PFW NFL Draft: A QB (Mike White) and a WR on the rise

[C Mart]

I think White will end up going day 2..

PFW NFL Draft: A QB and a WR on the rise

From Mobile, Ala., a double dose of Senior Bowl observations from our Eric Edholm and Arthur Arkush:

It's easy for the Senior Bowl quarterbacks to find themselves in the shadow of the big-ticket names here at the position, including Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield and Wyoming's Josh Allen, who could be first-round picks this April.

But we think Western Kentucky QB Mike White has a chance to emerge as a prospect on the rise after this week. For one, he is perhaps the most talented quarterback of the four on the South Team roster – and almost certainly the deep-ball thrower of the group. (Mayfield and Allen are on the North Team, coached by the Denver Broncos.)

White had a nice first day throwing the football and seemed to stand out a little more than the others – Virginia's Kurt Benkert, Richmond's Kyle Lauletta and Troy's Brandon Silver – although Tuesday's practice with the coaching staff of the Houston Texans was more about install than anything else. Things will crank up with the more competitive Wednesday and Thursday sessions, which are centered around more 9-on-7 and full-team work.

But White also impressed during media availability, too, and we suspect that will translate well to the NFL interview process where teams want to drill down on prospects and see what they're made of. White came off as mature, poised and very grounded, which all will play well during the informal interview sessions in Mobile as well as the more formal settings at the NFL scouting combine in a few weeks.

"I look forward to talking ball with all these coaches," White said on Tuesday. "That's where I have fun, and I hope I excel. I need to show them how much I know, get up on the whiteboard and just draw stuff out quickly and clearly."

"But I can also learn from them as well. They'll draw one of their plays and how they read things and how they ID defenses, and I am just wanting to soak that all up. That's what I love … talking route concepts and protections and checks and all that good stuff. I think as a quarterback, you have to love that stuff to be successful."

White started his career at South Florida before sitting out the 2015 season after transferring to Western Kentucky. He played his first season in 2016 under former head coach Jeff Brohm and then switched to a completely different offensive system under new head coach Mike Sanford Jr. 

So that's really three offensive schemes in four years for White, and really four offenses in five years if you consider that USF changed coordinators between his freshman and sophomore years.

That has actually helped White with learning concepts, and he hopes that translates to picking up the Texans' shell of a scheme this week and whatever offense he's drafted into in a few months.

"I learn by repetition – using poker chips to design formations, using flash cards, writing plays on the whiteboard, erasing it, doing it all over again," White said. "That has helped me this week with the quick install. Everything is pretty basic down here, shell stuff, very routine concepts, but the terminology is still all new to most of us. So you're still drilling it in your head at night as you get ready for the practices."

At South Florida, White was thrown into the fire early – and he admits now he wasn't quite ready.

"I would have benefited from spending a year learning from an older guy, but really my fourth game my freshman year I was out there playing," he said. "I wasn't mentally or physically ready for the challenge, and that showed me everything I needed to improve on."

When asked what teams he had met with, White not only singled out the specific clubs (which included the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints) – and you'd be surprised how many players don't remember with what teams they've met – but White also remembered the first and last names of a college scouting director, a quarterback coach and an offensive coordinator.

That’s winning the interview.

"This is important to me," White said. "I want to know every last detail."

White has good size, throws a gorgeous deep ball and can extend plays with his mobility. He could stand to improve his timing, take fewer sacks and feel pressure better. But when he faced a sliver of media scrutiny, White handled it like a 10-year pro. He will interview well, we suspect, and win over a QB-needy team a bit down the road in the draft, perhaps on Day 3.
 

WR Oklahoma State teammates James Franklin and Marcell Ateman

'I'm coming for you, Michael'

Oklahoma State teammates James Franklin and Marcell Atemanwere dual 1,000-yard wideouts in their final season in Stillwater, but they aren’t dueling each other for billing as the top receiver in Mobile this week.

