FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[frank uible]

On 3/14 Ryan Moores (OG, Middlebury) worked out for the NFL at Harvard's pro day. The internet published report (see NFL Draft Scout) on that workout was not surprising although Gil Brandt, the reporter, was a little optimistic as is his custom.

[lumbercat]

The big story from the Harvard Pro Day, from a NESCAC perspective, was Darren Hartwell of Williams who ran a 4.4 40.
It is very possible that Hartwell will receive some NFL free agent offers.

[mattvsmith]

With talent like that, it would be really nice if nescac teams could play OOC and post-season games so the rest of us could see that talent in action.
Sorry, I don't mean to revive the dead horse for further whippings.

[frank uible]

Every season there are 40 NESCAC varsity football games (5 per weekend). Everyone is welcome to attend - most of the games are admission free. Hamilton College is located close to Geneva (MapQuest says 96 miles almost all on the NY Thruway).

[nescac1]

Here are Hartwell's highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLD15uN-BvM

He certainly has the size (if he bulks up a bit), coordination, hands, and straight-line speed of an NFL receiver in my view.  What the challenge for him will be, however, is getting separation.  He doesn't seem to have the elite quickness or escapability / ability to make guys miss in the open field, or precise route-running of typical NFL receivers.  To be fair, he was mainly asked just to run fly patterns or WR screens in college ... Williams does not have a particularly sophisticated passing attack, so who knows how good his route running can be.   With a lot of work his upside might be a Kevin Walter-type player, but he'll have to work hard.  He is also the best player on the Williams baseball team, so he's obviously a fantastic athlete who has room to grow as a player if he dedicates himself to football on a full-time basis. 

[lumbercat]

Hartwell.............6'3.4" --- 193 lbs at the weigh in and ran a legit 4.4 --- he's a genuine prospect and those in the Big Time obviously believe he hasn't been pushed hard in the NESCAC and may have a considerable upside with NFL training and tutelage.
An AFC scout stated that with some work he could be a 4.37-4.38 guy at a weight above 200. The kid has not spent considerable time in the weight room playing 2 sports at Williams and is still a raw talent.  "The guys we see from big time programs are generally maxed out in terms of exploitation of their abilities....a guy like Cromwell hasn't even been pushed yet and has a huge upside. With his physical attributes and 4.4 speed he could be a diamond in the rough, we see him as a great athlete"
Their review of film showed no perceptible drops, great hands and a positive background as a baseball outfielder bodes well for his overall skillset.
Hartwell is also considered an outside prospect in the MLB baseball draft and on the radar of several pro baseball clubs.

[frank uible]

Time will tell, but NFL teams tend to have considerable reluctance and lack of patience toward investing the substantial money, time and effort usually needed in risky attempts to sufficiently develop the perceived potential of d3 players who as a group are almost unanimously regarded as extremely untested.

[lumbercat]

Agree Frank but who knows, maybe the next Scott Perry.

[frank uible]

Perry was quicker, faster and otherwise more athletic than Hartwell and manifested it at Williams.

[lumbercat]

Given Perry's NFL career you must be right- but Hartwell is bigger, I believe.

Only saw Perry once or twice in the 70's from the opposing side of the field. Believe he ran a 4.3 something??? I do know he was challenged to a race at Bengals training camp by Archie Griffin who just came off 2 Heisman Trophies.
It's a fact that Perry blew him away in the first "heat". No one could believe it especially Griffin who asked for a re- match which ended with the same result. Perry was interviewed by the Williams magazine several years later and indicated he really didn't "let it all out"....great athlete. 

[lumbercat]

to clarify my account of the races with Griffin, Perry did not let it out in the first race for fear of yanking a hamstring but won fairly easily.
In the rematch Perry decided to go all out. He held nothing back and beat Griffin by 5-6 yards to the surprise of Paul Brown among others in the Bengals organization at that time.

[frank uible]

The Bengals coaching staff was not surprised by the outcomes of those Griffin/Perry races. Perry's prior 40 times indicated so - and I doubt that Paul Brown was surprised.

[lumbercat]

 Frank-- I will characterize what Perry said about the race with Griffin..."(Paul)Brown and his cronies were crackling with excitement" after Perry beat Griffin. Had to be a pretty good day for Brown to sign a free agent from a D3 school who was faster than a 2 time Heisman winner. Perry had a damn good hitch with the Bengals.

[frank uible]

Perry was a 5th round draft pick by the Bengals. After the Bengals minicamp on Cincinnati's Spinney Field in May of 1976, at which Perry produced a 4.35/40 (the best 40 time of that minicamp), the Bengals had sufficient evidence to definitively conclude (and I believe did so conclude) that Perry was significantly faster than Griffin, all without the necessity of staging a match race for a comparative speed purpose. It would be speculative to try to determine what other purpose might have been served by the race.  In fairness to Griffin, as a general proposition pro cornerbacks are, and need to be, significantly faster than pro running backs.

[lumbercat]

I think it was Griffin who was the non believer. Probably couldn't handle the fact that a D3 athlete from a small school could beat him that badly. It was Archie who insisted on the rematch after Bengals coaches set up the first race.

I found the story interesting- you can find it on the Williams Athletics web site. Search Scott Perry and it should come up. It was dated November 2007. Wish I knew how to paste the link on here.