Prospects NYJETS bringing in for visits

[visajets]

Early list of NFL prospects Jets will bring in for pre-draft visits

Published: Monday, March 28, 2011, 1:33 PM Updated: Monday, March 28, 2011, 2:50 PM

By Jenny Vrentas/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger

Brian Spurlock/US PresswirePurdue DE Ryan Kerrigan is one of 30 non-local players the Jets have invited for a pre-draft visit in April.

During the ongoing NFL lockout, here is some football activity on the horizon: The 2011 NFL Draft will begin one month from today in New York City. As teams work to finalize and tweak their draft boards, they'll bring in several players for visits.

Each team is permitted to invite 30 non-local prospects to their facility each spring, in addition to local workouts that don't count against the team's tally. Sometimes the 30 non-local visits are a good indicator of a team's interest; in other cases, they may choose to hide a high level of interest in certain players, and these visits are just smokescreens.

Either way, we'll try to track the non-local players coming to Florham Park in April. Here's what we have so far, per several people with direct knowledge of these players' scheduled visits (unless otherwise attributed to another publication). These people requested anonymity because the teams do not announce which prospects are visiting

Louisville RB Bilal Powell -- 5-11, 207 -- Rushed for 1,405 yards and 11 touchdowns on 229 carries, an average of 6.1 yards per carry, his senior season. Had a strong Senior Bowl showing but was limited by a hamstring injury in Combine and Pro Day workouts.

Georgia DE/LB Justin Houston -- 6-3, 270 -- Entered draft early after tallying 10 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss in his junior season. A finalist for the Nagurski Trophy and Butkus Award, Houston is a hybrid player who made the switch from defensive end to linebacker in Georgia's new 3-4 scheme in 2010.

Purdue DE Ryan Kerrigan -- 6-4, 267 -- Recorded 12.5 sacks, 26 TFL and five forced fumbles in his senior season. A team captain and three-year starter in Purdue's 4-3 system.

Stanford DT Siona Fua -- 6-2, 308 -- Thrived in Stanford's 3-4 hybrid scheme his senior year, with experience as both a nose tackle in a 3-man front and a defensive tackle in a 4-man front.

Temple LB Elijah "Peanut" Joseph -- 6-1, 243 -- Inside linebacker who recorded 71 tackles in 11 games before sustaining a season-ending knee injury in November.

Slippery Rock C Brandon Fusco (according his online draft journal) -- 6-4, 316 -- Division II player who attended the Senior Bowl and received a Combine invite. Four-year starter for Slippery Rock.

Baylor NT Phil Taylor (per National Football Post) -- 6-3, 334 -- Regarded as top nose guard prospect, with excellent size and strength. Transferred from Penn State after two seasons following an off-field incident. Recorded 62 tackles in 2010, most by a Baylor interior lineman in eight years.

Hampton DL Kenrick Ellis (per New York Daily News) -- 6-5, 346 -- Size and strength to fill nose guard role in 3-4 scheme. Transferred to Hampton after being dismissed from South Carolina, and suspended for one game in 2010, but addressed off-the-field concerns at Combine.

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Several local prospects will also come in for visits. Syracuse LB Doug Hogue, from Yonkers, N.Y., is on the list. Per the Daily News, the Jets will also host Temple DL Muhammad Wilkerson, from Linden. The 6-4, 315-pound defensive tackle attracted a lot of attention at the Combine and his Pro Day.

Clemson DT Jarvis Jenkins (6-4, 310) was not invited for one of the 30 non-local visits, but he did have a private workout with Jets defensive line coach Mark Carrier. He is versatile enough to play in both 3-4 and 4-3 schemes, and has had workouts with three of the four AFC East teams as his stock has risen over the past few months.