NFL Draft & BYU Players - Cause for Concern

While no BYU player was drafted this year, four players signed free agent contracts (Reynolds, Fangupo, Brown, Jacobsen) - more may follow.



The question is whether the lack of BYU players being drafted indicates a lack of talent, a lack of exposure and the team not being taken serious by NFL teams. IMO the draft has never been as important to me as to whether players end up on the NFL roster when all is said and done. BYU has had lots of players not get drafted that went on to play in the NFL as free agents.



However, my question about the impact of not having many players get selected for the NFL draft is focused upon recruiting. In other words, if the best LDS HS FB players dream of playing in the NFL, does the BYU program help them fulfill thier dreams. It seems the primary attraction for the BYU recruits is the entire package that BYU offers (visibility, coaches they trust, comaraderie, competition, etc.). However, for those LDS recruits that have aspirations to play in the NFL and believe that big time programs will help them achieve that goal, does BYU fit into the picture.



If the best LDS athletes don't believe that BYU can help them develop to play in the NFL, many of them will choose other schools. Consequently, the more top LDS guys BYU loses for that reason the harder it will be for BYU to compete at the highest levels. Therefore, if we aspire to be a BCS buster, doesn't it make sense that BYU should help develop as many guys to get drafted in the NFL as possible every year and make this aspect a part of their goal?

It is a talent issue. Even USU coaches can develop a talented player into an NFL draft able player.



BYU used to produce the occasional Heisman Trophy, Outland Trophy, etc. winner and once had two DL taken in the 1st round in the same year iirc.



We need more than just NFL draft material. We need some high round picks.



Manti Teo - for example.



But if those guys have HC issues as was rumored, or just want the lights - the lights shine brighter in South Bend and at the LA Coliseum. They just do.



Big picture - BYU is a better place to be. Manti Teo would have done as well playing for BYU as he has at ND. You cannot hold back legitimate talent.



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Key question - are we getting legitimate talent - or at least approaching that as in the past?

Cougarbib2 wrote:
It is a talent issue. Even USU coaches can develop a talented player into an NFL draft able player.



BYU used to produce the occasional Heisman Trophy, Outland Trophy, etc. winner and once had two DL taken in the 1st round in the same year iirc.



We need more than just NFL draft material. We need some high round picks.



Manti Teo - for example.



But if those guys have HC issues as was rumored, or just want the lights - the lights shine brighter in South Bend and at the LA Coliseum. They just do.



Big picture - BYU is a better place to be. Manti Teo would have done as well playing for BYU as he has at ND. You cannot hold back legitimate talent.



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Didnt Matt R qualify as legit nfl talent?

It is not a talent issue. usu just drafted three players. byu drafted zero. we have talent. what we dont have are coaches who develop that talent into nfl talent.

Age caused by missions is a huge area of concern.



The fact is, if we want to start putting more top talent LDS kids into the NFL and they want to serve a mission, we have to start putting them into the drafter after their JR season.



The average NFL career is between 3 and 4 years, that means with missions and redshirts, the average NFL player is done with his NFL career at the same time an RM, redshirt senior from BYU is entering the draft.



What team is going to want to risk a pick on a guy who's 3 best years may be behind him already? He'd have to be a serious cut above the next kid.

The reason the average career is 3-4 seasons doesn't have to do with durability. IT is because after 3 years the teams and the NFL have to start paying HEAVILY into things like their 401k's and get them on the EXTENSIVE health insurance, start paying them higher league minimums, etc. They don't need to do that before the end of the 3rd season. That is why most players only make it 1 or 2.



But I do agree that younger is better for some positions. But for lineman, younger isn't necessarily better. An older, more developed lineman would appeal to teams if he had the talent so they could plug and play him, and didn't need to drag him around in the system for a few years while he develops and learns the NFL game.

byucougar1 wrote:
While no BYU player was drafted this year, four players signed free agent contracts (Reynolds, Fangupo, Brown, Jacobsen) - more may follow.



