Colts, Pats, 'Boys Look at McAfee

McAfee gets NFL attention
By Colin Dunlap
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 24, 2009

Pat McAfee is long on leg strength -- and confidence.

The West Virginia place-kicker and Plum native is on brink of being selected in this weekend's NFL draft. He's one of the top-rated kickers by most draft analysts and a projected late-rounder by some.

So, when asked, McAfee never wavered, figuring if he doesn't get drafted, there's still a spot for him in the NFL.

"I'm just staying even keel about all this," he said. "If I don't get drafted, hey, no big deal, man, I'll just have to go into a camp as a free agent and take someone's job from them. That is honestly the way I feel, so why not just say it like that?"

McAfee, 6 feet, 228 pounds, handled all three components of the kicking game at West Virginia last season -- punting, field-goal kicking and kickoff duties. And he excelled at all portions of the triumvirate, which have the NFL scouts intrigued.

A semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award -- presented to the nation's top punter -- he had a 44.7 yards per punt average, dropping 23 punts inside the 20 yard line. McAfee was also a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation's top kicker after he went 17 for 20 in field goals, including 7 of 8 from beyond 40 yards, and also had eight touchbacks.

Some teams like him as a kickoff man, some like him as a place-kicker, where others have raved to his Pittsburgh-based agent Eddie Edwards about his punting.

The Indianapolis Colts extended one of their limited college prospect invitations -- rare for a kicker -- to McAfee a few weeks ago. He said the Colts, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys have been in contact with him most.
. . .
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09114/965134-144.stm

2001 Undrafted Players

Wes Ours: Before there was the beer truck, there was Wes Ours. At 250lbs in college and likely over 300lbs these days, he was a truck of some type. After a stint in the NFL, the former full back has matured into a linebacker/fullback in the AFL (Are there fullbacks in the AFL? Or just halfbacks?). Using his size to his advantage, Ours is usually used as a blocking back and enjoys it:

"I'm a blocker," said Ours. "They brought me here to block and I don't mind blocking. Like I said, I honed up my skills and my best skill is blocking."

Ours spent the 2001 to 2003 seasons hopping from one NFL team to another. The colts initially picked him as an undrafted free agent. They cut him early in the season but he was quickly picked up by the Titans. The Titans, in turn, also cut him later in the season and the Colts resigned him. In early 2002, before the season, the Colts released him for a second time. The Steelers picked up Ours in 2003. He spent pre-season in training camp, almost went to NFL Europe, but was eventually cut before the season began (not that he didn't try). During his NFL career, outside of making blocks, Ours made one catch for three yards.

Ours made the transition to the AFL after being picked up by the Los Angeles Avengers in 2004. He was unproductive in that year, as he was on injured reserve. In 2005, he was picked up by the Philadelphia Soul and has been there since (though the 2009 AFL season has been canceled). Obviously, he's often used as a blocker but he is often given the ball in short yardage situations as well. Statistically, Ours had his best seasons in 2006 and 2007 when he gained 130 and 129 yards respectively. His statistics decreased in 2008 but he did help his team win the Arenabowl, the AFL championship.

Finally, Wes Ours didn't just get to play the game he loves, he gets to coach it too.

---

Khori Ivy: For the first three years of his career, he hopped from one practice squad to another as well as spent a season in NFL Europe. The Patriots originally signed Ivy in 2001 and he then moved to the Bengals the before the end of the season. In 2002, Ivy was transferred to NFL Europe's Barcelona Dragons. He caught 27 passes in Spain and gained 350 yards. In 2003, he was picked up by the Steeler. During preseason, Ivy took a tough hit from the Cowboy's Darren Woodson (who was fined for the hit). He suffered a concussion and was cut shortly afterward.

Ivy then moved to the AFL's Detroit Fury. During the 2004 training camp he suffered a season ending ACL tear. In 2005, the Los Angeles Avengers picked Ivy up as a free agent. That year he gained 200 yards on 20 receptions for 6 touchdowns. The following offseason, the Utah Blaze chose Ivy in their expansion draft. However, he was waived in January 2006 and has not since played football professionally.

White Receives More Interest

NFL.com reports:

The Philadelphia Eagles have scheduled a workout for White later this week, and he is expected to be put through quarterback and positional drills. White also has interviews scheduled with the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots, who seem to be doing extensive homework on him.

So, just to review, the following teams have shown specific interest in White:

• Broncos
  
• Browns
  
• Eagles
  
• Patriots
  
• Ravens
  

White in New England

Pat White Working Out For Patriots
By Ed Thompson
Scout.com, March 16, 2009

Scout.com Senior NFL Analyst Ed Thompson has learned that West Virginia QB Pat White is working out for the New England Patriots this week.

A source has told Scout.com that West Virginia quarterback Pat White will be working out for the New England Patriots on Tuesday, March 17.

After watching White's speed and nifty moves as a runner, some NFL scouts were projecting White as a potential wide receiver who could also provide plenty of excitement as a return specialist. He rushed for 947 yards, an average of more than 81 yards per contest and ran the ball into the end zone eight times.

But the Mountaineers' signal-caller has made it clear that he could also have a successful career as an NFL quarterback.
. . .
While Tom Brady is expected to be ready to resume his role as the Patriots' starter this season, his former back-up, Matt Cassel will be leading the Kansas City Chiefs offense this year. Cassel was traded to Kansas City after initially being designated as the team's franchise player, preventing him from hitting the market as an unrestricted free agent.

Currently slotted into the No. 2 role, by default, is second-year player Kevin O'Connell, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound passer out of San Diego State.

With White obviously on New England's radar, it appears that the Patriots are at least considering using one of their higher draft picks to give O'Connell a legitimate training camp battle rather than allowing him to automatically slide into the back-up role.
. . .
http://jac.scout.com/a.z?s=119&p=2&c=847842

UPDATE (3/20/09) - The Boston Globe reports:

According to league sources, White worked out as both a wide receiver and a quarterback for the Patriots, who might be viewing him as a versatile player that they could use in their own version of the Wildcat, which grew in popularity around the NFL after the Miami Dolphins used it to score a 38-13 victory over the Patriots on Sept. 21.

UPDATE (3/25/09) - Mel Kiper adds:

Pat White, maybe New England. You keep hearing New England,” Kiper said. ”They have some interest in Pat White for obvious reasons. They got torched by the Wildcat. Maybe now they want to return the favor and get the ultimate quarterback who can do some damage in that regard. So, if New England is in fact one of those teams who is going to look at him, the late second round isn’t out of the realm of possibility for him.

2003 NFL Draftees

An updated version of this blog post is available at WVUPros.com

Lance Nimmo: Nimmo is a hard guy to find. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round (130th overall) as a tackle. His practice squad career lasted from 2003 to 2005, ending in where it began in Tampa. In between, he also played for the Patriots, Jets, and Browns. But that’s not all, he also played for the Cologne Centurians in the NFL Europa. There are no stats whatsoever for him, even for his time in Europe. At least he got to travel.

James Davis: Drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round (144th overall), Davis played threes years for the team. His top year came 2004 when he recorded 83 tackles and 3.5 sacks as a linebacker starting all 16 games. He also started 16 games in 2005, however his stats were depressed. Davis was released before the beginning of the 2006 season and was subsequently signed by the Giants in early 2007. After playing time during pre-season he was cut again. That’s too bad, he could’ve had a shiny ring if he pulled through.