The Opening??
- Thread starter kyle22kjs
- Start date
I was going to bump my previous thread today but forgot
http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/forum/football/172713-nike-opening-2013-lazard.html
Only the top 10 were on ESPNU tonight. Speedy Noil took home the top rating.
Tomorrow night has the 7on7 Pool Play. Lazard is Team Landshark. I'm hopeful we'll get to see the full games.
http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/forum/football/172713-nike-opening-2013-lazard.html
Only the top 10 were on ESPNU tonight. Speedy Noil took home the top rating.
Tomorrow night has the 7on7 Pool Play. Lazard is Team Landshark. I'm hopeful we'll get to see the full games.
Ran a 4.65.
Measured 6'4.5"
34.6 inch vertical
Had the #36 SPARQ rating (for whatever that is worth) put of something like 110 players who have tested so far.
Measured 6'4.5"
34.6 inch vertical
Had the #36 SPARQ rating (for whatever that is worth) put of something like 110 players who have tested so far.
I am actually pretty pleased with those numbers. He just isn't a guy who is going to stick out at something like this. He measured in at 6'4.5 though which is pretty damn big. His shuttle also wasn't too shabby. From what I have seen, his best assets are those that aren't tested in these things. He runs very good routes, he can make guys miss subtly and he can go up and get it. I expect a fall in the rankings due to these things but that happens because analysts feel they have to react to numbers. That said, Speedy Noil, holy hell.
As for the WRs, his overall SPARQ score was pretty middle of the road. Hope he shows what he can do during the 7-on-7.
Please don'y forget that these are the top 100 prospects in the entire nation and the 1% of college football. Just to keep things in perspective.
And he was the #11 WR out of 29 FWIW.
Also, like Al said, Lazard excels at a lot of fundamental receiving things like route running and his ability to high point the ball.
He was also BY FAR the tallest WR to test so far. The next closest was 6'3.5". Only 4 other receivers were even over 6'2". Guess how many WRs weight more than him? Only two. He is a special player.
Also, this is the test: The SPARQ general athletic assessment test is composed of:
- 20 Meter Sprint/40 Yard Dash (Speed)
- Kneeling Power Ball Toss (Power)
- Agility Shuttle (Agility)
- Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test or YIRT (Reaction, Quickness, and Endurance)
- Vertical Jump (Power)[SUP][10[/SUP]
None of those things compensate for height. Being tall is in every way a disadvantage in these drills. Coming up 11th is actually pretty damn impressive.
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They don't actually use the YIRT (at least not in the football SPARQ). And... while they don't compensate for height, they do compensate for weight. They are pretty secretive about the SPARQ formula, but it is scaled for weight. At 207, I'm sure he's one of the heavier receivers there.
Even so, his raw numbers are really good. A 4.65 40 is faster than people realize, and his change of direction (short shuttle) is really good.
One strange thing I've noticed at The Opening over the last couple of years is that these high-school combine results are actually better than the NFL combine numbers.
NFL Events: Combine Top Performers
For example, Speedy Noil's vertical jump was 45.3". The best at the combine this year was 43". In fact, Speedy Noil would have the best vertical EVER at the combine. Braxton Berrios ran a 3.81 short shuttle at The Opening. That would have been the fastest 20-yd shuttle at the NFL combine. Heck, Tavon Austin wouldn't have finished in the top 5 in the short shuttle at the opening. I've seen Tavon Austin play football and I think he has pretty good change of direction and acceleration.
I'm not insinuating that these numbers are inflated for TV coverage or anything. I'm just saying it seems really fishy that kids go spend 4 years with the world's best strength/speed coaches and nutritionists and come out of the process slower and weaker.
NFL Events: Combine Top Performers
For example, Speedy Noil's vertical jump was 45.3". The best at the combine this year was 43". In fact, Speedy Noil would have the best vertical EVER at the combine. Braxton Berrios ran a 3.81 short shuttle at The Opening. That would have been the fastest 20-yd shuttle at the NFL combine. Heck, Tavon Austin wouldn't have finished in the top 5 in the short shuttle at the opening. I've seen Tavon Austin play football and I think he has pretty good change of direction and acceleration.
I'm not insinuating that these numbers are inflated for TV coverage or anything. I'm just saying it seems really fishy that kids go spend 4 years with the world's best strength/speed coaches and nutritionists and come out of the process slower and weaker.
CPR can go ahead and recruit him to play opposite Allen, then...
And I think we can probably expect Yancey and the Treadmill to bring that down a bit...
I'm not debating that he had some good numbers and it is good to hear that this was his best SPARQ score. And you can't coach height. But to the OP's original point about getting to 5 stars, finishing 11th out of 22 receivers who tested - in and of itself - is not going to move Lazard to 5 stars. He needs to bring it in the 7-on-7 competition.
