The Football Brainiacs

Images via 247sports.com

Former Denver Broncos director of pro-scouting and TFB contributor, Chris Trulove, was kind enough to offer up some thoughts on three 2015 Texas wide receivers.

Oklahoma has offers out to Ryan Newsome and John Humphrey, but we also asked Chris to look at James Proche because he happens to be a TFB favorite. We should note that Chris is not privy to any recruiting/offer information about these athletes prior to his evaluations. He simply offers up his thoughts based strictly on the film available.

The players are listed in the order that Chris ranked them, however he really seemed to like all three and the separation between them was fairly minimal.

Ryan Newsome – VIDEO

‘Short WR with excellent acceleration and speed. Great burst off the line of scrimmage and great finishing speed. Eats up DB cushion in a hurry. Tracks the ball in flight well and has very good body control to adjust to the incoming pass. Can contort his body in the air and uses reach and pluck hands to snatch the high ball. Dangerous runner after the catch with a combination of vision, instincts, and desire. Not the strongest player, but has good toughness and deceiving effort to gain yards after contact.

Willing blocker who flashes a lack of fear to give up his body for the cause. Sees spot action as a wildcat QB and can get the edge to take it the distance. Flashes throwing arm strength and accuracy to be a trick play weapon. Dangerous punt returner. Reads the ball well and fields it cleanly. Has instinctive patience and change of pace to set up lanes and hit seams. Has good agility and balance to make sharp cuts, but succeeds more on speed than elusiveness. Good collegiate power conference 3rd / 4th receiver with high-end punt returner value.’

James Proche – VIDEO

‘Strong WR in a Greg Jennings like muscular build. Has good acceleration off the line with good, but not great top end speed. Does have very good foot quickness and sinks his hips well for sharp breaks in and out of cuts. Excellent reach and pluck hands with good arm length. Tracks the ball in flight very well and often snatches bad balls away from defenders. Very good high pointing the ball in a crowd. Catches the over the shoulder ball well down the sideline and comes back for the ball well on hitches and curls. After the catch, he has good body balance and strong legs to bounce off and break tackles.

Not one to dazzle with speed and elusiveness but is strong, agile, and very reliable making plays on the ball for his QB. Flashes punt return ability, but more likely a reliable fielder than a big play guy. Has NFL caliber hands and instincts with only average top end speed. Good power conference slot receiver candidate who disguises routes well and always comes down with the ball.’

John Humphrey – VIDEO

‘Slender athlete and long strider with good speed and athleticism. Smooth athlete that covers a lot of ground with ease. Looks to have good hands and ball tracking skills with nice length. Has not run a lot of complex routes, but shows the ability to make short and long range catches. More of a downfield strider better suited on the outside than in the slot. Can stretch the field and is a nice long target on drags and slants. Good instincts with the ball in his hands and has deceiving start-and-stop ability to make people miss. Not a strong player, but has good toughness.

Needs to add bulk over time and develop his route tree with repetition to make a large impact. Flashes nice instincts, range, and ball timing when aligned on defense as a DC. Could move to that position if the need arose. Has the length and athleticism to play at the collegiate level, but will still need time to physically develop. Like the upside.’

TFB Note: We absolutely love Humphrey’s ability to move side-to-side. In our estimation, of all the receivers OU is recruiting, his stop-and-cut is a step above the others. Those elastic hips make it no surprise that he really could play CB.