NFL Draft Recap

by Mike on Apr 28, 2008 3:13 PM EDT in Football

I'm sure you all know by now that a few Nittany Lions were taken in the NFL draft this weekend. They had to wait until the second day, but both Dan Connor and Justin King will be playing on Sundays this fall.

Dan Connor was drafted in the third round by the Carolina Panthers with the 74th pick overall. You will recall the Panthers selected Tim Shaw in the draft last year, so they must like what they see from Linebacker U. SBNation's Carolina blogger Cat Scratch Reader likes the pick.

This is a classic Panthers value pick. The Panthers are already deep at linebacker but Conner was too good to pass up. I can't believe he fell this far but wow, how good will the Panthers be at linebacker next season? NFL Network is predicting the Panthers will move Jon Beason to the weak-side and Conner will start in the middle. I'm not sure how the line-up will shake out but regardless the Panthers will be very deep at linebacker.

After being projected anywhere from a late first round to third round pick, Justin King slipped to the fourth round where the St. Louis Rams grabbed him up with the 101st pick overall. Rams blogger Turf Show Times also likes the pick.

And we got our CB, Justin King, from Penn State. The NFL network guys think he could have been a first rounder with another season in college, but he graduated in three years. The analysts really think he'll be a good player in couple years. Just in time for Fakhir Brown's next suspension.

He ran a 4.31 40-yard-dash, so there's that speed again. The talking heads say he's a smart player though who'll learn the game well, which will help him put that speed to use.

Seems like a good pick.

The Rams seem to believe he won't be playing right away.

"He is a sticky coverage guy, and is around the ball," Linehan said.

Although Linehan conceded that King probably isn't ready to contribute right away, he believes King eventually should help the competitive situation at a position that includes Fakhir Brown, Tye Hill, Ron Bartell, Jonathan Wade and David Macklin.

Today a few undrafted Nittany Lions have latched on to a few teams. Austin Scott has been invited to try out with the Cleveland Browns. And a few Lions have already signed as undrafted free agents including Matt Hahn to Oakland, Terrelle Golden to Philadelphia, and Anthony Morelli to Arizona. No word yet on Rodney Kinlaw.

Morelli's signing is causing a stir today. Not because of the team he went to or the fact he didn't get drafted at all, but because of what pro scout Tom Marino had to say about him. (HT: RUTS)

Former pro scout Tom Marino, who has 30 plus years in the league, is pretty high on Morelli as a project.

"He has all the tools you look for in a QB; an athletic body, very strong throwing arm and far better movement then I had expected, but is acutely under coached and unprepared for the job of being a professional QB.

Has a violent overhand delivery and when he's on his game has as much ability as anyone in the draft. Can make all the throws; out, dig, fade and comeback. Going to have to start from square one with this player, but has a big upside. A 6th - 7th round steal.

"Acutely undercoached and unprepared?" "Start from square one with this player?" Ouch. I think there is going to be some cringing at Jay Paterno's breakfast table when he reads that in the papers.

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Acutely undercoached and unprepared

Nittany nation has known this forever. Now we can all say "I told you so."

by NJ lion on Apr 28, 2008 3:20 PM EDT 0 recs

And the debate begins...

Was Morelli that bad or was Jay that bad at coaching? I personally think it was a combination of both, but Morelli never seemed to go anywhere but down. Although he only had a season to show for it, MRob's confidence in the passing game seemed to improve and I believe it showed.

Still, we haven't had anybody pass for 60% in a while.

by Artiefufkin on Apr 28, 2008 3:42 PM EDT 0 recs

Who to blame more?

If anyone saw how bad Morelli was in the Senior Bowl could say the PSU coaching staff made him look as good as possible considering his lack of game instincts.

If he becomes a starting NFL QB I will be very surprised, but that would be the ultimate mark of shame on Jay.

by gbd106 on Apr 28, 2008 4:18 PM EDT 0 recs

Hilarious!

What word choices! There's no ambiguity whatsoever there. Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction: this sounds more like a blogger post than the words of veteran pro scout.

by jtothep on Apr 28, 2008 4:22 PM EDT 0 recs

Its not just that scout.....

