As college football's regular season is coming to a close, NFL personnel departments are about to come together for their first round of draft meetings. Most teams bring their road scouts into the office for meetings in the first or second week of December. The focus of these meetings is to gather background information on the senior prospects and prepare for the upcoming bowl games and all-star contests.
In these meetings, the character of every draftable player is thoroughly discussed. I always enjoyed these meetings. It was fun to present your favorite players to the room and also learn about players outside of your region. Personnel directors love to identify the top leaders in the draft class.
With that in mind, I reached out to five personnel executives and asked them for their vote on the player who stood out as the best leader of all the prospects they scouted this fall. Here are their answers.
Executive 1: Cal QB Davis Webb
"Webb is an outstanding leader. The coaches at Cal rave about his work ethic. He's at the facility at 7 a.m. and will sometimes stay until 11 at night. He was chosen as a captain after just arriving on campus."
Executive 2: LSU S Jamal Adams
"Adams is the dude. He has the respect of everyone at LSU. I'm talking players and coaches. I love watching him at practice. Guys respond to him."
Executive 3: Alabama LB Reuben Foster
"Alabama's defense is loaded with studs, but Foster is the lightning rod for the entire group. He runs the show and gets everyone going."
Executive 4: Wisconsin LB Vince Biegel
"I love Biegel at Wisconsin. He's an intense leader. If something is going wrong, he gets it fixed. That defense is one of the best in the country and he's the leader of the bunch."
Executive 5: BYU QB Taysom Hill
"He's as old as many of the BYU coaches and has endured four season-ending injuries. Tim Tebow clone when it comes to leadership. He's tough as nails and sets a great example of perseverance in the face of adversity."
Summary: That's one vote apiece for Adams, Biegel, Foster, Hill and Webb.
Conclusion: This is an interesting list of players. I think Webb could gather some steam in personnel departments during the all-star game circuit and NFL Scouting Combine. This quarterback class isn't very impressive and Webb has a nice combination of physical tools and off-the-charts intangibles. The defensive players mentioned have found a way to stand out on very dominant units. That's always a positive sign and something that goes a long way in draft-meeting debates. Hill has an interesting story. It seems like we've been watching him play at BYU for the past decade. His age (26)/injury history will likely keep him from being drafted, but I'd like to see him get a tryout as a strong safety or fullback.
Follow Daniel Jeremiah on Twitter @MoveTheSticks.
