September 12, 2011 - Barry Dorey
Scout’s corner: ND WR Michael Floyd proves he’s back
Observations and analysis from the second week of the college football season, including thoughts about some of the nation’s top offensive prospects.
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ICONFloyd looked explosive in the open field.
- There were some concerns about the overall size of Michigan center David Molk coming into the year, as the 6-2, 288-pound pivot seemed more like a zone guy only at the next level who would struggle with power consistently. However, watching him vs. Notre Dame Saturday night, he was quick off the snap, moved his feet well and did a great job gaining leverage and sticking through contact. Molk did a nice job keeping his pad level down, stayed compact with his punch and routinely got his hands inside on defenders. Pair that with his initial burst off the ball in the run game and ability to get into blocks quickly, run his legs through contact and create a push inside. Overall, Molk looked athletic, coordinated and technically sound and warrants a potential starting grade at the next level. He’ll be most attractive to zone schemes, but I could also see him getting plenty of looks as well from teams who run power that need their center to be a “plus” pass blocker.
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ICONReynolds does not look like an NFL caliber starting lineman.
- Florida International wide out T.Y. Hilton put on a show Friday night vs. the Louisville secondary, finishing the game with 7-catches for 201-yards and two touchdowns. He’s a thinner, narrow framed receiver at 5-10, 183-pounds. However, exhibits impressive balance and flexibility with the ball in his hands and possesses a second gear to outpace angles in the open field. He does a nice job as a route runner setting up routes off the line from the slot, slow playing his release, exploding out of his breaks and separating from his man. Now, he isn’t the sharpest of route runners and needs to do a better job consistently plucking the football. Nevertheless, he’s the type of athlete who can routinely run away from coverage and looks like an intriguing inside threat at the next level.
- Finally, after watching Florida Atlantic RB Alfred Morris this week vs. Michigan State there were two things that were noticeable about his game. The first was that he does have some natural running back skills. He played quick in tight areas, displayed a bit of a burst when picking his way through traffic laterally and he lowered his pad level well when finishing runs. However, vs. top-tier college competition, he’s just not dynamic enough in any area of the game to routinely be overly effective. His top end speed maxes out very quickly once he gets into the open field and for a guy who runs low and breaks a ton of tackles vs. Sun Belt competition, he rarely is able to make defenders miss in the open field and/or work his way through contact vs. BCS caliber defenders consistently. Overall, I think Morris is a natural runner, but at 5-10, 205-pounds, there just aren’t enough dynamic qualities to his game to warrant much excitement about his NFL potential.