The question is whether the lack of BYU players being drafted indicates a lack of talent, a lack of exposure and the team not being taken serious by NFL teams. IMO the draft has never been as important to me as to whether players end up on the NFL roster when all is said and done. BYU has had lots of players not get drafted that went on to play in the NFL as free agents.



However, my question about the impact of not having many players get selected for the NFL draft is focused upon recruiting. In other words, if the best LDS HS FB players dream of playing in the NFL, does the BYU program help them fulfill thier dreams. It seems the primary attraction for the BYU recruits is the entire package that BYU offers (visibility, coaches they trust, comaraderie, competition, etc.). However, for those LDS recruits that have aspirations to play in the NFL and believe that big time programs will help them achieve that goal, does BYU fit into the picture.



If the best LDS athletes don't believe that BYU can help them develop to play in the NFL, many of them will choose other schools. Consequently, the more top LDS guys BYU loses for that reason the harder it will be for BYU to compete at the highest levels. Therefore, if we aspire to be a BCS buster, doesn't it make sense that BYU should help develop as many guys to get drafted in the NFL as possible every year and make this aspect a part of their goal?

Outstanding post

It is obvious that Bronco and his coaches don't know how to teach, or train, these top athletes to get them to the next level. This is absolutely pathetic that USU gets 3 guys drafted and we can't get 1. I doubt any of these free agents make the team but have hope for them and their future.

I recently read a study, where a researcher went to some fancy music school and asked the faculty to divide which students they felt would make it as professional musicians (conductors, song-writers, musicians, etc.) and which would likely end up having to become instructors.



The researcher then went and interviewed the students in each group and asked them how many hours a day they practiced.



Almost entirely across the board the students "destined" to be professionals had practiced over 10,000 hours over the course of their life. The students fated for careers as instructors had practiced under 10,000 hours.



Athleticism is a bit different, but I think there's still some truth to the principle when it comes to sports. A lot of it really has to do with how many hours an athlete has devoted to the sport.



Willing to bet if you were to look at how many hours the top recruits put into their sport prior to going to college, you'll find they're closer to 10,000 hours than the 3 star recruits. Same goes with the draft prospects.



Bottom line, BYU players aren't putting the time into football like they used to. It's starting to show and that's on Bronco.

A follow up study would be interesting to see if the destined musicians actually became such, after all the ones who were projecting who was destined to be professional we're themselves not dedicated enough to be professionals...

hawkwing wrote:
A follow up study would be interesting to see if the destined musicians actually became such, after all the ones who were projecting who was destined to be professional we're themselves not dedicated enough to be professionals...

Right, like Generals in the army tend to pick people like themselves as future leaders of the army. Rather than other qualified brilliant people.





(That's an "Ender's Shadow" shout out, for any of you that are cool enough to get it.)

Is it on the head coach when the player slacks or does not work hard enough over the summer for example?

BoiseBYU wrote:
Is it on the head coach when the player slacks or does not work hard enough over the summer for example?

It is on the coach when he starts him. He is saying that of all the other 80+ players this specific player is the most prepared and has worked hardest for the position I am starting him for.

BlueIsBetter wrote:

Is it on the head coach when the player slacks or does not work hard enough over the summer for example?

It is on the coach when he starts him. He is saying that of all the other 80+ players this specific player is the most prepared and has worked hardest for the position I am starting him for.

Perhaps you are right. But what if the player has not worked hard enough to make it in the NFL but is still better than the second stringer?

BoiseBYU wrote:

BoiseBYU wrote:
Is it on the head coach when the player slacks or does not work hard enough over the summer for example?

It is on the coach when he starts him. He is saying that of all the other 80+ players this specific player is the most prepared and has worked hardest for the position I am starting him for.

Perhaps you are right. But what if the player has not worked hard enough to make it in the NFL but is still better than the second stringer?

Bronco starts less talented people over others because of "character" all of the time on the defensive side of the ball. JP had to wrongfully sit in coach Jamie (or is it "Hymie") Hill's doghouse for an entire year as a waste of an entire freshman year. (He was a phenomenal safety in high school) He eventually switches to linebacker so he can get some playing time, and is a beast there - just like he would have been at safety as a freshman.



