Bengals Official Visits List

[HAPPYJAQ]

Running backs: Chris “Beanie” Wells (Ohio State), Donald Brown (Connecticut), Knowshon Moreno (Georgia), Rashad Jennings (Liberty).

Fullbacks: Fui Vakapuna (BYU), Will Ta’ufo’ou (California). Offensive tackles: Jason Smith (Baylor), Andre Smith (Alabama), Michael Oher (Mississippi). Centers: Eric Wood (Louisville) Offensive guard: Tyronne Green (Auburn)

Wide receivers: Jeremy Maclin (Missouri), Derek Kinder (Pitt), Johnny Knox (Abilene Christian), Dudley Guice (Northwestern State)

Defensive linemen: Jayon Belcher (Maine)

Linebackers: Nick Reed (Oregon), Aaron Curry (Wake Forest)

Cornerbacks: DeAngelo Willingham (Tennessee), Derek Cox (William & Mary).

Safeties: Al Afalaya (Oregon State).

[Clackwoods]

No Crabtree or Maguluga.........UH OH!

[HAPPYJAQ]

Derek Cox Pro Day Results:

40 Yrd Dash: 4.38 (unofficial)

225 Lb. Bench Reps: 12

Vertical Jump: 36.5"

Broad Jump: 11’

20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.11

3-Cone Drill: 6.75

A four year player for W&M, Cox recorded 9 interceptions, several of which he took to the house. Cox also contributed on special teams, and had several punt returns for touchdowns during his tenure. Cox is likely a 7th round/UDFA prospect – the type of player that you can glad-hand a bit to make sure they sign with you once they fall out of the draft.

http://www.silverandblackpride.com/2009/4/...ting-draft-udfa

NOTE: Cox averaged 16.4 on punt returns, with 2 TDs last season (80 and 89 yards). Maybe another David Jones type, with plus return ability?

[HAPPYJAQ]

This Dudley Guice guy is pretty impressive. He looks and sounds a little bit like a more polished Jerome Simpson but clearly fits the Bengals prototype for WRs. The Draft Guys are calling him the the Marques Colston of this draft.

http://draftguys.com/index.php/articles/dg...ey_guice_video/

This from the National Football Post:

Northwestern State (LA)

WR Dudley Guice had one of the best workouts so far among small-school prospects. Guice (6-2, 209) posted an impressive 4.40 40-time and recorded a 39-inch vertical, 4.01 short shuttle and 6.61 three-cone drill. He also had a notable performance at this year’s Texas vs. the Nation Bowl and seems to be gaining momentum. He will move up draft boards in the coming weeks and could hear his name come off the board during the latter portions of the draft.

[HAPPYJAQ]

Nick Reed:

http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites...80-41/story.csp

http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB...p;ATCLID=177402

Another extremely impressive athlete. His 6.96 3-cone drill would've been Top 5 at the Combine and is pretty close to what David Pollack ran in the same drill when he came out of Georgia as the 18th overall pick to the Bengals. What I like most is Reed's production and intelligence. He led the nation in fumble recoveries (5), had 13.0 sacks this past season (4th in the country) and registered 20.0 tackles for losses (9th in the country). Reed contributed 29.5 sacks for his career and was a 2-time Academic All American and Draddy Award semifinalist. I'm not sure how high this guy will go, but it's pretty incredible that he's not mentioned amongst the best DEs/OLBs available in the draft. Everywhere I'm reading has Reed projected as a 7th round pick or priority UDFA. This one's a real head scratcher.

[HAPPYJAQ]

Good read on Will Ta’ufo’ou

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?.../SPJS12RJ9H.DTL

Ta’ufo’ou looks to be the kind of FB we need for the offense as a guy that is an excellent lead blocker and a player like can also do something with the ball in his hands. He's also visiting Minnesota and Arizona, amongst a few other teams. I like the fact that his coaches at Cal all consider him to be one of the toughest, hardest working players they ever had there and he was an integral part of one of the best running offenses in college football last season. He's also a guy that wasn't heavily recruited coming out of high school (only one D-1 offer, Portland State), which would most likely indicate that he has some real upside that could be brought out with some solid NFL coaching. I like him as one of our 5th or 6th round picks.

