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College area scout Todd Brunner is back with his weekly blog. Find out what schools he hit last week and some of the players he took a look at in his latest entry.**
So I hit Glenville on Tuesday of last week before the trek back home. They have two wide receivers, one who played high school ball with two prominent Ohio State players in Troy Smith and Ted Ginn. Going to Glenville was an experience because it's another one of those schools that's definitely off the beaten track.
The one kid, Damon Lindsey, is from Stockton, California and is friends with Delanie Walker. He asked me to tell him he said hello, so Delanie I hope you read this – Damon says hello.
I drove the five and a half hours home and readied for some local visits starting on Wednesday. I went to Rowan, formerly Glassboro State which is one of the top Division III schools in the country. They get to the final four of the playoffs almost every year. I took a look at a very productive DE/LB who I will go see play live in a game in two weeks when they play the College of New Jersey. Yes, that's right, there is a College of New Jersey. We leave no stone unturned.
On Thursday I went to Temple and looked at a handful of players. They've got a new coach in Al Golden. . I was a grad assistant there in 1991 and since '91 they have not had a winning season so it's nice to see that they are being productive and pushing the right buttons to turn the program around. You just get the sense that they are on the right track and are getting the program turned around.
I took the day off on Friday from the field and caught up on my reports. It was more of an administrative day for me.
I went to the Hampton/Morgan State game at Giants Stadium on Saturday afternoon because Hampton does as I've said have about 6 or 7 guys with pro potential, plus it's one of the best halftime shows you'll ever see because their bands are unbelievable. It was a crowded game. It was about 20,000 which isn't a lot for a pro game but it's a lot for a college game and it was a crazy atmosphere. Hampton won the game, and there were eight scouts at the game looking at those guys from Hampton and we all came away with our own perspectives I'm sure. Some guys I may like, another scout might not and vice versa. We all have somewhat different criteria for our various teams and the kind of personnel we seek.
I had to buy seven tickets for the 49ers/Eagles game because my brother and brother-in-law and their friends flew out for the game. Unfortunately, they are Eagles fans. I requested that they get the highest and worst seats in the stadium because I think it's a bit of a betrayal for them to root against my employer, my team, and the players I helped get there.
I watched the game and I really hate losing to the Eagles because they are the hometown team and you get sick of hearing about them out here. It was a lot different than last year, although I'm still disappointed that we lost. The biggest thing is that everybody is seeing the kind of player we thought Alex Smith is going to be. That's why we drafted him as number one. You also got a brief glimpse of what Michael Robinson can do and that was good to see as well.
Fortunately, I stayed at home this week while I hit all of these schools, so I didn't to deal with any lousy elevator etiquette. During the fourth quarter of the game, I actually hit the road. I had a 210 mile drive over to Storrs, Connecticut and I'll hit schools in the New England area this week and I'm sure I'll have more elevator and travel complaints next week.
Stay tuned –
Todd Brunner