KVN had to sit behind Jameson Frazier for the better part of a year last year.



Corby Eason had to sit behind Brandon Bradley for an entire year, when Eason was light years ahead of Bradley in both coverage and tackling.



Defensive players have to "earn their keep" in overkill fashion for Bronco's defense. I like Bronco, but I think he has no clue about the offensive side of the ball, and I don't know that he even cares to know about it. It might end up costing him his job down the line, if he doesn't watch it. It for sure is affecting job performance. He seems completely out of touch with his Oline, and QBs, for starters.



Most of the off field problems we have had the last few seasons have all been offensive sided, too. Chambers, Jacobsen, the Oline, Riley vs Jake (and the Oline and WRs participation in that.) Unga and his girly problem, leading to early graduation. And so on, and so forth.



Since Max Hall, Collie and Pitta the offense has taken a drastic turn for the worse. People can quote all the rosy, glass half full, stats against all of the "Northern El Paso Agricultural" schools that they want, but there are serious problems with this offense. We can't move the ball and/or score efficiently against anyone with a winning record. I think it is going to be more of the same this year. Bronco needs to be more involved in the offense as head coach. He simply has to.

I learned an interesting fact on the radio heading home yesterday. In the 2007 NFL draft, not one team picked up an Alabama player. Five years later, they have two national championships and had four players drafted in the first round this year.



While it is disconcerting that no players were drafted--arguing about all the exposure on ESPN doesn't do anything if a player doesn't feel like you can get him into the NFL--it is possible to turn it around in a short period of time.



It needs to start with the Strength and Conditioning and the O Line coaches. Coaching can make all the difference in the world.

There are definitely different ways to look at the fact that BYU did not have any player drafted in this year's draft. But I think there is a hole in the argument that Bronco isn't preparing players.



I agree that if Bronco were not preparing players for the NFL then they wouldn't be getting drafted, but wouldn't it also be true that players would be going the free agent route to becoming major contributors in the NFL?



Bronco has had plenty of players make it on NFL rosters, both drafted and undrafted, but they haven't turned into major contributors, even with years of NFL coaching. Think about Bryan Kehl. Despite Bronco's alleged inability to coach players to the NFL, Kehl was drafted in the 4th round, and still after 4 years of NFL coaching he is not a major contributor. Is that on Bronco?



The same is true for Max Hall and John Beck. Is their issue that Bronco wasn't good enough, or that they aren't good enough to by NFL starters?



I would buy the theory that Bronco was failing to coach players up to their potential if NFL coaches could turn them into something more, but they haven't. Therefore I don't think the theory fits.



Instead I think it speaks to a shortage of NFL talent for BYU in recent years, and yet Bronco still has coached the team to 7 straight bowl games and 5 double digit win seasons.

I'm not sure if anyone has really touched on the fact that this is the second year running that we haven't sent anyone to the draft.



Next year will be the same, unless, as lingo pointed out "Heaven forbid, KVN leaves early."



3 years not getting anyone to the draft is a big problem. Especially when our in state rival will be into double digits in that same 3 year span.



I suppose that our RT and RG have a shot to get drafted in the later rounds. Beyond them, it's hard to see anyone go.

Also, would people stop throwing around the "7 straight bowl games" and "best bowlgame winning percentage" references. That means almost nothing in today's "6 wins and in" post season. It was a much better achievement back in Lavelle's day and age. Getting to a bowl actually was an accomplishment back then. It means that you were the best team in your conference, or at least an "at large" if you weren't.



:utard:s throw around the fact that they have a better bowl winning percentage than BYU ALL THE TIME. Well, when you are playing Montana St. in the "Local guy down the road's tire shop" bowl, you are going to do well. The double digit wins thing is very cool, and unique.



But bragging about (possibly) beating the 6th best team in the Pac-10 in the Vegas bowl just isn't much. Almost every top 75 team out there has a "consecutive bowl appearance" streak.