Washington, the 2017 Biletnikoff award winner, is known more as the field stretcher. He led the country with 1,423 receiving yards and a 20.9-yard average last season, his third consecutive eclipsing 1,000.

"I'd just say top five," Washington said when asked where he ranks in this year's WR class. "There's a sense you should be the best, but at the same time you got to be humble."

Washington admits his route tree and "just average" run blocking must improve, but he intends on showing his big-play ability in Indy – "I'm thinking mid-to-low 4.4" [40-yard dash]. 

He knows he has plenty of room to grow if he keeps his head down and continues working.

The Abilene, Tex., native who grew up a Cowboys fan and tries to model his game after Dez Bryant says that's one difference between him and the boisterous Bryant – Washington is more soft spoken and lets his play do the talking.

Ateman, meantime, arrives in Mobile with a reputation as more of a possession receiver – if a guy with a 19.6-yard average on 59 grabs after missing his junior season with a broken foot can really be called that. He won't be confused as the soft-spoken type like Washington, though.

"It's a good, loving competition. That's my brother – I want to see him do good – but I'm still going to compete against him," Ateman said of trying to stand out over his roommate, Washington. 

Ateman also doesn't have a problem with the possession guy label, right or wrong.

"I'm pretty sure that’s what people thought about Michael Thomas," he said. "When he was at Ohio State, just a possession guy. Now, two seasons in, he’s made history. It's just a systematic kind of thing." 

Ateman joked that he’s chasing Thomas' NFL record 196 receptions in his first two seasons. 

"Guaranteed. I'm coming for you, Michael."

But he quickly turned serious when discussing the work he put in while coming back from the broken foot that sidelined him in 2016 and preceded his breakout alongside Washington and QB Mason Rudolph.

"The adversity I was put through with my foot, I had my son, and life just started changing for me," Ateman said. "And then I just worked my butt off going into my senior season, and it showed. It paid off. Now I got this invite. I got my Combine invite."

As you can see, Washington and Ateman are in a lot of ways opposites – Washington the "post guy" and Ateman the "jump-ball artist," as Ateman describes how he thinks they’re perceived, right or wrong.

One thing they have in common? Their affinity for Rudolph, who had to bow out of playing this week due to an ankle injury sustained in Oklahoma State's 30-21 victory over Virginia Tech in the Camping World Bowl. Rudolph threw for 351 yards and two touchdowns, and Washington and Ateman each crossed the century mark receiving.

"His leadership. Accountability," said Washington in describing Rudolph. "His arm – he's got a strong arm that he developed over four years. And his ability to read coverages and get the ball out on time."

Ateman had a similarly endearing description for his quarterback. 

"He's a phenomenal leader. I wish they could see his ability. But he's a workhorse, he's a dog out there on that field. He's the top quarterback to me in this draft. Wherever he goes, he'll make an impact."

http://shawnews.secondstreetapp.com/api/message_contents/316479/190/4eb677d6-68f5-42b2-b34e-8d07360add46

[Patriot Killa]

Love Mike White as a prospect.

[Greenseed4]

Mike White looks legit. 

[Patriot Killa]

10 minutes ago, Greenseed4 said:

Mike White looks legit. 

Would love him as a 6th round flyer. If we double dipped that would be ideal. 

[KRL]

23 minutes ago, Patriot Killa said:

Would love him as a 6th round flyer. If we double dipped that would be ideal. 

There are too many teams that need QB's for him to last that long.  He'll probably be gone by the 3rd round

[Patriot Killa]

1 minute ago, KRL said:

There are too many teams that need QB's for him to last that long.  He'll probably be gone by the 3rd round

I suspect Falk, Rudolph, Ferguson, Drew Lock to go before him. 

[C Mart]

2 minutes ago, Patriot Killa said:

I suspect Falk, Rudolph, Ferguson, Drew Lock to go before him. 

Lock didn’t enter. He went back to Mizz. 

[C Mart]

29 minutes ago, Patriot Killa said:

Would love him as a 6th round flyer. If we double dipped that would be ideal. 