Several have said AM has all the skills in the world to be an NFL player. Its interesting his is with Arizona. Leinhart has not panned out as expected and Kurt Warner is getting up there in age; Brian St.Pierre is the 3rd QB on roster.

BTW....as I will always say....AM was better THAN A LOT OF QBs we have had at PSU. I think what frustrated fans so much with him were the expectations. JayPa sucks!

I thought only safeties played 15 yards off the ball?

by pic15 on Apr 28, 2008 4:32 PM EDT 0 recs

Biggest Frustration

Was most likely decision-making. Perhaps sound decision-making is one of the expectations you write of.

by jtothep on Apr 28, 2008 4:53 PM EDT 0 recs

Good for him

I'm really happy for Morelli. He's a good kid who was a good quarterback (in the relative sense), just not great. He may have been immature in regards to handling the media, but he never got into trouble. While he made plenty of mistakes, many of them can be contributed to lack of maturation and development provided by our lackluster QB coach. Honestly, how can a guy who was a second string quarterback coming out of State College High, and never played a down of college football outside of the blue and white game and NCAA 2008 for PS3, be expected to produce NFL caliber quarterbacks? He cant. Jay Paterno is who is killing recruiting, at least in terms of QB's, not Joe Paterno. Jay may be a nice guy and may have good recruiting skills, but once these young kids really do their research, they tend to shy away. Ultimately, don't put the blame on Morelli when he didnt have the opportunity to develop properly like many other top named kids do. Just wish him well in his endeavors.

by doctadas on Apr 28, 2008 5:36 PM EDT 0 recs

grammar

attributed, not contributed..."i am so smart. S-M-R-T..."

by doctadas on Apr 28, 2008 5:41 PM EDT up 0 recs

It will be interestring

to see what a pro coach can do with him. Was the problem at Penn State that he wasn't taught or that he didn't learn. I believe the majority of his problems are between his ears. He did set some nice records at State but he'll never be called a "winner". Perhaps the 7x24 pro setting will help him but I'm skeptical.

by ageing lion on Apr 28, 2008 5:55 PM EDT 0 recs

"Acutely undercoached and unprepared"

I'm shocked!

by MarkoMancuso on Apr 28, 2008 6:14 PM EDT 0 recs

Anyway

Good luck to 14 in the pros. I have my doubts, but if he gets a good (Read: actual) QB coach he might have a chance. He's certainly got the arm for it.

by MarkoMancuso on Apr 28, 2008 6:17 PM EDT 0 recs

Conspiracy theory

OK, which one of you rich guys paid that scout to say that?? Not that it's going to change our QB coaching situation.....

Best of luck to AM. He wasn't the best QB, and he wasn't our worst ever, but he never got in trouble with the law.

by NJ lion on Apr 28, 2008 9:00 PM EDT 0 recs

Austin Scott

For the love of all that is holy, keep Austin Scott out of Cleveland. As a die-hard Browns fan, I'll shit a brick if they sign that dimwit.

by ignition719 on Apr 29, 2008 12:01 AM EDT 0 recs

As a diehard Cleveland Browns fan

you have worse problems than Austin Scott.

For the Glory National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994,

by jesse. on Apr 29, 2008 9:08 AM EDT up 0 recs

Hopefully past tense - 'Had'

Things are turning around for us, and barring any usual injury of half of our starting lineup, we could make the playoffs this season.

by ignition719 on Apr 29, 2008 9:43 AM EDT up 0 recs

Depth Chart.....

Look at your depth....Scott would be an upgrade to your second and third string backs!

I thought only safeties played 15 yards off the ball?

by pic15 on Apr 29, 2008 1:10 PM EDT up 0 recs

Draft thoughs

I am happy for AM. I hope he hooks on. He is our leading career passer and he did it in two years. He at times made mistakes but he did a lot of good stuff also. I think a good coach and a lot of hard work and he could hang on with a club. My only questions are will he be able to figure out the defenses, can he stop telegraphing his passes, and can he find his secondary receivers on a regular basis. That is what plaged him at PSU.

I was surprised at how far Conner fell. I still wish King would have stayed another year at PSU. And I thought Kinlaw was going to get picked up as a 3rd down back/kick returner in round 6 or 7.

