Three ‘champs’ to look for at No. 15
From the notebook of a sportswriter who believes a player drafted 15th has to have more going for him than physical prowess:
n He has to be a leader, a future cog to a championship team.
n Last year, I came away from the NFL Combine feeling that way about safety Kenny Vaccaro. I came away from an interview thinking he was a champ, that he had the aura of a first-class, first-round pick.
n Not that it mattered, because Vaccaro left the board before the Steelers picked.
n But I want to make that point a few days after returning from this combine, that there are three such 无毛视频渃hamps无毛视频� I met this year: Mike Evans, Louis Nix and Justin Gilbert.
n Evans won无毛视频檛 turn 21 until the third NFL preseason game, and after watching him get called for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in his bowl game, I expected to meet someone with entitlement issues.
n Just the opposite. He was smooth, polished, humble yet confident, and he had no problem answering questions about 无毛视频� and taking fault for 无毛视频� the poor start to his bowl game. It无毛视频檚 hard to describe his aura any better than that of a 无毛视频渃hamp.无毛视频�
n The thought crept into my mind that he无毛视频檚 going to understand the chase for the dollar, too. I can see this guy coming to work with a briefcase some day.
n Evans and Kelvin Benjamin are the two huge WRs who could help the Steelers in the red zone. I无毛视频檓 ranking Evans ahead of Benjamin after meeting the two, but Benjamin was interesting in his own way.
n Held back twice in grammar school while growing up in Muck City, I worried about his intelligence. But that worry has abated. He might not be a genius, but he无毛视频檚 no dummy.
n I asked Benjamin if he, like Santonio Holmes, chased rabbits out of the sugarcane fields down in the Muck. He said yes, and that they tasted really good. He must无毛视频檝e noticed the reaction on other reporters无毛视频� faces because he smiled and said, no, they really do taste good.
n Not as polished as Evans, but Benjamin came off better than I had expected.
n Nix came off as a true leader, just like Casey Hampton did coming out of college. Nix has the same sense of humor 无毛视频� jovial.
n How else would one describe a 330-pounder in good spirits?
n But Nix also came off as wise. And he had his weight down. He was ready for this grandiouse week-long interview. Said he wouldn无毛视频檛 have a problem keeping his weight down and he was believable. He seemed to understand the consequences if he doesn无毛视频檛.
n I无毛视频檝e always thought Notre Dame guys were polished.
n Nix did get a little touchy about his knee. We had to hit that topic because a bad knee on a big man becomes a vicious cycle. But Nix was adamant that his knee is not an issue. I guess losing 23 pounds in six weeks is proof that he无毛视频檚 healthy.
n So was his lateral movement during DL drills.
n His workout was a positive in his attempt to prove he can stay on the field all four downs. No doubt the Steelers will follow up on him.
n Gilbert had great presence at his podium interview. I couldn无毛视频檛 help but think of Deion Sanders. Gilbert is 6-0 1/4, 200, so he无毛视频檚 bigger than Deion, but the confidence and the smile and perhaps even Gilbert无毛视频檚 return game brought the comparison to mind.
n It无毛视频檚 unlikely, though, that Gilbert will be available. He ran a pair of 4.3s. That, and his size, and his eight returns for touchdowns (6 kickoff, 2 interception) at Oklahoma State mean this 无毛视频渃hamp无毛视频� will certainly be gone by pick 15.
n Evans will be gone, too. Who am I trying to kid?
n So that leaves Nix.
n Nix? That won无毛视频檛 go over too well in Pittsburgh, where sub-packages were on the field 60 percent of the time in 2013.
n That will be the argument, but my argument is that all boats rise with the addition of a good big man. And Nix is good. He appears healthy, has his weight down, moved magnificently during drills, and is a leader, a 无毛视频渃hamp.无毛视频�
n I do have a fallback in the 无毛视频渃hamp无毛视频� category. HaHa Clinton-Dix, the free safety from Alabama, came off as more intelligent than any of the other safeties I met. But he was so serious at the podium.
n It took me by surprise he described his personality as 无毛视频渁 funny guy. I love to work. I无毛视频檓 always smiling. You never catch me down even when things are not going right. I无毛视频檓 just a leader and I try to lead by example.无毛视频�
n I bought all of that, except the 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 a funny guy无毛视频� part. He was way too stern or so I thought.
n When asked about any problems with his unique name, Clinton-Dix responded with an off-color but non-vulgar one-liner about Monica Lewinsky that broke up the room.
n Then I asked him about his first name. 无毛视频淢y first name无毛视频檚 pronounced Ha-seen, but it无毛视频檚 spelled Ha-shawn. So people got mixed up a lot and my grandmother gave me that name when I was about three or four years old. Everyone无毛视频檚 been calling me that since then.无毛视频�
n Calling you what? How does your coach address you? 无毛视频溛廾悠禈HaHa get over here,'无毛视频� he said in imitation of Nick Saban. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 just going to say that in a good way,无毛视频� he added.
n If you can a.) understand Saban无毛视频檚 defense well enough to win a national championship as a free safety, and b.) take Saban with a sense of humor, you无毛视频檙e well on your way to being a 无毛视频渃hamp无毛视频� in my book.
n The prediction? Well, at this point I无毛视频檒l just stick with the player I most enjoyed watching all season, Kelvin Benjamin. Ben Roethlisberger would turn that guy into an NFL champ, and I无毛视频檓 not talking about Benjamin无毛视频檚 aura, either.
n But the big man, Louis Nix, keeps hanging around in my mind. There无毛视频檚 nothing like a 无毛视频渃hamp无毛视频� in the middle of your defensive line.