Interesting to see how Golden, Barron, Blue and Bond all handled business at the Combine. Did Bond and Blue hurt their draft position with arrogant 'call your shot' predictions in advance of running the 40?

[Bevo92]

Awesome that 4 Longhorns had excellent sub-4.4 runs at the NFL Combine (thanks Bobby for pointing out that was a new NFLCombine record).  Unfortunate that the buzz about both Blue and Bond seems a bit more negative than positive over the past 24 hours.  Jaydon Blue was second fastest RB and Bond was in the Top 10 among all WRs but their trash talk against another Texas Longhorn Legend, guaranteeing they'd beat Worthy's record from last year.  Why?  In the 2% scenario, everything goes perfectly and one of them actually breaks the record, there's a 98% chance they fail.  It seems like there is very little upside to calling your own shot (other than a few cheap headlines in advance of running) when these NFL Execs are looking at everything each player does on and off the field.  Let others do the talking for you and more importantly, let your performance on the field speak for itself.  Reminds me of Barry Sanders back in the day talking about how his dad instilled in him to 'be humble' and when you get to the endzone 'act like you've been there before'.  Sanders was definitely old school even at that time back in the late 80s and early 90s.      

@CJ Vogel and @Jeff Howe, I completely agree with your take earlier today.  Bond and Blue both had great runs but neither came even close to Xavier Worthy's record setting 40 last year.  The prediction looks silly when they miss by .2 tenths.  Worse, as @Bobby Burton pointed out earlier today, Bond's form raised eyebrows in the first 15-20 yards when he stood up quickly after first 3 steps.  Raises questions about Bond's preparation for the 40 in advance, given he had one of the top-end speeds among all runners.   With other questions about both Bond and Blue as teammates, character questions, etc, was this trash talk in advance of the 40 just one more example of bad judgement, lack of self awareness?   Did they both hurt their draft stock?   Good lesson for others in future years. 

Taking a completely different approach, love that Mathew Golden did his preparation over the past 2 months and ran with extreme precision, setting the record for all WRs and the fastest overall offensive player on the field (based on 40yd time).  Same for Jahdae Barron as he ran a 4.39 and came in Top 7 fastest CBs.  No trash talk in advance, they both just ran and let their times speak for itself.  Realize top speed matters as much if not more when evaluating players ability to break away but the 40 seems to be the ultimate 'underwear olympics' medal each year.  Golden and Barron...All Class.  Congrats!!  

Hook em!  🐂🤘🏼🧡

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/texas-wr-isaiah-bond-feels-hes-going-to-break-xavier-worthys-40-yard-dash-record-might-run-a-4-1/

https://athlonsports.com/college/texas-longhorns/xavier-worthy-sends-6-word-message-to-isaiah-bond-jaydon-blue-after-40-yard-dash     

[GoHorns1]

Blue and Bond didn’t hurt their draft stock by 40 times. Don’t over think it.

[Ace Recruiter]

Congrats on the longest subject line ever!

[Bevo92]

28 minutes ago, Ace Recruiter said:

Congrats on the longest subject line ever!

lol. 🙂  I was feeling inspired to go longer than the @Jeff Howe post from his first week at OTF.   It’s hard work writing a title that long.,,,,🤪.  May go even longer on the next post to see what’s the max on OTF site.   Hook em! 🤘🏼🐂🧡

Edited March 3 by Bevo92

[harveycmd]

Doubtful Blue hurt his stock. Bond may have. His lack of good form at the start of his 40s indicates he probably didn't train much for it. You look at his production drop during the season, combine that with what looks like a lack of preparation for the combine, and it reinforces the potential downside of his football character. 

[Bobbers]

My God..... Bond was injured and he came in and ran at over 24 mph.  How on Earth could indicate poor character?  Jeez.

 

[harveycmd]

39 minutes ago, Bobbers said:

My God..... Bond was injured and he came in and ran at over 24 mph.  How on Earth could indicate poor character?  Jeez.

 

He's not injured now. Watch his effort on the all 22 film. It's not a question of his top speed or ability. It's a question of preparation, technique and mindset. The fact that he didn't seem to know how to run his best during his 40 runs is the key here. 

[Bevo92]

6 hours ago, harveycmd said:

Doubtful Blue hurt his stock. Bond may have. His lack of good form at the start of his 40s indicates he probably didn't train much for it. You look at his production drop during the season, combine that with what looks like a lack of preparation for the combine, and it reinforces the potential downside of his football character. 

Agree.  Think a few of the other responses are missing the point of this thread/.  

In the biggest games down the stretch against Georgia, Arizona State and Ohio State, It seemed as if Bond gave up on routes, leading to several interceptions.   Quinn seemed to stop trusting him.   Then Bond is quoted by the media last week ‘guaranteeing’ he’d beat Worthy’s record only to come up significantly short while showing poor form.   All of it adds up to big questions about football character, discipline, focus, commitment.   

[harveycmd]

44 minutes ago, Bevo92 said:

Agree.  Think a few of the other responses are missing the point of this thread/.  

In the biggest games down the stretch against Georgia, Arizona State and Ohio State, It seemed as if Bond gave up on routes, leading to several interceptions.   Quinn seemed to stop trusting him.   Then Bond is quoted by the media last week ‘guaranteeing’ he’d beat Worthy’s record only to come up significantly short while showing poor form.   All of it adds up to big questions about football character, discipline, focus, commitment.   

I hope Bond goes relatively high. If I'm being honest, however, I'll admit that I wouldn't draft him if I was an NFL GM. 

[Bobbers]

Sorry, but you guys have no idea what you are talking about but that won't stop you from running down the character of a player, will it?

Bond ran a sub 4.4 40 with a top end speed faster than Worthy and you internet technique experts point to bad character?  What a terrible take.

 

[harveycmd]

9 minutes ago, Bobbers said:

Sorry, but you guys have no idea what you are talking about but that won't stop you from running down the character of a player, will it?

Bond ran a sub 4.4 40 with a top end speed faster than Worthy and you internet technique experts point to bad character?  What a terrible take.

 

Why do you think Sark barely used Bond in the three playoff games?

[Bevo92]

Thought it was interesting to hear Tony Hills tell @Bobby Burton and @Gerry Hamilton on coffee and football (think it was two Wednesdays back) about how intense the GMs are about diving into each prospect’s character.   One GM contacted Tony’s elementary school teachers to ask what kind of kid he was.   
 

Then a few days ago, Bobby posted that many teams had questions about Bond and were talking to Bama and Texas to learn more about his character, what kind of teammate he was, etc.   Bobby seems to know a lot more about what was going on behind the scenes, given a few recent posts.

On the very positive side, we have so many high character guys going into the draft.  Loved seeing Bobby’s interview with Lance Zierlein on Saturday morning where he talked about the impressive turnaround in Longhorn Culture under Sark and how it’s translating at the draft.   Overall, most Longhorns players show strong / tough / dependable character and other leadership traits needed to be successful in NFL.  Guys like Golden, Barron, Banks, Sorrell, Makuba, Quinn, Broughton, Majors, Helm, the list goes on.  
 

Hook em!! 🧡🤘🏼🐂

[harveycmd]

Bond will be drafted. He'll have a chance to prove himself. I hope he does well.

[Bevo92]

1 hour ago, harveycmd said:

Bond will be drafted. He'll have a chance to prove himself. I hope he does well.

Agree.