The comment that rang out in almost every report I read on sportsline about the PSU players was that they lacked sufficient strenth. Particularly in their legs. It was listed as a weakness for all of them including Conner.

Peter

by psuboy on Apr 29, 2008 7:45 AM EDT 0 recs

That's surprising....

Because it is my understanding that squat is not part of the combine or pro-day. Also from what I heard all our guys did well with the bench. Only 3 backs during the combine had more reps than Scott did at his Pro-Day workout. Also King weighed in at the combine in the 190 range....that is the biggest he has ever been at PSU.

I have no idea why Conner fell. He was a 1st day worthy pick and Carolina got a steal. King could have used another year in school. Even though he was hurt much of the season, scouts saw him look like booty on film (especially the Indiana game). A good year at PSU would have propelled him into the 1st or 2nd round next year. At the very least he would not have been in worse shape than his draft position from this year.

I thought only safeties played 15 yards off the ball?

by pic15 on Apr 29, 2008 1:18 PM EDT up 0 recs

Kinlaw

I havent seen Kinlaws name anywhere. I thought he was at least good enough to be signed as a free-agent. Any word on him?

"I've gotto go with PSU. Ill make that pick every year till I die, and eventually it's gonna happen. Hear me now."- LL Cool J

by psuaar on Apr 29, 2008 12:39 PM EDT 0 recs

Watching The Blue White Game.........

on Big 10 Network. Thought it interesting that Kenny Jackson commented that "Joe was probably worried about the passes down and over the middle being thrown by Devlin".

Eric Watters Atlanta, Ga.

by ech2os on Apr 29, 2008 1:46 PM EDT 0 recs

As far as Morelli goes,

I'm no fan of Jay's. Doctadas is absolutely right: What are Jay's credentials to coach QB's at this level? None. That being said, I could have taught Morelli the importance of hanging onto the ball. Let's look at some of Morelli's high profile fumbles (Just this year!):

End of first half drive against Notre Dame
The fumble inside the ten at the Out House

leading to scUM's first TD
3. The fumble after a great run at Illinois

No excuses whatsoever, and in my opinion, you can't blame Jay for that.

And I think PSUBOY brought up a great point: the lack of strength in our players' legs. I've never been impressed with our strength and conditioning coach. Once Chet Fuhrman left and John (or is it Jim? I'm too lazy to go get one of my media guides and look) Thomas took over, our offensive lines started getting beat the fuck up. Thomas maybe a "Master Strength and Conditioning Coach" but I don't think he knows how to apply it to football.

by Ab4PSU on Apr 29, 2008 1:53 PM EDT 0 recs

Here's a better option

if you're the scout that talked the Cardinals into signing Morelli:

Load bullet into gun
Aim gun directly at foot
Pull trigger (twice for good measure)

Guess his highlight reel was only made up of plays from the games against Temple and Buffalo. He must have destroyed the OSU and Illinois game tapes like the Patriots did with their spygate tapes.

I bleed Blue and White.

by Horse N Buggy on Apr 29, 2008 4:52 PM EDT 0 recs

On paper

Morelli is good. He's big, he's strong, he has a cannon for an arm. I agree with the assessment that he moves better than most people think. He won more than he lost. His touchdown to interception ratio is good. His completion percentage was decent, he threw for a lot of yards. You can read a paragraph or two about Anthony Morelli and walk away thinking he is a legit NFL prospect.

I'm not a 100% sure that he's not.

Arizona is not the first team to look at this kid and think the previous coaches are stupid. On paper, there is no reason to think he can't be successful. Maybe there is a personality flaw there that holds him back? Maybe it's correctable?

I think that one of the major flaws of Penn State's coaching in the past few seasons has been not putting players in a position where they can succeed, i.e. rather than adapting the system to Morelli, they tried to adapt Morelli to the system. It could all be bullshit, maybe he's an asshole, maybe Jay Paterno is a fool. But I think it Morelli's problems may have been as simple as a lack of adaptability in the system.

For the Glory National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994,

by jesse. on Apr 29, 2008 5:32 PM EDT 0 recs