2009 UDFA's

[idymoe]

I'm pretty excited about Jeremiah Johnson. He plays faster than his time at the combine. I figured he would be a good pickup in the 6th round. Foster I don't know so much about, but he looks good in his highlights (who doesn't?).
I think either one of these guys has a chance to make the roster, assuming we don't make a move for a veteran.

[nunusguy]

Jeremiah Johnson ? I thought he was a Wasatch fur-trapper ?

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

according to Chron, Texans have 12 UDFA's, but not yet confirmed signed apparently:
Pos. Name School Ht./Wt.
RB Jeremiah Johnson Oregon 5-9/209
RB Arian Foster Tennessee 6-1/226
WR Mike Jones Arizona St. 6-4/211
WR Aubrey Bell Miss. St. 6-3/216
OT Jason Watkins Florida 6-6/318
OT Doug Dedrick Iowa St. 6-4/301
FB Bill Rentmeester Wisconsin 6-1/248
DT Josh Leonard Hawaii 6-2/292
C Charles Helems LSU 6-2/286
G Brandon Walker Oklahoma 6-3/306
DE Tim Jamison Michigan 6-3/256
OLB Toddrick Verdell Florida St. 6-3/222

Okey dokey, we got us some warm bodies. These two RBs are exactly what I expected. I had thought the Texans may draft one Big and one Little RB, but they were "smart" enough to wait until after the draft. Jeremiah Johnson is probably the 3rd Down "change of pace" back that the Texans thought they were getting in Steve Slaton last season. Arian Foster is a talented kid, who if he can stay healthy, could take a bunch of carries away from Steve Slaton. If I were to project percentages, I'd like to see Slaton with 55%, Foster with 35%, and Johnson with 10% of the carries.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/518611

Tackle-Breaking Strength: Foster is more of a finesse-type runner than a power back, despite his size. He needs to stop dancing so much in the backfield, as he might have good weight room strength, but not enough to push the pile and get through traffic. He runs hard, with a good pad level when near contact, but needs to show better body lean in attempts to fall forward. When he gets too tall in his stance, he can get knocked back, as his base will narrow. When he keeps his pads down and runs with good lean, he can get positive yardage after initial contact. GRADE: 5.5

Compares To: OLANDIS GARY, ex-Denver -- Like Gary, Foster would make a capable reserve, but he lacks explosiveness and there are questions about his durability, making it unlikely someone would invest in him to be their featured back. He is an effective receiver out of the backfield, but for a big player he does too much dancing around looking for the perfect hole. He just needs to realize he is not a scat back and go back to pounding the ball between the tackles or he will just be the type that needs to audition for a different team in training camp each year.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/565639
Deceptively fast once in the open. Runs with a low center of gravity, bouncing and spinning off tacklers to maintain his balance. Excellent vision and the quickness to cut in either direction to take advantage of that space. Runs through arm tackles and keeps legs churning to get extra yardage outside or a first down inside. Natural hands, adjusting to high and low throws on screens. Stays in front of blitzers and twisting linemen in pass protection.

Jason Watkins confounds me a bit. Just when I think I have an idea of what a ZBS OL looks like, we go and do something like this. Granted he's only a UDFA, I just wonder what they see in him. I try not to pay attention to the 5.51 - 40 or the 18 Reps on the Bench press. However, a 1.81 split on the 10 yard line, 7.89 - Cone, and 5.03 - shuttle leaves me scratching my head. I guess Fred Roland of Duke just wasn't available.

I almost forgot about Tim Jamison. He's a blue-collar, working class, lunch pail, insert cliche here, type of player. When watching the Sr. Bowl practices, Charles Davis mentioned how he didn't complain when the Michigan program was getting pounded. He continued to play hard and work hard and gave maximum effort when some other players began to hang their head. At that point, I figured he'd be a great guy to have around the lockerroom. That's the type of "character" this organization likes. He also has a little bit of talent. He's a next-generation N.D. Kalu.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by dalemurphy

Here's confirmation:

http://blogs.chron.com/nfl/2009/04/e..._2009_dra.html

so far,
Jason Watkins OT Florida
J. Leondard DT Hawaii
Arian Foster RB Tennessee
Jeremiah Johnson RB Oregan

a 6'3" 293lbs DT who ran 4.93. I guess they are serious about attacking the backfield. I like that idea.

[idymoe]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

Jeremiah Johnson ? I thought he was a Wasatch fur-trapper ?

You're right. And, he looked a lot like Robert Redford.

[da Bull]

Originally Posted by Roy P

a 6'3" 293lbs DT who ran 4.93. I guess they are serious about attacking the backfield. I like that idea.