I know it's "only a highlight video", but the YouTube on him is pretty good. He already has decent technique and und leverage and seems to be natural at catching and running with the football. The run at the 1:47 mark is worth watching.

[HAPPYJAQ]

Fui Vakapuna, from Big C a few weeks back:

BYU running back/fullback Fui Vakapuna is scheduled to visit the Bengals a week before the draft. Get this, Vakapuna is the cousin of Tahi and both could end up wearing tiger stripes if the stars align right.

The 5-foot-11, 244-pound Vakapuna opened some eyes at the school’s pro day March 11. He ran a 4.68 in the 40-yard dash; posted a 34-inch vertical and knocked out 29 reps on the bench press. Scouts were very impressed with his workout.

Bengals running backs coach Jim Anderson was in attendance at the pro day and worked with Vakapuna exclusively on some individual drills afterwards. The way I hear it, Coach Anderson was blown away by the fullback’s performance.

Vakapuna rushed 263 yards and three touchdowns this past season. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry while toting the rock for the BYU Cougars. He’s a bruising runner with good explosion and power - ideal for short-yard situations. He has all the physical attributes to contribute as a running back, fullback and special teamer.

Vakapuna will need to continue to improve on his blocking skills at the next level. He spent a lot of time in his career flip flopping from running back to fullback in BYU’s offense. However, Vakapuna did spend his entire senior campaign playing fullback and excelled. He is now appearing on a number of team’s radar.

Not so sure about Fui and the injury problems are a concern. He did have a monster Pro Day, though. If he's more a runner than a blocker, I would rather pass on him but if Jim Anderson really likes him the way it's been reported, I would assume we'll get him. Anderson usually gets his guy, for some reason.

[HAPPYJAQ]

Just realized I posted this thread in the wrong area. Please feel free to move this one, Mods.

[icehole3]

this list of invites tells me, they maybe trying to re-invent the wheel like when they drafted Madieu and Ratliff

[Baraka]

this list of invites tells me, they maybe trying to re-invent the wheel like when they drafted Madieu and Ratliff

as someone posted earlier a lot of the prospects on this list were called in to give the team a chance to sign them as udfa.

i like nick reed a lot and have posted about that after his proday a month ago. i've also seen him play a fair amount being in the heart of beaver country, and he was all over the place, he has a real nose for the ball and his awareness and intelligence are off the charts. although he played de in college he often lined up in the two point stance. so the learning curve from de to olb wont be as steep. I totally agree with you HAPPY, he compares very favorably to curry, and i'm not sure why he's not getting the pub he deserves.

[redsbengalsbucks]

This Dudley Guice guy is pretty impressive. He looks and sounds a little bit like a more polished Jerome Simpson but clearly fits the Bengals prototype for WRs. The Draft Guys are calling him the the Marques Colston of this draft.

http://draftguys.com/index.php/articles/dg...ey_guice_video/

This from the National Football Post:

Northwestern State (LA)

WR Dudley Guice had one of the best workouts so far among small-school prospects. Guice (6-2, 209) posted an impressive 4.40 40-time and recorded a 39-inch vertical, 4.01 short shuttle and 6.61 three-cone drill. He also had a notable performance at this year’s Texas vs. the Nation Bowl and seems to be gaining momentum. He will move up draft boards in the coming weeks and could hear his name come off the board during the latter portions of the draft.

Give me a bunch of big bodies the first day of the draft than take some fliers on players like this before anyone else grabs them. I would much rather have an OT, C, LB first three picks than waste #6 on crabtree when kids like this are available late in the draft.

[redsbengalsbucks]

Good read on Will Ta’ufo’ou

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?.../SPJS12RJ9H.DTL

Ta’ufo’ou looks to be the kind of FB we need for the offense as a guy that is an excellent lead blocker and a player like can also do something with the ball in his hands. He's also visiting Minnesota and Arizona, amongst a few other teams. I like the fact that his coaches at Cal all consider him to be one of the toughest, hardest working players they ever had there and he was an integral part of one of the best running offenses in college football last season. He's also a guy that wasn't heavily recruited coming out of high school (only one D-1 offer, Portland State), which would most likely indicate that he has some real upside that could be brought out with some solid NFL coaching. I like him as one of our 5th or 6th round picks.

