Posted June 14th, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Quick Hits
NFL rookie camp: Tony Hills. Interview with Tony about how things are going up in Pittsburgh.
Texas offensive tackle [tag]Tony Hills[/tag] will be joining Limas Sweed in Pittsburgh this season. Hills was selected with the 31st pick of the 4th round (130th overall) by the Steelers. Offensive line was one of Pittsburgh’s biggest needs and Hills is the first lineman they’ve selected today. The right tackle position is wide open so he should have the chance to compete right away for playing time.
Congrats Tony, go up there and tear it up with Limas.
Update: Read a transcript of Hills’ media conference call and an interview with Larry Zierlein (Steelers offensive line coach) discussing his selection, both from the Steelers’ official site.
Most NFL mock drafts only include a round or maybe two, but just like last year ESPN’s Todd McShay has released his seven-round mock draft for your perusal (if you’re an ESPN Insider.) Getting one round is tough enough, but McShay actually did a decent job last year and even nailed Justin Blalock to Atlanta and Brian Robison to Minnesota last year.
Below is where McShay believes the Longhorns in the draft will go followed by my my thoughts on the picks:
Round 1
24. Tennessee Titans – [tag]Limas Sweed[/tag]
This is best possible scenario for Texas fans. Titans need wide receiver help desperately and Sweed may be the best one in the draft. Getting him at #24 would be great for the Titans VY.
Round 2
43. Carolina Panthers – [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag]
Charles is the first running back taken in the second round. He’d actually have a chance to start for Carolina to, only has to beat out DeAngelo Williams.
Round 3
115. Philadelphia Eagles – [tag]Marcus Griffin[/tag]
Nice spot for Marcus, interesting to see him going so high. I’ll be surprised if Griffin goes before Finley and Hills, simply because I believe those two have much higher ceilings. Great to see a former walk-on work his way into a mid-round NFL Draft pick.
127. Indianapolis Colts – [tag]Jermichael Finley[/tag]
Jermichael might be a little disappointed by how far he falls but he’d be ecstatic to be picked up by the Colts. Pretty much the perfect situation for him. They use their tight end a lot, Peyton Manning to throw him the ball, they split the tight end out wide frequently, and most importantly the Colts throw work out of the shotgun a ton and Finley wouldn’t be asked to be down on the line run blocking much.
129. New England Patriots – [tag]Tony Hills[/tag]
Another good situation. Hills would be given time with New England to develop and wouldn’t be asked to start right away. At the same time, there’s no young, highly regarded tackles on their roster so he’s got a chance to compete by year two.
Round 5
154. Washington Redskins – [tag]Frank Okam[/tag]
Much lower slot than people expected out of Okam a few years ago but McShay may actually have him higher than the current opinion. I’m not sure what I think, I have a feeling he might go as early the fourth round if a team makes a pick based on potential but then I wouldn’t be shocked to see him go undrafted either.
Round 7
215. Baltimore Ravens – [tag]Derek Lokey[/tag]
Imagine if Lokey had Okam’s build, the kid would be a first round pick. But he’s 6-foot-1 and a light 290 pounds which is considered very undersized for an NFL defensive tackle. I’d love to see Derek go to a team and be utilized as a goal line fullback and deep snapper as well as a defensive tackle who can give 15 – 20 snaps a game.
Position: Offensive Tackle
Height: 6-5
Weight: 309 pounds
Hometown: Houston, TX
Strengths: Good size and has the frame to add more weight without losing agility or quickness. Is a good pass blocker thanks to his long arms and good feet. Excellent athlete who still has more upside. Intelligent young man on and off the football field.
Weaknesses: Must get stronger and be more physical to compete against NFL power rushers. Has a lot of interests and passions, football may not be one of them. Had a career threatening injury in high school and is now coming off a fractured left leg that ended his career at Texas.
Projection: 4th or 5th round
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Posted April 18th, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Draft, Football, Quick Hits
Tony Hills is finally back after ankle injury. Should be a mid-round pick, hopefully he’s healthy enough to stick with a team.
Pro day, or pro timing day, is an NFL Draft prospect’s chance to show scouts what he’s got in a comfortable environment. They’re on their own campus, in their own gym, working out with their teammates and coaches. It also is a chance for the guys who weren’t invited to the NFL Combine to show their stuff. At Texas’ pro day Wednesday, sixteen players were weighed, measured, timed, and did position drills for 75 NFL personnel people.
Most of this information is cribbed from NFL.com, Orangebloods, and the Austin-American Statesman blog post on UT’s pro day. The numbers are inconsistent because they always are, everybody gets their times from a different source. Here’s how some of the Horns performed:
- Cornerback [tag]Brandon Foster[/tag] – 5-7 5/8, 185, 10-8 broadjump. Ran a blazing 4.28 time in the 40-yard dash. He also showed athleticism with a 38-inch vertical jump. His performance might offset the fact that Foster was measured at 5-7.
- Running back [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag] – 5-11, 199 pounds. Elected not to run, allowing his 4.38 time that he posted at the combine to stand. Ran position workouts and looked good catching the football.