Roy,

I found this regarding Josh Leonard:

Leonard wowed NFL scouts earlier this month at UH's Pro Day by bench-pressing 225 pounds 41 times and completing the pro-agility test in 4.35 seconds.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ar...02/90426044/-1


Best at the combine Terrance Taylor 37 reps w/ 225......so, he seems pretty strong, your take?

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by da Bull

Roy,

I found this regarding Josh Leonard:

Leonard wowed NFL scouts earlier this month at UH's Pro Day by bench-pressing 225 pounds 41 times and completing the pro-agility test in 4.35 seconds.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ar...02/90426044/-1


Best at the combine Terrance Taylor 37 reps w/ 225......so, he seems pretty strong, your take?

I smell cult hero....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tzumvn_AIU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cv8tUXclQ4&feature=fvsr

This guy looks like a beast. Oh, he also had a faster Cone and Shuttle time than Glover Quinn.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

according to Chron, Texans have 12 UDFA's, but not yet confirmed signed apparently:
Pos. Name School Ht./Wt.
RB Jeremiah Johnson Oregon 5-9/209
RB Arian Foster Tennessee 6-1/226
WR Mike Jones Arizona St. 6-4/211

DT Josh Leonard Hawaii 6-2/292

Keith, I'm not sure if you want to split this thread into UDFAs or if we'll just continue to discuss all of the players here. Anyway, Mike Jones is intriguing to me because of his height. He was also drafted to play baseball by the Yankees, so I'm wondering which is his 1st choice.

http://warroom.sportingnews.com/nfl/...yers/8549.html

Shows excellent hands to pluck passes away from his body. Shows body control and concentration to make tough catches along the sideline and with defenders climbing over his back. Gets started upfield quickly after catches, and shows strength and balance to run through grab tackles for yards after contact. Gives good effort as a blocker and keeps targets out of plays.

[HPF Bob]

Well, if he was drafted by the Yankees and wasn't drafted in the NFL, maybe he should take that as a hint. Heck look at all the money the Yanks spent on Drew Henson (and what did they get for it)?

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by idymoe

You're right. And, he looked a lot like Robert Redford.

That was a great movie, one of my favorite westerns. And Boise is one of my favorite citys, hope everythings going OK up there these days ?

[WMH]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Well, if he was drafted by the Yankees and wasn't drafted in the NFL, maybe he should take that as a hint. Heck look at all the money the Yanks spent on Drew Henson (and what did they get for it)?

HUGE difference in Hansen's contract and what I am assuming that he got....As a former bus leaguer, trust me. He was pick #890 in '08, did sign, but obviously it didn't work out. He probably got a $3K/month contract, room and board and a can opener!

Practice squad/training camp body is about the best he can hope for here.

[dadmg]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

according to Chron, Texans have 12 UDFA's, but not yet confirmed signed apparently:
Pos. Name School Ht./Wt.
RB Jeremiah Johnson Oregon 5-9/209
RB Arian Foster Tennessee 6-1/226
WR Mike Jones Arizona St. 6-4/211
WR Aubrey Bell Miss. St. 6-3/216
OT Jason Watkins Florida 6-6/318
OT Doug Dedrick Iowa St. 6-4/301
FB Bill Rentmeester Wisconsin 6-1/248
DT Josh Leonard Hawaii 6-2/292
C Charles Helems LSU 6-2/286
G Brandon Walker Oklahoma 6-3/306
DE Tim Jamison Michigan 6-3/256
OLB Toddrick Verdell Florida St. 6-3/222

Looks like we picked up 4 of the top 50 UDFAs on

NFL Draft Countdown's Scott Wright's chart:

6. T Jason Watkins
24. RB Jeremiah Johnson
28. RB Arian Foster
45. DE Tim Jamison

[idymoe]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

That was a great movie, one of my favorite westerns. And Boise is one of my favorite citys, hope everythings going OK up there these days ?

Well, the economy is in the crapper like everywhere else, but the trees are leafing out, the rivers are full and my favorite golf course in the mountains has all 18 holes open and the greens came through the winter in very good shape. Very OK in my book.

[Blitzwood]

Other UDFA's(according to draftdaddy.com):

LB Toddrick Verdell, Florida State, Houston

from http://seminoles.cstv.com/sports/m-f...oddrick00.html

· Florida State's starter at the weakside linebacker position 12 times in 2008.

· Finished second on the team with 66 total tackles - the highest single season total of his three-year career.

· His 66 tackles during his senior season were more than twice as many as he accumulated during the first two years of his career.

· Played 30 career games.

· Started 12 games - all at the weakside linebacker position with his lone non-start coming in the Seminoles' victory over Miami.

· Earned at least five tackles in nine of Florida State's 13 games.

· Ranked fourth on the team with a single-season career-high 8.0 tackles for loss with two coming against Virginia Tech in the Seminoles' victory over the eventual ACC Champions.

· Recorded a TFL in seven of FSU's 13 games.

