COLLEGE PRO DATES
March 3 – Pittsburgh, Auburn
March 4 – Mississippi State
March 5 — Nebraska, Clemson
March 6 — Arizona State
March 11 —Southern California, Louisville, Oklahoma
March 12 – Oregon
March 13 – Georgia Tech, Ohio State, West Virginia
March 18 – Georgia, Michigan State
March 19 – Stanford, Missouri
March 23 – Iowa
March 24 – Texas
March 27 – LSU
March 31 – Florida State
April 1 – South Carolina
April 2 – Miami, Washington
April 7 – Florida
The Falcons have March 19 circled in bright red on their scouting calendar.
With the scouting combine over, NFL teams are now preparing to hit the road to recheck college prospects who will perform at their schools’ pro days. The eventual destination is the NFL draft on April 30-May 2 in Chicago.
The Falcons are intensely evaluating pass-rushing talent and Missouri’s Shane Ray, who didn’t perform at the combine, will perform on March 19 in Columbia, Mo. The Falcons will attend this session and likely set up a personal workout for Ray as well as several other top pass rushers.
“There are a ton of pass rushers in this draft,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper said on Thursday. “It just depends upon do you want a 3-4 guy, you want a 4-3 guy or do you want a combo guy? There is a variety of players who can get after the quarterback in this draft.”
Georgia Tech has scheduled its pro day on March 13 while Georgia will hold its workouts on March 18.
Some of the top pass rushers will stand pat on their combine performances. Clemson’s Vic Beasley and Nebraska’s Randy Gregory will attend their schools’ pro days on Thursday. Florida, which features defensive end Dante Fowler, will hold its pro day on April 7.
Another key date is March 11, when Southern California will hold its pro day. Defensive end Leonard Williams is considered the top defensive line prospect in the draft, though the Falcons, who have the No. 8 pick, would likely have to trade up to land him.
“Leonard Williams is going to be a force,” Kiper said. “People say he’s not going to be a great pass rusher. Well, he is. He’s going to bat down passes. He’s going to get into those throwing lanes.”
Mississippi State will hold its pro day on Wednesday, when defensive end Preston Smith (Stephenson High) will be the main attraction.
“Preston Smith is the most underrated guy (of the pass rushers),” Kiper said. “He had a heck of a year.”
Last season, Smith had nine sacks, 15 quarterback hurries and 15 tackles for losses. He also had two interceptions and two blocked kicks.
“He was very active when at Mississippi State and he had a great (combine) workout,” Kiper said. “He could be a first-round pick.”
The Falcons will also be interested when Kentucky announces its pro day date. Defensive end Bud Dupree had a spectacular combine. He had a broad jump of 11-foot, 6 inches, which was top among the linebackers. He also had the second-highest vertical jump (42 inches) leap and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds, which was the fourth fastest time of the linebackers.
He is also versatile. At Kentucky, he played defensive end but also functioned like an outside linebacker.
“I’ve got a lot of film in the three-point stance and standing up,” he said. “I think any team can see that I can play both positions.”
Dupree believes that he can also drop into pass coverage adroitly.
“I’m very comfortable,” Dupree said. “I got more comfortable this year by doing it a lot at practice, covering the slot.”
In 47 games for the Wildcats, Dupree had 146 solo tackles, 247 total tackles, 23 1/2 sacks and 37 tackles for losses (209 yards). Coming out of Wilkinson County High, he was first-team all-state as a senior as chosen by the Georgia Sports Writers Association and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“When you look at him on paper, you say, ‘Boy, he’s a top 15 pick in the first round,’” Kiper said. “At worst, a top 25 pick. But I didn’t see consistent domination. I saw (on tape) some instances where (there was) a little bit of lack of great instincts to find the ball. … I wouldn’t say ‘boom or bust.’ But he’s not a guarantee because his performances at Kentucky were a little bit spotty and up and down.”
