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Trumaine Johnson #4 rated CB going into NFL Combine
- Thread starter Baller1
- Start date
Raider said:
Explain why Swogs had official combine results then.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/player/combine?id=11182&_slug_=josh-swogger&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnfl%2fdraft%2fplayer%2fcombine%3fid%3d11182%26_slug_%3djosh-swogger" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
live4dagriz
Well-known member
More love for Tru...tempered with some caution re: his "football character"
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft2012/story/_/id/7582006/todd-mcshay-nickel-package-five-sleeper-prospects-shine-nfl-combine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft2012/story/_/id/7582006/todd-mcshay-nickel-package-five-sleeper-prospects-shine-nfl-combine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
live4dagriz
Well-known member
Thanks for pointing that out BW.
Those are interesting comments, I figured the hint of "football character" was more around his off-field incidients over his Griz career and not, as McShay points out, concerns about a "me first" attitude.
I didn't really notice that in practice, I would see at times when he was soph and a junior in spring camp a real big act of entitlement, etc that lead to arguments on the field. In 2010 the arrival of Jimmy Wilson (and Jimmy's leadership of the group) and Tru finally seeing eye to eye with Aric Williams did a lot come fall camp, and in 2011 he kind of took over as the vocal leader.
I never saw Tru taking drills off this last year, I would see him do what we'd see on the field sometimes - get beat occasionally and then limp off, and return the very next series just fine. It seemed at times he'd rather suggest his body was hurt and not his ego if he was beat in a 1-on-1 situation. Obviously that stuff won't really cut it at all in the NFL but I'm sure he's aware of that.
In terms of the getting by on natural ability, that makes sense - if you read a lot of scouting reports on him they continually talk about mechanical errors but being able to make up for it when playing against FCS wide receivers.
I didn't really notice that in practice, I would see at times when he was soph and a junior in spring camp a real big act of entitlement, etc that lead to arguments on the field. In 2010 the arrival of Jimmy Wilson (and Jimmy's leadership of the group) and Tru finally seeing eye to eye with Aric Williams did a lot come fall camp, and in 2011 he kind of took over as the vocal leader.
I never saw Tru taking drills off this last year, I would see him do what we'd see on the field sometimes - get beat occasionally and then limp off, and return the very next series just fine. It seemed at times he'd rather suggest his body was hurt and not his ego if he was beat in a 1-on-1 situation. Obviously that stuff won't really cut it at all in the NFL but I'm sure he's aware of that.
In terms of the getting by on natural ability, that makes sense - if you read a lot of scouting reports on him they continually talk about mechanical errors but being able to make up for it when playing against FCS wide receivers.
I can assure you that character issues surrounding TJ are a concern for at least one NFL team. And, I assume that they are for many more. The word has it that Tru did not practice very hard, made frequent excuses to be excused from practice, and has a "me first" attitude. His off-field problems really compounded the situation.
My scout buddy told me that some teams will actually remove a player from their board, or move him down 2-3 rounds from his projected draft-round, because of concerns about character and work ethic. Then, there are others who will draft a player where they think he fits, and in the projected round, regardless of character concerns. Just the philosophy of the team. Teams which tend to over-look character issues he mentioned were Oakland, Cincinnati, Miami (at least under Parcells), Dallas, the Jets, and Baltimore. He said teams that might take a player off their board would be teams like Indianapolis, NY Giants, & St. Louis.
My scout buddy told me that some teams will actually remove a player from their board, or move him down 2-3 rounds from his projected draft-round, because of concerns about character and work ethic. Then, there are others who will draft a player where they think he fits, and in the projected round, regardless of character concerns. Just the philosophy of the team. Teams which tend to over-look character issues he mentioned were Oakland, Cincinnati, Miami (at least under Parcells), Dallas, the Jets, and Baltimore. He said teams that might take a player off their board would be teams like Indianapolis, NY Giants, & St. Louis.
I can assure you, and my scout buddy can confirm, that I had both athletic issues and character issues, and that's why I wasn't drafted.
Wait, is wacky tobaccy a character issue?
Growler1 said:
The off-field stuff did compound issues but saying Tru didn't practice hard, especially in his junior fall camp and senior sping/fall camps (senior spring he missed Mon/Weds due to class conflict). I can't speak for practice during the course of the season as I never went to one.
WaGriz4life
Well-known member
Well Brint somebody (Pflu? Williams? Breske?.......I don't know) told scouts and got the word out that Tru doesn't practice hard. Scouts don't come to conclusions like this by reading news articles and message boards. Somebody gave Tru a less than stellar report because scouts do not go to enough practices to make statements like that on their own. This is just my opinion of why McShay said that.BWahlberg said:
ALPHAGRIZ1
Well-known member
AZGrizFan said:
Hell, the Cards are my team and I dont want him there.
George Ferguson
Well-known member
I will take coach Williams' public comments at the start of and in the middle of the 2011 season over anything Growler and Alpha have to say about Tru. Williams was very candid about the fact that Tru's rep was not very good when he first got here as a Griz coach and he said it took some work to get Tru to be the player, leader and person he wanted him to be. He said that from the end of his junior season forward Tru has been everything Williams expects from him and he said his expectations are VERY HIGH so it was a long climb for Tru. Those words are good enough for me, since he is in fact A COACH at the UM and not a keyboard cowboy like the rest of us on here. I know Growler and Alpha will somehow say that Williams is lying or that he is supposed to say those things, and that's fine if that's what you want to believe, we'll just have to agree to disagree, but I'll take coach Williams' as a better source on Tru's character and WORK ethic than either of those two's sources they claim they have within the team or in the NFL.
BWahlberg said:
I think Johnson did rely on his natural ability, especially in the earlier years. My impression is that he could have worked harder in practice on a more consistent basis. However, I neither saw or heard anything regarding him trying to get out of practice or not fully participating in practice. And on the field the past two years, I thought Johnson played hard and played very well. It looked to me that having Wilson on the team a year ago, also helped advance Johnson in many respects, including leadership. Wilson appeared to be an immediate leader when he arrived at summer practice, and it looked to me, at some summer and later practices, that Johnson's leadership stepped up a few notches at that time.
While it may be true that Johnson has not had the great work/practice ethic that many of the NFL-bound UM players had had, that would be only medium-sized facator if I were an NFL team. The off-field issues would be another medium-sized factor. If some of the other stuff said about him today in this thread are what some teams are thinking or have heard, he's getting a bum rap, in my view. He is a physical specimen who can play corner. I still think he could also be a good safety. I'll be curious to find out how he runs. If he runs fast, then I think teams will move him up their boards.
ALPHAGRIZ1
Well-known member
havgrizfan said:
I am not saying anything about his talent he solid.........my comments were I wouldnt want him on my Cards.
havgrizfan said:
Agreed, and good info there.
This is just my observational opinion but under Hauck Tru didn't really get too cocky on the field, when Pflu came in that 1st spring camp was a mess and players like Tru got a little out of control and didn't respect authority much. It was a change over in styles of coaching, practicing, etc and I know Williams and Tru butted heads BIG TIME early on. That got smoothed out and things improved. In 2010 when Wilson showed up that brought some quick balance to the cornerbacks b/c nobody talked back to him or took plays off. Come 2011 Tru and other players had adapted and worked hard/played well.