· Entered the season with 1.0 tackles for loss in the first two seasons of his career.

· Totaled 4.0 quarterback sacks with one each coming in victories over Chattanooga, Virginia Tech, Maryland and Wisconsin.

· Four quarterback sacks were three more than he totaled in the first two seasons of his Seminole career.

· Had a monster game versus Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl with a career-high 10 tackles, one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.

· Recorded his second career interception in the Seminoles' 37-3 victory over Maryland.

· Interception came in the second quarter and was part of a 21-0 second quarter onslaught.

· A December graduate with a degree in social science.



Another OLB for added depth at WILL. Could spell Adibi on occasion.



OL Brandon Walker, Oklahoma, Houston

from: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m...brandon00.html

2007
All-Big 12 second team by the coaches and honorable mention by the Associated Press ... saw action in all 14 games for the Sooners, all at right guard ... had 13 starting assignments with lone exception the Iowa State game ... had the highest overall grade on the team for the season at 80% ... his four double-digit knockdown games included a high of 12 against Texas ... had 102 knockdowns in 553 plays.

http://www.draftcountdown.com/scouti...don-Walker.php

Looks like we found our backup RG, should give us some quality depth having gone to a few big games in his collegiate career.




DT Jake Visser, Ferris State, Houston (4/28)


http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/g...sser_sign.html

For the second year in a row, Visser was voted the GLIAC's Co-Defensive Lineman of the Year. He also played in the Valero Cactus Bowl, which is considered the NCAA Division II All-Star game.

Visser led the Bulldogs with 105 total tackles and 16 tackles for loss. Visser also recorded 7 1/2 sacks, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and four blocked kicks during the 2008 season.

http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/g...e_star_vi.html

Ferris State coach Jeff Pierce likes his team, its attitude and its team chemistry. Still, he would love to have a team full of players like Visser, instead of just one.

"He plays hard, he works hard in the weight room, he does everything to get the maximum out of himself," Pierce said. "I've been involved with Ferris football for over 20 years, and he's the first All-American I can remember as a junior. To have him for his senior year is very special. Not only is he a productive player, but a tremendous leader who does things the right way."

Visser (6-foot-2, 275 pounds) has 290 tackles, including a career-high 19 against Grand Valley State last season, 20 sacks and 38.5 tackles for loss in his career. He topped the GLIAC in sacks in 2006 with 10.5, and spent last year fighting double-team blocking often.

Not bad at all. Should at the very least be a serviceable backup, who knows, he may actually get some PT since there is virtually no depth at DT.

[Roy P]

http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2009/04/27/u...d-free-agents/

Okay, there's finally a list posted that has the UDFAs on it that looks pretty comprehensive. I always like to see which one of My Guys who went undrafted, get signed somewhere. There are also guys that I had an eye on, who I didn't list on my board.

John Parker Wilson gets to sit behind Matt Ryan, so I don't know if he makes the squad.

Marlon Lucky went to the Bengals, Kyle Bell to the Jags, a possible option at RB.
Kevin Ogletree is a Cowboy.

Pierre Walters will be an OLB for KC.
Robert Francois to the Vikings.
Antonio Applebe to the Patriots.
Zach Potter is a Jet.
Frantz Joseph to the Raiders.
Darry Beckwith to SD, who took Brandon Siler and Kevin Burnett from me too.
Tyler Roehl in Seattle.
Ian Campbell to the Rams.
Mitch King to the Titans.

Still no word on Dannell Ellerbe, CJ Spillman, or Russell Allen.

[gunn]

Ellerbe went to the Ravens I believe

[Nconroe]

Looks like Texans announced they have signed 13 UDFA's today
8 offense, 4 defense, special team. Seems a few might make it.

Bell, Aubrey WR 6-3 216 Mississippi State,
Brantly, Justin P 6-3 252 Texas A&M,
Dedrick, Doug OT 6-5 285 Iowa State,
Foster, Arian RB 6-1 215 Tennessee,
Helms, Brett C 6-2 270 LSU,
Jamison, Tim DE 6-3 263 Michigan,
Johnson, Jeremiah RB 5-9 210 Oregon,
Jones, Mike WR 6-4 210 Arizona State,
Leonard, Josh DT 6-3 305 Hawaii,
Walker, Brandon G 6-3 284 Oklahoma,
Watkins, Jason OT 6-6 302 Florida,
Verdell, Toddrick LB 6-3 225 Florida State,
Visser, Jake DT 6-2 275 Ferris State.

[Keith]

NORMAN, Okla. — Former Oklahoma offensive lineman and Texans signee Brandon Walker was arrested in Norman on a drunken driving complaint.

Norman police say Walker was detained early Sunday and transferred to the Cleveland County Detention Center. ...

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...t/6430445.html