Gerald Hodges - LB (4th round)
Says on his bio he did wrestling in high school, and started out as a safety in football. At 6'1, 243 lbs, I can see why he switched to LB, and he seems to have done quite well at PSU. 106 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks his junior season with 109 tackles (8.5 for loss), a sack, and two interceptions his senior season. Not bad! I'll gloss over him being All Big Ten twice in a row, because as a SEC snob I don't think much of certain other conferences...haha
He's not really a big lineman, but hopefully his purported speed will be enough to mitigate his bad habits of getting locked into blocks and getting fooled by misdirection plays.
From what I saw in the six minutes of tape I watched on him (lol) he's tenacious, but can be fooled. I'm fine with that. Tenacity is hard to teach; the structure of the game much less so. We have a good staff and good vets to mentor him.
Jeff Locke - P (5th round)
Our new left-footed punting extraordinare is 6'0", 209 lbs, and a grad of UCLA. He has a collegiate punting career average of 44.23 which makes him the #2 punter in UCLA history. He was their punter for 4 years, so that's a solid average for sure, especially when you think about the strength differential between an 18 year old and a 22 year old! He's an economics major and was on the Honor Roll so hopefully he won't squander his football money on pimpin' and hoes...seems to be a standup guy from what I read. I'm glad, every team needs those, just as much as they need good athletes.
Jeff Baca - G (6th round)
At 6'3 and 302 pounds, I rather like this pick. Everything I've read about him contains the word "tenacious" and Neuheisel - the UCLA coach - praises him too. He'll need to get stronger, since he's pretty average size-wise, and apparently he can get suckered by misdirection too, but a bulldog in the 6th that's already overcome adversity (a broken ankle in 2011) is good value in my book, especially with our strength and training staff. I mean, have you SEEN Adrian Peterson lately? Dude is ripped!
Watching his tape I definitely see some missed tackles, but as I said, he's a 6th rounder, and I think we could get some good value out of the guy.
Blogger doesn't want to embed the video for some reason, so here's the link I looked at most:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVt6AQU6lU0
Michael Mauti - LB (7th round)
Mauti is another PSU alum, and has been extensively praised for his dedication to the university in hard times. Apparently, he went around to every player and tried to convince them to stay and show that this team had nothing to do with the scandal, and be a rallying point to the shocked community.
He's had a torn ACL in both legs, as well as some other injuries, which is why he fell to the 7th, but he's called a "deeply instinctual" player, and has a good history of football players in his family. He's strong and knows his fundamentals, so if he improves his speed and is more consistent, as well as avoiding injury, he could definitely prove to be a value pick.
Also, it's clear why he wears the #42 - he's got the meaning of life down pat. Glad to have a guy with that kind of inherent leadership and strength on our team.
Travis Bond - G (7th round)
At 6'6, 329 lbs, I think it's clear to everyone why we chose this guy. Apparently he was 370ish at one point, and his coaches suggested he lose a little, which is when he whittled down to 330ish, which I think is probably both healthier for him and better for his game. What I read is that he's both powerful and has decent mobility for his size, as well as using his size to advantage in situations like piles and hanging onto a block. (No penalties from you, mister!)
Due to his height he can apparently be a little slow to get his hands up, and despite being mobile for his size, he's not truly quick. I also see a couple mentions of attitude, but hopefully our staff can nip that in the bud fairly quickly. The biggest questionmark about him is his lack of ball awareness, which is a bigtime minus. But if he can improve that, then I'll say we all kinds of got a steal!
Everett Dawkins - DT (7th round)
6'2", 292 and also with a long injury history, Dawkins produced pretty well at FSU, especially considering their defensive depth. The man is quick off the mark and definitely some claim to the title "explosive". He understands the game and has a good grasp on when to stay put and when to start moving. Fortunately for my Gators, he can get out of control and had overconfidence issues that lead to him making crucial mistakes.
In short, the man has potential, and we'll just have to see if the Vikings can develop it. He also looks a little heavier than I remember, but I trust our staff will take care of that ASAP.
SKOL!
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