{"id":659,"date":"2010-04-25T23:36:30","date_gmt":"2010-04-26T03:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=659"},"modified":"2010-04-25T23:36:35","modified_gmt":"2010-04-26T03:36:35","slug":"four-dukes-to-get-a-shot-in-the-nfl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=659","title":{"rendered":"Four Dukes To Get A Shot In The NFL"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jags draft pick, Scotty McGee.<\/p><\/div>\n

Arthur Moats and Scotty McGee became the first JMU football players to be drafted since 2000. Moats is heading to Buffalo to play linebacker in the 3-4 and McGee will take his 4.37 speed down to Jacksonsville to do what he does best, return kicks. Offensive lineman, Dorian Brooks and tight end Mike Caussin also will get opportunities to make an NFL roster after signing free agent deals with the Pittsburgh Steelers and\u00a0Jacksonville\u00a0Jaguars respectively. 1997 was the only other year when more than one Duke got drafted. That year Macey Brooks and Ed Perry were selected.<\/p>\n

Obviously, JMU fans have plenty of good things to say about these guys. After the jump we’ll take a look at a few comments from coaches, scouts, and pundits about them.
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\nKicking things off, Adam Kaplan of Scout.com lists Moats as one of his Draft Day Steals<\/a> and shared this little nugget:<\/p>\n

Some personnel evaluators have likened Moats to\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers OLB James Harrison–a smaller player who has a great motor and is hard to keep off the quarterback.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bills college scout, Tom Roth, was thrilled with the Moats pick and was really taken with his work ethic<\/a>. He explained:<\/p>\n

I called him and I actually heard weights in the background. A lot of guys, they\u2019re enjoying the last couple days before the draft. It tells you about the kid\u2019s character. He\u2019s going to work.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Buffalo GM, Buddy Nix\u00a0addressed the skepticism<\/a> surrounding Moats playing at a FCS school. I would have just politely reminded the skeptics that JMU plays in the “SEC of FCS”, that nearby BCS schools Maryland & UVA failed to have more players drafted than the Dukes, and informed them that former Buffalo Bill Mr. Scott Norwood was a Duke. OK. So maybe I’d leave off that last one. Nix handled it more professionally:<\/p>\n

But we still don’t think much about what school they come from. I mean, these guys have size, they can run and they play hard, wherever they’re from.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jaguars GM, Gene Smith explained that Jacksonville is anticipating McGee being the “starter” returning punts<\/a>. He is obviously high on Scotty’s speed.<\/p>\n

Quick and fast.\u00a0He has 4.3 speed. We did a lot of work on him. We feel very good about him as a person. He\u2019s got home run ability. (ed. note- Yes. <\/em>Home run ability.<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And finally, commenting on what he liked<\/a> about Jacksonville’s draft, SportsIllustrated.com’s Ross Tucker summed it up perfectly:<\/p>\n

G.M. Gene Smith\u00a0appears to believe that players from the FCS division of college football are consistently undervalued, and I agree with him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Congrats Arthur, Scotty, Dorian, and Mike. Go Dukes!<\/p>\n