The Nittany Turkey

Primarily about Penn State football, this is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

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Morelli “Not Crisp” in Pro Day Workout

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Scout.com is reporting that our favorite PSU whipping boy quarterback, Mr. Anthony Morelli, did himself no favors in his Pro Day showoff drills, running 40s in a linemanlike 4.9-5.1 and appearing inconsistent and “not crisp at all” in the main quarterback workout. Tell us something we didn’t already know.

Among other NFL personnel, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin personally attended the workouts. Perhaps he wanted to see the place where his predecessor will be coaching next. (Just kidding, but RUTS has reported that Bill Cowher met with Spanier and Paterno as well as Curley when he visited University Park last month.)

Dan Connor, who missed the linebacker workouts at the NFL Scouting Combine, having gone home from that event with the flu,  looked good all around, running a 4.70 and a 4.71.

Even the forgotten man, Austin Scott, had a decent performance. However, his legal trouble and his hesitancy to hit holes of the football kind will make him iffy for the NFL.

Justin King participated in all the drills except for the 40, I suppose because he wanted to leave well enough alone after having run a 4.31 at the NFL Combine. He was said to have performed well.

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One other thing. Terrelle Pryor will announce his choice this week. Just about everybody thinks it will be Ohio State, so don’t be surprised if it is. Now that he’s won the basketball championship for Jeannette, he can concentrate on ending this high drama.

King for a Day?

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Today is Justin King’s day at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Will he be King for a Day? Did he make a mistake in leaving PSU with one year of eligibility on the table? Will the Sandusky/Bradley soft zone coverage scheme he played as a Nittany Lion hamper his performance in the eyes of NFL scouts? Perhaps today’s workouts will answer some of those questions.

King, although listed in NFL.com as a wide receiver, is among 36 cornerbacks participating in the Combine. (Unless NFL.com has listed some others as offensive tackles or something.)

I must digress for a moment to report that Dan Connor left the combine without doing his position drills. He caught a nasty dose of the flu, which it seems is particularly virulent this year, especially in the north.

Back to King, I would expect him to shine in the 40-yard dash. Raw speed might be his best asset in the NFL’s eyes, inasmuch as his cover skills were largely undeveloped in Penn State’s secondary, where King started for the past two years after having been relegated to wide receiver for his first year. Billed as a shut-down corner, he often seemed out of position in pass coverage during 2007.

King is likely to be a project for some NFL team, much like Alan Zemaitis was a couple of years ago. Zemaitis was an NFL failure. This Turkey thought that his best chance would be with a zone-oriented defense such as Tampa Bay’s. He got his chance with that very team; however, he was unable to cope with NFL speed and often got turned around on the field. He washed out after two years of sitting on the far end of the Buccaneers’ bench. Well, hell, the view of the Tampa Bay Swashbucklers, the cheerleading squad, is better there, and Tampa Bay has some total hotties.

On the other hand, Penn State has been able to produce NFL cornerbacks in the past—but damn few. David Macklin is the only Nittany Lion cornerback playing in the NFL right now. He’s been in the league for eight years and he was a starter for several seasons.

Here is what NFLDraftScout.com has to say about King’s strengths and weaknesses:

Positives: Physically, has everything scouts are looking for. Tight skinned, athletic build, good size and rare straight-line speed. … Smooth hip turn in transition to stick with receivers out of their breaks. … Versatile athlete who has seen time at wide receiver. … Shows the ability to pluck the ball out of the air. … Flashes explosiveness as a hitter.

Negatives: Left out on an island in 2007 and really struggled down the stretch. … Has the athleticism to run with any receiver in the country, but seemed to struggle with more refined route-runners. … Too often seemed satisfied with breaking up passes when opportunities for interceptions were there. … Finished 2007 with 15 passes broken up and only two interceptions. … Not particularly aggressive or physical in run support.

Let’s hope for King’s sake that his tight skin doesn’t keep his legs from running a great 40, as the speed aspect seems to be his greatest selling point.

I’ll be back later with comments on King’s drills.