Why do you see him going so low?  What are his major flaws? 

[Patriot Killa]

1 minute ago, C Mart said:

Why do you see him going so low?  What are his major flaws? 

Weak competition and scheme. Also he has been consistently projected in those late rounds. 3rd round probably isn’t happening though. Highest I can see is the 4th. I love his ceiling though.

[C Mart]

7 minutes ago, Patriot Killa said:

Weak competition and scheme. Also he has been consistently projected in those late rounds. 3rd round probably isn’t happening though. Highest I can see is the 4th. I love his ceiling though.

Ok.Not doubting you. I don't follow CFB closely. I stumbled upon White a couple of weeks ago and surprised to see him projected so low. 

Same competition level as ND St / Wyoming?  Played in Jeff Brohm's O his Jr yr

 

The Jeff Brohm offense is creative and different.

If the Tiller-Chaney offense that Brees directed was the forerunner to modern spread offenses, the Brohm offense is at the cutting edge of what it means to be “pro-style” in the modern era.

The 2016 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers that Brohm coached put up some jaw-dropping numbers on offense. Despite not having highly rated talent, even for Conference USA, they went 11-3 overall and 7-1 in their conference, thanks largely to an offense that ranked 14th in S&P+ and No. 1 in scoring (45.5 points per game).

First-year starting QB Mike White threw 416 passes for 4,363 yards (at 10.49 yards per attempt), with 37 TDs and seven interceptions. Lead Hilltoppers RB Anthony Wales got 237 carries that produced 1,621 yards at 6.8 yards per carry, with 27 TDs. The WR corps included two going over 1,000 yards, with Taywan Taylor and Nicholas Norris combining for over 3,000 yards and 31 touchdown catches between them.

It was a balanced, up-tempo, explosive offense that blew away every defense on the schedule, save for one scrappy unit at the University of Alabama.

The offense comes from the school of Bobby Petrino, a former boss of Brohm’s. Every play features layers of misdirection and options, real or decoy, that divide the attention and the leverage of the defense before hitting the weak spots.

Under Brohm, the Hilltoppers liked to run “trick plays” in the traditional sense, but they successfully fooled defenders on a large percentage of their play calls.

That confusing deployment of players is a run-pass option that combines a standard zone run with a WR tunnel screen. It’s standard practice across the nation, including at Purdue and Western Kentucky, to combine zone runs with quick-hitting bubble screens.

It’s a good constraint in case the defense tries to sneak DBs into the box to stop the run. But releasing your left tackle to block for a tunnel screen that may or may not be coming? That’s not a standard practice.

The Brohm offense is filled with packaged concepts, play fakes, motions, and formations that all serve to obfuscate the pretty standard concepts they’re running underneath. What’s more, his teams are running it all at tempo, making the entire thing a coordinated, multi-front assault on the minds of their opponents.

It makes it rather difficult to play team defense against featured skill players, as evidenced by the absurd numbers WKU’s guys posted last year under Brohm. Alabama survived a guarantee game against WKU because it could play man coverage and dominate all of the one-on-one matchups. It could do so to the extent that Western Kentucky could only hope to execute the first part of its divide-and-conquer strategy.

Another favorite trick of Brohm’s Hilltoppers for weaponizing their speedy but small receivers was the whip, or pivot, route. Watch a Western Kentucky game tape under Brohm, and you’ll see many examples of this concept, particularly on the goal line.

On one play, the Hilltoppers were in a trips formation, which left the Bulldogs with a question of whether they’d shade help to the three-receiver side or to Taywan Taylor, isolated on the weak side. Tech ended up bringing a man blitz, which the Hilltoppers picked up with help from the RB. The precise timing of the pivot route beat the defense’s inside-shaded coverage. Touchdown, WKU.

It’s a good route to master if you need ways to help create separation and passing windows for your receivers in the red zone. 

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/3/7/14498618/jeff-brohm-purdue-head-coach-offense-2017

[Patriot Killa]

5 minutes ago, C Mart said:

Ok.Not doubting you. I don't follow CFB closely. I stumbled upon White a couple of weeks ago and surprised to see him projected so low. 