I know it's "only a highlight video", but the YouTube on him is pretty good. He already has decent technique and und leverage and seems to be natural at catching and running with the football. The run at the 1:47 mark is worth watching.

Wow, a football player that plays through injury, there is no way he will be coming to the Bengals.

[Kazkal]

Forgot but did Pollack,Halll or Joseph fly to cinci for personal visits?

[icehole3]

This Dudley Guice guy is pretty impressive. He looks and sounds a little bit like a more polished Jerome Simpson but clearly fits the Bengals prototype for WRs. The Draft Guys are calling him the the Marques Colston of this draft.

http://draftguys.com/index.php/articles/dg...ey_guice_video/

This from the National Football Post:

Northwestern State (LA)

WR Dudley Guice had one of the best workouts so far among small-school prospects. Guice (6-2, 209) posted an impressive 4.40 40-time and recorded a 39-inch vertical, 4.01 short shuttle and 6.61 three-cone drill. He also had a notable performance at this year’s Texas vs. the Nation Bowl and seems to be gaining momentum. He will move up draft boards in the coming weeks and could hear his name come off the board during the latter portions of the draft.

Give me a bunch of big bodies the first day of the draft than take some fliers on players like this before anyone else grabs them. I would much rather have an OT, C, LB first three picks than waste #6 on crabtree when kids like this are available late in the draft.

I agree 100%, I just dont want them reaching, especially in rounds 1-3 after that it's a crap shoot, the first 100 or so players are pretty much defined IMO. Dont reach at #6 for someone that should be in the 15-30 range because as Marvin would say with his weirdo smile on draft day "our board is different from everybody else board." Yeah Marvin your board produces duds while the Steelers are stacking up pass rushers like a AIG CEO getting a government bonus.

[Whur CHad At?]

Forgot but did Pollack,Halll or Joseph fly to cinci for personal visits?

I think Hall did but I believe that Joseph and Pollack did not.

A lot of agents and teams believes these "visits" are a waste of time. That is why the Raiders, Packers and other teams didnt bring a lot of guys in.

I'd rather use these visits for the later round guys.

And don't forget Crabtree and Maualuga could of visited with them at the combine as well.

[HAPPYJAQ]

Forgot but did Pollack,Halll or Joseph fly to cinci for personal visits?

I think Hall did but I believe that Joseph and Pollack did not.

A lot of agents and teams believes these "visits" are a waste of time. That is why the Raiders, Packers and other teams didnt bring a lot of guys in.

I'd rather use these visits for the later round guys.

And don't forget Crabtree and Maualuga could of visited with them at the combine as well.

I like the Bengals strategy so far as how they've scheduled these visits. It would seem like they're trying to build some rapport with a lot of these guys who may be UDFAs. You hear time and time again when it comes to UDFAs that they decided to sign with the team that showed the most interest throughout the draft process, if the signing bonus is close enough between the teams bidding for a player. Sometimes a player will even turn down a larger bonus to go to a team that he thinks gives him the best shot to make the roster. It would be nice if we could find a couple of diamonds in the rough this year, either as late round picks or UDFAs

[HAPPYJAQ]

Scouting Report - Tyronne Green:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/518349

You gotta love an offensive lineman that make the All SEC 1st team. He had 113 knockdown/key blocks that led the conference amongst G's. Apparently, this guy projects as a C type and they're comparing him to Baltimore's Ben Grubbs, as he's only 309 pounds. He's a possible 4th or 5th round selection for the Bengals and is another player with upside after converting from DT in '05. Seems like he might be a projection prospect on the rise, in the Stacey Andrews mold. By all accounts, Green is a tremendous athlete an has a extremely strong work-ethic. At his Pro Day, scouts were impressed by the fact that he was able to complete drill after drill without resting as being the only offensive lineman available to work out for scouts that day.

More on Green from the Mile High Report:

http://www.milehighreport.com/2009/3/29/80...ne-green-auburn