Somebody Please Draft

[st.cronin]

Jim Leonard of Wisconsin

[Passacaglia]

Isn't it Leonhard?

[General Mike]

Isn't it Leonhard?

or Leonherd maybe

[gottimd]

or Leonherd maybe
or Lionhart?

[st.cronin]

It's Leonhard - I typoed. He went undrafted. I think he'll have a good pro career, about as good as Starks.

[Passacaglia]

Yeah, I remember seeing him light up the Big Ten. I'm surprised no one took him in the 7th or anything.

[st.cronin]

Espn report on him claims he's 'unathletic' which is preposterous. (Perhaps racist?) He was in fact the best athlete on the Badgers last year; their best tackler; and he is Wisconsin's ALL TIME leading punt returner. He's undersized, and he's not lightning fast, but he can play some football. He was easily Wisconsin's MVP last year.

[SegRat]

And he is still injured.

[st.cronin]

Forgot to mention more INTs in a two year period than any player in D1 history.

I didn't hear he was injured?

[Philliesfan980]

All of this brings up a good point. With all the good "headsy" players out there in big time conferences, why don't they get drafted? Do you really want to take a chance on some guy who plays against nobody in a small college? Sure, maybe he's a little more unathletic than the other guy, but I think the brains will overcome that.

[NoMyths]

(Perhaps racist?)I'm sure that's it, and has nothing to do with the fact that a 5'8", 178 lb. safety might have some problems stopping, say...uh, your average NFL back bearing down on him. Let alone what would happen if coverage switched to his responsibility.

[st.cronin]

I'm sure that's it, and has nothing to do with the fact that a 5'8", 178 lb. safety might have some problems stopping, say...uh, your average NFL back bearing down on him. Let alone what would happen if coverage switched to his responsibility.

Undersized and unathletic are two different things.

Donnie Edwards
Teddy Bruschi
Dat Nyugen
Deion Branch
and lest we forget-

Doug Flutie
Emmitt Smith

[NoMyths]

Evidently he's got problems tackling folks, which doesn't cut it for a safety in the NFL.

Which Round Were These Guys Drafted?
Donnie Edwards: 4th Round
Tedy Bruschi: 3rd Round
Dat Nguyen: 3rd Round
Deion Branch: 2nd Round
Doug Flutie: 11th Round (285 overall)
Emmitt Smith: 1st Round

In other words: if you ain't athletic enough to hop up to at least the 4th round as an undersized player, unless you've thrown one of the most famous passes in college history you're probably going to be struggling to find a home.

[st.cronin]

Evidently he's got problems tackling folks, which doesn't cut it for a safety in the NFL.


He led his team in tackles, and just from my observations was the best tackler on the team; better than Starks for sure. Starks isn't that big either.

[NoMyths]

He led his team in tackles, and just from my observations was the best tackler on the team; better than Starks for sure. Starks isn't that big either.*shurg*

I've got nothing against the guy (except for the fact he's a Badger...go Boilers!). I'm just pointing out that racism is probably a pretty large leap to make when in recent NFL history guys that are his size traditionally are going to have a harder row to hoe than bigger players.

[st.cronin]

*shurg*

I've got nothing against the guy (except for the fact he's a Badger...go Boilers!). I'm just pointing out that racism is probably a pretty large leap to make when in recent NFL history guys that are his size traditionally are going to have a harder row to hoe than bigger players.

It just struck me that 'unathletic' was code for 'slow white guy.' I don't think the NFL cares that he's white; I was commenting on the espn capsule.

[Passacaglia]

It's especially hard to make that claim given all the raves Matt Jones has received.

[Craptacular]

Missed this thread earlier. "Unathletic"?!?! That's a joke. The guy is 5'8", and won the Badgers' annual slam-dunk contest at least twice. He is a good tackler, especially for his size, and is the Big Ten's all-time leader in punt return yardage. I think he's got a good shot at making the Bills' roster as a special teams player and backup safety.

[dacman]

Espn report on him claims he's 'unathletic' which is preposterous. (Perhaps racist?) ... He's undersized, and he's not lightning fast...
Taylor Stubblefield didn't get drafted for the exact same stated reasons.

[timmynausea]

I also thought he was a great college player, but there are plenty of college All-Americans that don't get drafted over size/speed issues. Sometimes they end up being decent pros and sometimes they don't.

[st.cronin]

Missed this thread earlier. "Unathletic"?!?! That's a joke. The guy is 5'8", and won the Badgers' annual slam-dunk contest at least twice. He is a good tackler, especially for his size, and is the Big Ten's all-time leader in punt return yardage. I think he's got a good shot at making the Bills' roster as a special teams player and backup safety.

Did the Bills pick him up?

[st.cronin]

Bump: Currently 3rd on the Ravens in tackles, and having a pretty decent career.

ESPN - Jim Leonhard Stats, News, Photos - Baltimore Ravens (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=9266)