Same competition level as ND St / Wyoming?  Played in Jeff Brohm's O his Jr yr

 

The Jeff Brohm offense is creative and different.

If the Tiller-Chaney offense that Brees directed was the forerunner to modern spread offenses, the Brohm offense is at the cutting edge of what it means to be “pro-style” in the modern era.

The 2016 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers that Brohm coached put up some jaw-dropping numbers on offense. Despite not having highly rated talent, even for Conference USA, they went 11-3 overall and 7-1 in their conference, thanks largely to an offense that ranked 14th in S&P+ and No. 1 in scoring (45.5 points per game).

First-year starting QB Mike White threw 416 passes for 4,363 yards (at 10.49 yards per attempt), with 37 TDs and seven interceptions. Lead Hilltoppers RB Anthony Wales got 237 carries that produced 1,621 yards at 6.8 yards per carry, with 27 TDs. The WR corps included two going over 1,000 yards, with Taywan Taylor and Nicholas Norris combining for over 3,000 yards and 31 touchdown catches between them.

It was a balanced, up-tempo, explosive offense that blew away every defense on the schedule, save for one scrappy unit at the University of Alabama.

The offense comes from the school of Bobby Petrino, a former boss of Brohm’s. Every play features layers of misdirection and options, real or decoy, that divide the attention and the leverage of the defense before hitting the weak spots.

Under Brohm, the Hilltoppers liked to run “trick plays” in the traditional sense, but they successfully fooled defenders on a large percentage of their play calls.

That confusing deployment of players is a run-pass option that combines a standard zone run with a WR tunnel screen. It’s standard practice across the nation, including at Purdue and Western Kentucky, to combine zone runs with quick-hitting bubble screens.

It’s a good constraint in case the defense tries to sneak DBs into the box to stop the run. But releasing your left tackle to block for a tunnel screen that may or may not be coming? That’s not a standard practice.

The Brohm offense is filled with packaged concepts, play fakes, motions, and formations that all serve to obfuscate the pretty standard concepts they’re running underneath. What’s more, his teams are running it all at tempo, making the entire thing a coordinated, multi-front assault on the minds of their opponents.

It makes it rather difficult to play team defense against featured skill players, as evidenced by the absurd numbers WKU’s guys posted last year under Brohm. Alabama survived a guarantee game against WKU because it could play man coverage and dominate all of the one-on-one matchups. It could do so to the extent that Western Kentucky could only hope to execute the first part of its divide-and-conquer strategy.

Another favorite trick of Brohm’s Hilltoppers for weaponizing their speedy but small receivers was the whip, or pivot, route. Watch a Western Kentucky game tape under Brohm, and you’ll see many examples of this concept, particularly on the goal line.

On one play, the Hilltoppers were in a trips formation, which left the Bulldogs with a question of whether they’d shade help to the three-receiver side or to Taywan Taylor, isolated on the weak side. Tech ended up bringing a man blitz, which the Hilltoppers picked up with help from the RB. The precise timing of the pivot route beat the defense’s inside-shaded coverage. Touchdown, WKU.

It’s a good route to master if you need ways to help create separation and passing windows for your receivers in the red zone. 

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/3/7/14498618/jeff-brohm-purdue-head-coach-offense-2017

This makes me feel pretty great about an area I found a little grey. Scheme was described as a spread offense with no designs to help develop a passers IQ. This proves that source wrong..to a degree. I know he was rated highly in 2015 but slowly was forgotten about as the year went on. This guy could be the next Dak in a sense.

[C Mart]

Mike White

SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL)

4/11/18, 1:45 PM

WKU QB @MW_XIV: The #Patriots came to the WKU Pro Day and the night before I got a chance to speak with Nick Caserio. We met and got on the white board and watched some film. It was one of the better interviews because it was all about football and it was fun. pic.twitter.com/9reEOzQC1Q