**
College area scout Todd Brunner shares his perspective from day two of the 2008 NFL Draft, as well as some of the reactions from Sunday's selections.**
The draft began bright and early for us west coast teams, and we arrived at the office about 6:15 for the 7AM kickoff. It was nice because we had the 12th pick today in the third, and so we made our pick within the first hour.
Actually, I called Reggie Smith at 7:45 our time, which was 9:45 in Oklahoma and apparently woke him up. He was a little bit out of it and I told him to get more excited, because we'd just drafted him. He assured me he was definitely excited, but that he was just trying to wake up.
It's a good pick for us because he's a good athlete and he's got the versatility to play corner and safety.
But after that, we had to sit and wait for another 30-something picks before we were back on the clock so it was a little slow for a while there.
We had Cody Wallace pegged in the fourth-round since day one, and fortunately he was there when we came up again. We think he's a good player who can come in and compete at center for us. I spoke with him for a few minutes and then Coach Warhop got on the phone with him. I think Coach was happy because Wallace was a kid he had coached at the Senior Bowl and so I think he felt good about who he was getting as a player and a person.
After picking Cody, it was the waits of all waits until we got to the sixth round. We had Josh Morgan targeted for today and we did consider moving up to get him earlier, but fortunately we didn't have to do so. He's an athletic wide receiver, with speed, and good hands. He plays a very physical game.
He also happened to be a kid from my area, which is something I was excited about because I think he's a good player. We haven't drafted any players from my area since Michael Robinson back in 2006, so it was good to see one of the kids I've followed so closely land here. We are obviously taking these guys as a group, but when they are from your area you usually pull for them to do well because you know them the best.
Josh is a very quiet individual but I think he got very fired up after talking with wide receivers coach Jerry Sullivan. He had met Sullivan during a visit out here a few weeks ago and I think he really enjoyed meeting him and talking football with him. I think he also was able to get a taste for our program, the area and the facilities and he seems to be looking forward to his return.
Our final pick was Larry Grant from Ohio State who is a Sacramento kid. I called him and he was excited, but not as excited as he and his family got when they saw his name come up on the television. I couldn't hear anything on the phone and it was pure pandemonium. They were still yelling and screaming when Coach Manusky got on the phone with him and I don't think it stopped anytime soon.
Once our last pick was made, even though there were still several picks in the draft, we started working on free agency and targeted what positions we still needed. That's always a roll of the dice because you could have 3 or 4 guys lined up who you want to call and then they end up getting taken. Each scout has a list and we typically work with the coaches to track down guys as soon as the Draft ends. Obviously you are competing against 32 other teams so you just never know how that will pan out. You just hope to get some verbal agreements with guys, but it seems like every Monday after the Draft there ends up being a kid who backs out and signs elsewhere. Hopefully we'll get a few good ones before it's all over.
We'll review everything in the morning and make sure we've got all the positions filled and make additional calls if need be.
I'll have my wrap-up meeting with Scot McCloughan in the morning and then catch a noon flight back home, where I look forward to a couple of relaxing months at home before we start all over again.
All in all we are very happy with the draft. We filled a lot of holes that should help us next year, and hopefully it will help us get our record turned around.
