have to be happy.
Both of our picks are at the bottom of the second....and you have to play that off against bad teams that are at the top to middle of the third. Like...Oakland for instance, who might like to add a young WR to go with Russell...or Cleveland or Miami....and so on.
7 points with WR Mike Walker Ed Thompson ScoutNFLExperts.com Apr 14, 2007 One of this year's draft risers is Central Florida's Mike Walker. Learn more about this speedy wide receiver who is shooting up draft boards around the NFL in this exclusive interview with Scout.com's Ed Thompson. ET: You sound like a guy who simply just has fun playing football? MW: Oh yeah, I've been doing it since I was eight years old. It's pretty much all I know, even if it's by myself catching, playing video games, just anything to do with football. ET: You had a huge senior year, but you've been a great athlete all through your career; talk about your progression at Central Florida? MW: I think I progressed real good, every year I got better and better. Freshman year I was just trying to get a feel for college, the atmosphere, the responsibility that comes with it, the schedules, everything. My sophomore year I came in and played corner and led the team in interceptions even though I only played in six games. After that I had a great receiving coach, D.J. McCarthy, and I think he really molded me into the receiver that I am today. He taught me everything. He always told me to work to be the best and that's pretty much all I know now, working to be the best I can be. ET:What kind of defensive back gives you the most trouble and how do you end up beating that kind of defender? MW: The ones that sit. The offense we ran, we didn't throw deep too much, so the ones who sit on your routes probably gave me the most trouble. At one point you just have to take him out deep to keep him on his toes. But mainly the quarterback has to get their rhythm and create that Peyton (Manning)/(Marvin) Harrison kind of effect so he knows he can't just sit on my route. ET: You had an ACL injury, what did that do to you mentally and how did you keep yourself going during that recovery process? MW: The whole program and my family did a great job of helping me keep my head in the right way and keeping me mentally focused. My coaches, the players, the trainers, my family, they always just told me it wasn't over, that I still had next year, just go in and work hard and come out better than you were--and I think I did a good job of that. Personally I was down on myself, I was having a history-breaking season, went to my first bowl game and first conference championship, and bam, I tear an ACL and ended my season. It seemed like everything was going along great, it really devastated me. As soon as I tore it, the whole sideline came with me and comforted me and my family. Everybody made it so much better for me. ET: You reportedly had one of the fastest 40-yard dash times at the Combine. Do you feel that was a result of preparation and if so, what did you learn from a technique perspective while training that was most valuable to you? MW: I think the preparation and I felt like my knee was one hundred percent. I didn't feel any problems in it and it feels like it's back to normal. Another part is the training. I trained at a great facility and with a lot of great competition down south in Dayton, Florida with Pete Marino. He taught me a lot, showed me the ropes of the 40-yard dash. It was just getting the technique down. I think everyone's fast, but it's really during the first ten yards that you start that makes a huge difference. That's what we focused on mainly. ET: You met with the Chiefs and the Falcons for formal interviews at the Combine, tell me about meeting with them... MW: I had Herm Edwards, the GM, the owners, the receiver coaches were there, and it went good. As soon as I got in there, they popped in some film and told me to go through some plays. I went through the plays and all the receiver positions and what the quarterback had. I just had a good knowledge of the game and I thought it went good. Then with the Falcons, I met with Coach Petrino, the wide receiver coach, the owner was there and they just asked me a lot of questions; just the usual about life and family and of course football--and I think it went well. ET: What are some of your attributes or skills that make you stand out from the rest of the draft class? MW: I think for one I'm very versatile. I played corner so I know a lot of the defenses from their point of view. I can read secondaries. And just my route-running ability and my size with the speed I have. Just being that complete receiver, not just one-dimensional where you got your little small quick guys or you think I'm just going to go deep. I can do all of the jobs you ask for.
Brandon Marshall went in the 3rd. You can't compare this guy to Colston. Colston was probably the biggest recruit Hofstra ever had, and he really didn't play up to his potential there. In the end, he was a specimen at a 1AA school. O'Leary is a hell of a coach and I'm sure Central Florida is going to be a top flight program in a few years. They've always been able to provide some athletes, but now that O'Leary's there, I'm sure you're going to see more and more field ready talents come along. -X-
everyone is looking for the next colston............he will be gone after the 4th rd. maybe even 3rd.
