Tigers play waiting game

Missouri players will learn their fate during NFL draft

(Friday, April 28, 2006)

Sean Coffey’s too slow. Tony Palmer’s too short. And Brad Smith can’t throw.

All has been said and written ad nauseam the last few months as this weekend’s NFL draft approaches - two days that can be unbearably nerve-wracking if you’re a draft hopeful. And especially if you played at Missouri.

In the last five NFL drafts, only six Missouri players have been selected. During that span, only one Tiger - Justin Smith in 2001 - was taken on Saturday, when the first three of seven rounds are held. Among Big 12 teams, only Kansas (five) and Baylor (three) have had fewer players drafted the last five years.

Missouri could add a few to its list this weekend but probably not many. According to most draft analysts, Smith is the most likely Tiger to be drafted, followed by Palmer, an All-Big 12 offensive guard who could play center in the NFL, some teams have told him. Others waiting for news will be wide receiver Coffey, linebacker Derrick Ming, safety Jason Simpson and cornerbacks Marcus King, A.J. Kincade and Calvin Washington.

"One team called me the draft’s worst-kept secret," Palmer said. "They said they couldn’t keep me a secret anymore. Teams have heard about my character and what type of player I am, but after watching some film, they told me they’re going to have to contend with some more teams now.

"I don’t really know what that means, but it’s nice to hear."
Palmer spent the last few months working out for several NFL teams - Green Bay, Miami, Carolina and Cleveland are among the most interested - and believes he helped his stock when he bench pressed 225 pounds 41 times at a scouting day earlier this month. Palmer excelled in Missouri’s zone-blocking scheme, and teams like his explosive push at the point of attack.

"I feel that I’m an untapped talent," said Palmer, who will watch the draft’s TV coverage with family and friends in Oklahoma. "I feel like I still haven’t fully excelled at my position and that there’s a lot I can learn."

At least one team believes Palmer has potential on the other side of the line. Palmer said Cleveland has expressed interest in making the 6-foot-1, 330-pounder a two-gap nose tackle in their 3-4 scheme.
"I could go there and play behind big Ted Washington," Palmer said, referring to the Browns’ 365-pound Pro Bowler. "I’m open up to anything. Wherever I can go in and excel, I’m all for it."
Other former Tigers hope they at least receive a free-agent contract after the draft - a path that paid off for Missouri’s Dwayne Blakley (Atlanta) and Michael Harden (Seattle), who both went undrafted but landed roster spots in the NFL.

Big Red Machine

Nebraska hasn’t won a national championship or a Big 12 title the last five years, but no conference team can match the Cornhuskers’ 24 NFL draft picks in that time. With 11 picks last year, Oklahoma is catching up and could pass Nebraska with this weekend’s draft.

Listed below are the number of NFL draft picks by each Big 12 team the last five years, followed by the number of first-day picks (Rounds 1-3) in parentheses.

Nebraska 24 (9)
Oklahoma 22 (13)
Kansas St. 19 (6)
Texas A&M 18 (9)
Texas 16 (12)
Colorado 13 (6)
Texas Tech 9 (0)
Oklahoma St. 7 (5)
Iowa St. 6 (2)
Missouri 6 (1)
Kansas 5 (0)
Baylor 3 (1)

"I’m confident that I’ll get a free-agent deal if I don’t hear my name called," said King, who recently had a workout with his hometown Dallas Cowboys. "If that happens, hopefully you get a chance to choose a team that needs help at corner or just needs help period. But you still would always rather get drafted. … I think I have a bright future ahead of me."

The same goes for King’s stepbrother, Texas safety Michael Huff, who unlike King shouldn’t have to sweat very long. Huff’s expected to be among the first defensive players taken and should fall no farther than St. Louis’ pick at No. 11. King talks to Huff regularly about their draft hopes. They’ll be in Texas watching the coverage.

"We’ve been focused on what we’ve had to get done," King said, "but we’ve been keeping in touch, just hearing how things are going. He has so much more media around him, and that’s nice, but that’s him. I’m a different person."

The most overlooked Tiger in the draft conversations might be Coffey - or at least his agent thinks so.

Most draft analysts rank Coffey somewhere around the 30th best wide receiver available, and most mock drafts don’t project him to be selected. That hasn’t diminished Everett Glenn’s expectations.
"I’m 100 percent certain he’ll be playing on Sundays," said Glenn, Coffey’s agent, a longtime family friend who’s based in Long Beach, Calif.

Everett said Coffey has shown NFL scouts he has more skills than his Missouri statistics might suggest.

"He didn’t get much of a chance at Missouri," Everett said of the 6-5 Coffey, who finished his career among Missouri’s all-time top 10 for receptions (118) and receiving yards (1,596). "I’m not being critical of the coaching there, but their offense was not as creative as some other teams. And as a result, skill players don’t always show everything they can do."

Everett said Long Beach Poly High School track and field Coach Don Norford found a flaw in Coffey’s running style that he’s since fixed. Norford has worked with several NFL players from the Long Beach area - a group that includes Willie McGinest and three of this year’s top draft hopefuls - and runs a camp to help players train for the draft.

"Sean will be a total mismatch for any defensive back in the league," Glenn said.

Coming off a separated shoulder that cost him four games last season, Coffey worked out for several teams the last few weeks, including St. Louis and Indianapolis. Henry Ellard, the Rams wide receivers coach, told Glenn he was especially impressed.

"I asked" Colts assistant coach "Jimmy Caldwell, ‘How is it they can rate 30 receivers ahead of Sean?’ " Glenn said. "And he told me, "Well, that doesn’t mean we have 30 receivers rated ahead of him.’ "
Those questions and more will be answered this weekend.

Reach Dave Matter at (573) 815-1781 or dmatter@tribmail.com

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