Alex Highsmith

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

So bear with me here, have a half formed argument.

Highsmith was a walk on (I think) to a lower tier school. I assume that means he didn’t come out of a high powered HS program. Then he plays his college ball at lower level of competition than many other incoming NFL players. Nothing wrong with that. It just makes me assume that he experienced a lessened level of coaching and strength training. After that he enters the NFL in an abbreviated off season cycle. Again, less coaching and training. BUT with all that being said, he performs as he has in his rookie season.

Summation: WTF does this guy look like as a fully realized NFL player after a round of pro coaching and strength training?

Does an academic student benefit from a smaller school and lower prof:student ratio, than compared to a larger University with more students?

UNC-Charlotte is Div 1, Conference USA. Its not JUCO Eastern Miss in Scooba, MS. But even if you watched Last Chance U, you will see that some JUCO weight rooms are really good. Some coaches are very good... and a motivated football player that wants to be better at practice and on his "own time" can progress a lot.

Highsmith played well against some power 5 schools and competition while at Charlotte. He has good first step, good hand use and a main pass rush move, with a few counter move options. Biggest positive is that he has a high motor. Gimme a decent player with a high motor, over a "talented athlete" without the motor, any day. "Effort without talent is tough to watch....talent without effort is a shame to see".

[Mojouw]

Does an academic student benefit from a smaller school and lower prof:student ratio, than compared to a larger University with more students?

UNC-Charlotte is Div 1, Conference USA. Its not JUCO Eastern Miss in Scooba, MS. But even if you watched Last Chance U, you will see that some JUCO weight rooms are really good. Some coaches are very good... and a motivated football player that wants to be better at practice and on his "own time" can progress a lot.

Highsmith played well against some power 5 schools and competition while at Charlotte. He has good first step, good hand use and a main pass rush move, with a few counter move options. Biggest positive is that he has a high motor. Gimme a decent player with a high motor, over a "talented athlete" without the motor, any day. "Effort without talent is tough to watch....talent without effort is a shame to see".

All very true and I wasn’t trying to take anything away from anyone or pass bad judgment on any coach or school. For all I know everything at UNCC is top notch and excellent. Just threw it out there that my starting assumption is that a kid from say Ohio State enters the NFL (theoretically at least) a bit more of a finished product than a player from an FCS school (which I mistakenly thought UNCC was).

To be clear, no reason it can’t or isn’t the other way around.

[teegre]

@El Gonzo
@mojoUW
Three decades ago, I heard Jimmy Johnson taking about small school players... and why he liked to draft them. Johnson said something to the effect of:

The small school player has has a ton of playing time* (versus sitting on the bench until his junior year) to work on his skills. They have usually had to work hard to perfect their skill set. They (usually) have a chip on their shoulder (because they weren’t recruited to a power conference); likewise, they seem to be extra committed to fighting through hard times. Yet, they are still a little raw / still had some remaining potential to build up (because they haven’t been at a big time program).

*see Gladwell’s “10,000 hours” idea

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

@El Gonzo
@mojoUW
Three decades ago, I heard Jimmy Johnson taking about small school players... and why he liked to draft them. Johnson said something to the effect of:

The small school player has has a ton of playing time* (versus sitting on the bench until his junior year) to work on his skills. They have usually had to work hard to perfect their skill set. They (usually) have a chip on their shoulder (because they weren’t recruited to a power conference); likewise, they seem to be extra committed to fighting through hard times. Yet, they are still a little raw / still had some remaining potential to build up (because they haven’t been at a big time program).

*see Gladwell’s “10,000 hours” idea

Cool story bro. Thanks for sharing.

I dont think Highsmith is gonna develop to some DPOY candidate, but think he can be a guy that gets 10-12 sacks a year and is strong enough to play the run well. kind of what is needed opposite Watt at this point.

[Mojouw]

@El Gonzo
@mojoUW
Three decades ago, I heard Jimmy Johnson taking about small school players... and why he liked to draft them. Johnson said something to the effect of:

The small school player has has a ton of playing time* (versus sitting on the bench until his junior year) to work on his skills. They have usually had to work hard to perfect their skill set. They (usually) have a chip on their shoulder (because they weren’t recruited to a power conference); likewise, they seem to be extra committed to fighting through hard times. Yet, they are still a little raw / still had some remaining potential to build up (because they haven’t been at a big time program).

*see Gladwell’s “10,000 hours” idea

Cool story bro. Thanks for sharing.

I dont think Highsmith is gonna develop to some DPOY candidate, but think he can be a guy that gets 10-12 sacks a year and is strong enough to play the run well. kind of what is needed opposite Watt at this point.

This is a better version of what I was vaguely waving my hands at in my earlier post.

[86WARD]

There are players that are in positions that don’t work for them at all levels and some that take advantage...sometimes regardless of the reps. Take Justin Herbert. One of the most recruited High School QBs of all-time. Goes to Oregon puts up decent numbers but not numbers worthy of how he was recruited. Probably not the best situation. Goes to the Chargers, gets a chance in a good system and look at him...probably OROY.

For the Steelers...Willie Parker. Was dominating in high school. Was a back up and used sparingly at UNC. But didn’t get the Reps. Came to the NFL in the right situation and was extremely productive. Franco Harris...similar situation.

If a kid has talent and in the right situations, added with the reps, I think that’s the formula. Reps alone help, but stuck in the wrong system, reps don’t work. In the right system, but not getting the reps, system may not work.

If that makes sense?

[teegre]

There are players that are in positions that don’t work for them at all levels and some that take advantage...sometimes regardless of the reps. Take Justin Herbert. One of the most recruited High School QBs of all-time. Goes to Oregon puts up decent numbers but not numbers worthy of how he was recruited. Probably not the best situation. Goes to the Chargers, gets a chance in a good system and look at him...probably OROY.