- Receiver [tag]Limas Sweed[/tag] – 6-4 1/8, 210, 37 vertical. Ran a 4.40, shaving nearly a tenth of a second off of the time he ran at the NFL combine last month. 4.33 short shuttle, 7.14 cone drill. Ran position drills and looked good catching the ball.
- Tight end [tag]Jermichael Finley[/tag] – 6-4 3/4, 240 pounds. Ran a 4.62, dropping his time from the combine by .24. His time is now the second fastest run by a tight end in workouts leading up to next month’s draft.
- Backup safety [tag]Drew Kelson[/tag] – 6-0 1/2, 216, 10-9 broad jump. Posted a 41.5-inch vertical jump and ran a 4.45. We’re checking to see if any other player in the country has jumped higher in draft workouts.
- Defensive tackle [tag]Derek Lokey[/tag] – 6-1 3/8, 293, 33.5 vert. Did 38 reps on the 225-pound bench press. He also worked out at fullback and deep snapper. 9-foot, 4-inch long jump, 4.37 short shuttle, 7.57 cone drill, 38 reps in the bench press, and ran position drills.
- Linebacker [tag]Scott Derry[/tag] – 6-2 1/2, 221
- Tackle [tag]Tony Hills[/tag] – 6-5, 307 lbs. 24 reps in the bench press, but could not run or do other drills due to an injury.
- Defensive tackle [tag]Frank Okam[/tag] – 6-4 7/8, 27.5 vertical. Dropped 12 pounds since his weigh-in at the combine. He is weighing 335 right now.
- Safety [tag]Marcus Griffin[/tag] – 5-10, 196, 37.5 vert. Ran a 4.5 40.
- Wide receiver [tag]Billy Pittman[/tag] – 5-11, 195. Ran a 4.56.
- Also participated: safety [tag]Erick Jackson[/tag], wide receiver [tag]Nate Jones[/tag], linebacker [tag]Robert Killebrew[/tag], defensive tackle [tag]Thomas Marshall[/tag], punter [tag]Justin Moore[/tag], and former Longhorn safety [tag]Lee Jackson[/tag].
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The Texas Longhorns held their annual football banquet Friday night (photos) where they honored team members for their accomplishments on and off the field. Though fans and recruits do attend, the event is definitely a night for the players to look back on the season and to honor the careers of the outgoing seniors.
Quarterback [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] and running back [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag] were deservedly named the team MVPs. McCoy didn’t have as good of a season as he did his freshman year but he definitely is the player that made this team go (when it went anywhere). Charles was also named Darrell K. Royal Most Valuable Offensive Player while the Mike Campbell Most Valuable Defensive Players were [tag]Brandon Foster[/tag] and [tag]Marcus Griffin[/tag].
In a team vote [tag]Dallas Griffin[/tag], [tag]Tony Hills[/tag], and [tag]Derek Lokey[/tag] were honored with the D. Harold Byrd Leadership Award. Also, in a shocking development quarterback McCoy was given the Outstanding Quarterback Award.
In a move that infuriated Internet Coaching and Motivational Experts [tag]Rashad Bobino[/tag], [tag]Scott Derry[/tag], and [tag]Robert Killebrew[/tag] shared the honor of being the team’s Outstanding Linebackers. I’m not sure what else you can really do though as no linebacker really deserved the honor and it would be pretty embarrassing to not hand out an award for the position.
A list of all the award winners is after the jump.
Posted September 26th, 2007 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Recruiting
Little brother of [tag]Tony Hills[/tag] and future Longhorn running back [tag]Jeremy Hills[/tag] is a four star recruit and is somehow still flying under the radar of most Longhorn fans. He’s got the pedigree and, from the video I’ve seen, the talent to be a big time running back for the Horns. Check out the video below:
Don’t forget that these highlights are only from one game and aren’t a normal highlight reel. The run he had with about 1:30 left in the video where he jumps over a guy then cuts on a dime is pretty sick. Jeremy rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns in the 35-21 loss to Houston Westside.
Athlon has released their preseason All-Big 12 team and there’s of course several Longhorns on it. Not too many complaints, though I do think receiver [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] deserves some third team love especially since Nebraska’s Maurice Purify might not even be on the team next year.
I hope they’re right about [tag]Tony Hills[/tag] and [tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag]. Hills gets a lot of hype but didn’t perform consistently last year, he has a lot to prove to me before he’s mentioned in the same breath as other recent Texas linemen. If Muck and the other linebackers can step up their game this year the defense will be vastly improved.
Check out all the Longhorns on their list below:
First Team Offense
QB Colt McCoy 6-foot-3 205 So.
RB Jamaal Charles 6-foot-1 200 Jr.
OL Tony Hills 6-foot-6 305 Sr.
First Team Defense
DL Derek Lokey 6-foot-2 280 Sr.
DL Frank Okam 6-foot-5 320 Sr.
Second Team Offense
WR Limas Sweed 6-foot-5 219 Sr.
Second Team Defense
LB Roddrick Muckelroy 6-foot-2 230 So.
S Marcus Griffin 6-foot-0 202 Sr.
Third Team Defense
DL Brian Orakpo 6-foot-4 248 Jr.
LB Robert Killebrew 6-foot-2 230 Sr.
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