Cowboys NFL Draft Preview - Cornerback

So far we have looked at Defensive Tackles and Defensive End’s for the Dallas Cowboys. Now it’s time to look at Cornerback. With the injuries to Morris Claiborne and the lack of production by Brandon Carr, the Cowboys are looking to upgrade the corner position over the likes of Starling Moore and Tyler Patmon. Orlando Scandrick was the Cowboys best corner but he slides inside in Nickel packages, so the Cowboys may look for a big body corner of just more help inside and hope Claiborne can live up to being a 1^st round pick.

There is a lot of talent at the Cornerback position in the 2015 NFL Draft. I am leaving off players like P.J. Williams of Florida St., Trae Waynes of Mich St. because they will both be long gone before pick #27 and Ifo Ekpre-Olomo of Oregon because of shoulder surgery. Let’s get started with the corners.

Marcus Peters, Washington, 5-11 193 

Good size and speed, physical at the line of scrimmage.  Has good, fluid hips and tackles well. Downside is his mental make-up. Suspended and ultimately dismissed from team after multiple run-ins with various coaches. Could be a steal if they are willing to deal with his immaturity.

Alex Carter, Stanford, 6-0 204 

Good size and tackling ability from the corner position. Physical in press coverage but seems to struggle with the deep ball. Good instincts in zone coverage. Has played against NFL quality receivers for three years.

Kevin Johnson, Wake Forest, 6-1 175 

Three-year starter at Wake Forest. Thin frame at 175, but has great athleticism. Good man coverage skills and plays bigger than his size. Overly aggressive at times which led to multiple targeting and pass interference penalties.

Jalen Collins, LSU, 6-2 195 

Yet another good corner from LSU. Good combination of size and speed. Comes from a good coaching tree with Les Miles, who is connected to Jason Garrett. Concerns about his lack of actual playing time, only 10 career starts. Are the Cowboys willing to go 1^st round on another corner from LSU?

Kevin White, TCU, 5-10 180 

Undersized outside corner but consistently matched up with opponents best receiver. Has good hands and instincts. Four-year starter for the Frogs. Good hands and plays special teams. Could be a good slot corner with some work on his hips. Impressed at Senior Bowl and was Senior Bowl practice player of the week.

Next up on the blog is the position that rests on the shoulders of Jerry Jones and whether he and DeMarco Murray can get a deal done. Running Back is next.

@geoffrey_craig

TCU Riff Ram Recap – Game 1 – TCU vs. Samford

There were many questions being asked before the Horned Frogs kicked off against the Samford Bulldogs on Saturday evening. Which Quarterback would start, Trevone Boykin or Matt Joeckel?

What can we expect out of the new offense? How will the Offensive Line hold up in a fast-paced scheme? Well, the Frogs new Air-Raid offense led by Trevone Boykin came out blazing, mixing up the run and pass all evening en route to the 48-14 win in front of 40,000+ at Amon G. Carter Stadium. The final stats don’t even tell the whole story. Let’s look at the different phases of the game.

The Horned Frogs ran 96 plays on Offense, 44 rushes for 200 yards and 52 passes for 355 yards, but Boykin was sacked twice for negative 16 yards and 4 penalties against the Offensive Line for 45 yards that eliminated other chances in this game. Trevone Boykin wasn’t great, still struggling on crossing routes and missing on deep throws down the middle; twice over-throwing Kolby Listenbee and not seeing a wide open Deante Gray in the 3^rd Quarter, but was a completely different Quarterback than the one we saw in 6 starts last year. He was confident and was out there having fun; and most of all, he didn’t turn the ball over. Boykin finished 29-41 for 320 yards and 2 TD’s and ran for another 29 and a TD. Matt Joeckel didn’t even make his TCU debut until the 4^th Quarter and threw a 2 yard fade route to Kolby Listenbee for a TD on his first attempt as a Frog. The Offensive Line was shaky at times but they ran 96 total plays on offense and only had 4 penalties on a humid night so it’s hard to complain when they churned out 555 total yards. 

You can’t talk about TCU and not mention the Defense. The Frogs held Samford to 143 Total Yards and only 9 First Downs in the game. 46 of the rushing yards were on scrambles by Samford Starting QB Michael Eubank. Both starting Linebackers, Marcus Mallet 10 tackles (1 for loss) and Paul Dawson (9 tackles, 1 Pass Breakup, 1 INT) were stellar in this one. All five Defensive Backs were around the ball and had great coverage which forced Michael Eubank to have to scramble more than he would have liked and Redshirt Freshman Cornerback Ranthany Texada nearly had an interception in the 2^nd Quarter. While the Linebackers and the DB's were great, the Star of the evening on defense was Mike Tuaua. The Junior Defensive End finished with 7 tackles (3.5 for loss), 2 Sacks, and 2 Forced Fumbles. 

The Special Teams were great as Jaden Oberkrom was perfect on the night (6-6 XP, 2-2 FG) and boomed the kickoffs through the end zone both with and against the wind. Ethan Perry averaged 48.2 yds/punt with two inside the 20 and the lone touchback was shown on replay to have been a bad call by the official. He was kicking deep and high, which is a dangerous combo when you’re the man waiting for it to come down and have players the speed of TCU barreling down on you.

The biggest takeaway from this game was the amount of big plays by the new offense. 6 players had runs of 10 or more yards for TCU (Boykin, Gray, Catalon, Hicks, Green, Johnson).  Kolby Listenbee and Deante Gray showed off their speed on deep balls, while Ty Slanina and David Porter were great in the slot. Also, 13 different players caught a pass for the Frogs including Kyle Hicks, Trevorris Johnson, Emmanuel Porter and Desmon White who caught their first career passes.

Defensive End Josh Carraway, Right Guard Brady Foltz, Wide Receiver Kolby Listenbee and Cornerback Ranthony Texada made their first career starts, while seven true Freshman played for the Frogs: Defensive Tackle Chris Bradley, Safety Travin Howard, Cornerback Nick Orr, Wide Receivers Emmanuel Porter and Desmon White, Center Austin Schlottman, Linebacker Ty Summers. The Horned Frogs played 68 total players including first career game action for Wide Receivers Daniel Walsh, Charlie Reid and Phil Taylor, Quarterback Zach Allen, Defensive Backs Steve Wesley and Cyd Calvin, Linebacker Paul Whitmill, Running Backs Kyle Hicks and Trevorris Johnson, Tight End Bryson Burnett, and Offensive Linemen Matt Pryor and Joseph Noteboom.

Up next for the Horned Frogs is Minnesota on September 13^th at 3 pm at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Remember to White Out The Carter and #AmpItUp.

See you there and #GoFrogs!

Geoff Craig

@geoffrey_craig