“He’s not just a weight room freak,” Iowa Hawkeyes tailback Weisman said of former UI OT Brandon Scherff.
“He’s a football freak.”
Brandon Scherff is called a freak because he can do this, which is insane. Yes, he power cleaned 443 pounds three times. FOOTBALL! STRENGTH!!!! RAR RAR RAR!!!!!!!!!
Scherff is almost guaranteed to be a first-round pick (here’s where I have him in my latest mock) and in my interview with him below we talk NFL Draft, and his weight room heroics.
Iowa offensive coordinator Greg Davis compared Scherff to former Nebraska defensive tackle to Ndamukong Suh.
That’s apt! I guess I walked into the middle of a NFL Draft projection discussion, which led to my joke “so you don’t log on and check NFL mock drafts 20 times a day?”
To which he replied “no, I’m usually fishing.”
The Big Ten has gone six straight years with zero picks in the top ten. Although Taylor Lewan just missed at #11 overall this past May.
Also, Aaron Maybin of Penn State went #11 in 2009 before his NFL career flamed out. This draft class, the Big Ten will redeem itself BIG TIME. With Randy Gregory leading the way, but other top ten overall potential in Scherff (obviously) and Michigan State CB Trae Waynes. (Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon and Michigan WR/TE Devin Funchess have top 15 potential)
And to be fair, the Big Ten has produced a lot of blue chip linemen in recent years. Not so much at the skill positions, but definitely so in the trenches. Joe Thomas was the 3rd overall selection out of Wisconsin in 2007, and Jake Long was the first overall pick out of Michigan in 2008.
“I think his best position, because of his power, his toughness, his football sense, is inside. I think he’s an all pro guard. But that doesn’t mean he can’t play tackle in the NFL,”said NFL Network Analyst Mike Mayock this week of Scherff.
Mayock on media conference call to preview the NFL Scouting Combine, the interview portion of which is now ongoing. Indeed Brandon Scherff could play guard or tackle in the pros. (he was actually a 290 pound quarterback in high school!) His versatility has him shooting up the draft boards.
“When I look at Brandon Scherff, I see a bigger kid with longer arms. That lends you to believe that he could play outside more easily.”
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital, eBay, Google News and CBS Interactive.
You can read Banks’ feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye newspaper and listen to him on KOZN 1620 The Zone.
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