For the Steelers...Willie Parker. Was dominating in high school. Was a back up and used sparingly at UNC. But didn’t get the Reps. Came to the NFL in the right situation and was extremely productive. Franco Harris...similar situation.

If a kid has talent and in the right situations, added with the reps, I think that’s the formula. Reps alone help, but stuck in the wrong system, reps don’t work. In the right system, but not getting the reps, system may not work.

If that makes sense?

Good point.

As far as Herbert goes, his OC at Oregon was worse than Fitchner... in that not only were the playcalls questionable, they did not highlight Herbert's strengths (they, in fact, made him look much worse).

[Hawkman]

There are players that are in positions that don’t work for them at all levels and some that take advantage...sometimes regardless of the reps. Take Justin Herbert. One of the most recruited High School QBs of all-time. Goes to Oregon puts up decent numbers but not numbers worthy of how he was recruited. Probably not the best situation. Goes to the Chargers, gets a chance in a good system and look at him...probably OROY.

For the Steelers...Willie Parker. Was dominating in high school. Was a back up and used sparingly at UNC. But didn’t get the Reps. Came to the NFL in the right situation and was extremely productive. Franco Harris...similar situation.

If a kid has talent and in the right situations, added with the reps, I think that’s the formula. Reps alone help, but stuck in the wrong system, reps don’t work. In the right system, but not getting the reps, system may not work.

If that makes sense?

Interesting, your post prompted me to compare Franco’s stats to Lydell Mitchell’s, ( I’m thinking that was the comparison you were talking about). I’m amazed at how great Franco’s career was as compared to Mitchell, in almost every category.

[86WARD]

Interesting, your post prompted me to compare Franco’s stats to Lydell Mitchell’s, ( I’m thinking that was the comparison you were talking about). I’m amazed at how great Franco’s career was as compared to Mitchell, in almost every category.

Yes. And Harris backed up Mitchell at PSU. Mitchell had something like 1500-1600 yards and 20-30 TDs as a senior. Harris was only around 700 yards. Yet the Steelers took Harris first in the first round and Mitchell went in the second round.

[86WARD]

[Hawkman]

Good lord! Mitchell’s stats in 71 are insane. As a coach/GM I’d have a hard time passing on that.

[Six Rings]

It’s PFF, so take it for what it is worth, but...

Highest-graded rookie EDGE defenders:
1. Chase Young
2. Alex Highsmith

You have to love Highsmith's effort. With Bud costing 14+ million, ( WE CAN NOT AFFORD HIM NEXT YEAR ) he's likely starting next year. He's not a fast man, capable of chasing down a QB, nor is he an asset in coverage, however as a pass rusher and run stopper, I like what I saw.

[DesertSteel]

Ideal situation would be to bring Bud back on a 1-year deal due to injury and give Highsmith another year of grooming. I think there's a 20% chance of that happening if no team steps up to offer Bud a mega deal, which is likely.

[86WARD]

Good lord! Mitchell’s stats in 71 are insane. As a coach/GM I’d have a hard time passing on that.

Pretty amazing that the Steelers “saw through” the numbers.

[tube517]

Yes. And Harris backed up Mitchell at PSU. Mitchell had something like 1500-1600 yards and 20-30 TDs as a senior. Harris was only around 700 yards. Yet the Steelers took Harris first in the first round and Mitchell went in the second round.

Another fun fact. Chuck Noll preferred Robert Newhouse (Cryboys). Steelers scouting/personnel dept wanted Franco.

[teegre]

I’ve often felt the similarly about a couple of our CBs from the 2000s: Deshea Townsend and Ike Taylor.

DESHEA:
Fernando Bryant was the more highly-tauted CB coming out of Alabama. As a rookie, Bryant looked like a home run. But, if you look at long-term, Townsend has the better career... at a R4 price.

IKE:
Coming out of Louisiana-Lafayette, Peanut Tillman had a way better career as far as forced fumbles and INTs (the number of forced fumbles is INSANE). That said, I still say that if Ike had hands, he would have been one of the all-time greats. As it was, Ike could smother/take away the opposition’s top receiver. Tillman was obviously much better, but like Townsend, we got Ike at a R4 price.

Deshea is a better example for this discussion, but I still think of Ike as being a “steal” of the 2003 Draft.

[86WARD]

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Cool stat. Lets just hope he works on speed and maybe nutrition can change his body a bit so that he can finish with sacks more often than getting close.

Said in the draft that he has an array of pass rush moves, good use of hands and is all motor. Now he needs to train and eat like a pro, so he can be an upper echelon pass rusher.

[lipps83]

Deshea is a better example for this discussion, but I still think of Ike as being a “steal” of the 2003 Draft.

Ike was one of my favorite players. Very well spoken and an extremely nice guy. It still pisses me off that that one irrelevant douche-nozzle knocked his intelligence after Ike was the pick.

[DesertSteel]

"Alex Highsmith had a pass rush win rate of 24% as an edge rusher. He didn't have enough plays to qualify for our leaderboard, but if he had, that would have ranked 7th...one spot ahead of Chase Young."

Seth Walder ESPN Analytics

[Steel Peon]

I still think of Ike as being a “steal” of the 2003 Draft.

If Re-Drafts in hindsight were possible, he would've been gone in the 1st round, stone hands and all.

[teegre]

Ike was one of my favorite players. Very well spoken and an extremely nice guy. It still pisses me off that that one irrelevant douche-nozzle knocked his intelligence after Ike was the pick.

I always felt he was a highly-underrated player (even by Steelers fans). Jon Gruden constantly gave him props... although, he called him Ike Turner (no joke )

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If Re-Drafts in hindsight were possible, he would've been gone in the 1st round, stone hands and all.

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