Bucs Speak At Length With Dustin Doe

March 18, 2010 at 10:44am by Scott   •  3 Comments »

Huh, I guess if I put the whole point of the entry in the subject line, there’s no point for you to read it. But in case you don’t follow college football, Dustin Doe is a linebacker from Florida who has been overshadowed by Brandon Spikes. Until now.

Linebacker Dustin Doe posted times of 4.65/4.70 in the forty, had a 35-inch vertical jump and 10-foot, 1-inch broad jump after measuring 6016/228lbs. The Tampa Bay Bucs spoke with him at length after the workout.

Dustin Doe looked better than Brandon Spikes in drills. Doe was quick and showed a good amount of lateral range, running with speed to the sidelines. Spikes on the other hand practiced with an upright stance and seemed mechanical. There was some talk early in the day that Spikes was telling teammates he was struggling with an injury and was undecided about how much of the workout he would complete today. Sources have also told us that scouts had to prod Spikes to run this morning and told him they needed a time on their sheets before next month’s draft. There is unconfirmed speculation that Spike will run again in the beginning of April.

That “until now” up there sounded ominous, but it’s really not. Doe is more of an outside linebacker whereas Spikes is a pure inside guy. And there’s no real comparison in terms of production or athletics; Spikes is far superior in every measurable way. Oh, and there’s the thing about Doe getting arrested last year for driving with a suspended license, which had been suspended over unpaid parking tickets. And then Doe didn’t perform his community service, so another arrest warrant was issued this past January.

Doe is, at best, a seventh-round pick, but more likely an undrafted free agent. It’s interesting that the Bucs spent so much time talking to him. Maybe the plan is to just cram the roster full of undrafted rookies who will work for Happy Meals.

Well, as long as I’m discussing pro days, let’s go over what Draft Insider said about the one in Knoxville yesterday. Feel free to stop reading now if you don’t care about Tennessee.

Tennessee’s premiere prospects chose not to participate in today’s workout as both Dan Williams and Eric Berry stood on their combine numbers. Montario Hardesty and Chris Scott also did not workout out.

Berry tried to participate, but he sprained his left big toe on his second drill and couldn’t complete the day. He blamed it on a hole in the turf, which is a little weird because it’s artificial. But he immediately pulled up from the drill and grabbed his toe, so I’m pretty sure he didn’t just get cold feet. No pun.

And I guess “workout” on this site means measurable combine drills, because Williams, Hardesty and Scott performed all of their position drills.

Jeff Cottam, the one time highly rated tight end that struggled with a back injury in the middle of his career, turned a few heads today. Cottam 6063 262-pounds. His official 40 time was 4.79 seconds, not bad considering most of the times today were slow. Cottam looked sensational catching the ball, making a number of athletic receptions. Originally graded as a free agent prospects, Cottam could now get looks in the late rounds.

Cottam was overshadowed last year because Luke Stocker emerged as a huge stud at tight end. But Cottam started out his career getting compared to Jason Witten, another Tennessee guy. Again, another undrafted rookie for the Bucs to consider.

The story was completely different for another one time highly rated prospect, linebacker Rico McCoy. McCoy’s workout was terrible. He measured 6002/226lbs, timed 4.95-seconds in the forty, 7.45 in the three cone, posted a vertical jump of 30.5 inches and completed 24 reps on the bench.

I heard from a difference source that McCoy’s workout was not impressive, but he didn’t use the word “terrible”. It’s too bad, though; McCoy really was a thumper on game day.

Quarterback Jonathan Crompton, who had been receiving rave reviews all off season, struggled throwing the ball today. His accuracy was off and Crompton was unimpressive for the most part.

Okay, this dude just doesn’t like Tennessee. Let’s switch over to Gil Brandt. You know, the player personnel guy for the Cowboys for 29 years.

Crompton (6-3 1/4, 222) didn’t disappoint. He looked good in a scripted QB workout that lasted about 45 minutes, throwing mostly to teammates Montario Hardesty and Jeff Cottam. Crompton ran 4.87 and 4.89 seconds in the 40-yard dash, had a 31-inch vertical leap, 8-foot, 10-inch broad jump, 4.39 short shuttle, and 7.02 three-cone drill.

Crompton’s script was written by Sam Wyche, who was also in attendance. Wyche also helped out Tim Tebow with his throwing motion, that cheating hussy. Crompton will probably go in the fifth or sixth round and the Bucs should have no interest in him unless they think he’s an upgrade over Rudy Carpenter. I have no idea if he is or not, but Crompton’s constant and heartbreaking interceptions from 2008 are still on tape, and those are going to be hard to overlook.

Hardesty’s drills were said to be excellent and may have put him solidly in the second round, which would be awesome. Williams also looked good in his drills and remains most analysts’ third-best defensive tackle. Scott didn’t do anything to help or hurt himself, but he’s probably not getting drafted. If he sneaks into the seventh round, good for him, but I don’t see it happening.

I know that all this isn’t what the subject line says the entry is about, but I couldn’t give some undraftable Gator his own entry. Vol Nation would have disowned me.