Why “Spring Grades” are Important

By Justin VanFulpen

When NFL scouts from the two scouting services BLETSO and National go into a school to do their junior evaluation they are looking to grade the NFL draft prospects for the next year’s draft but also to eliminate players as guys who can’t play in the NFL.  The scouts give those players “reject” grades so scout in the fall don’t have to spend time on players who are deemed not NFL players.

The scouting services grade over 13,000 senior college football players each year at all levels of football and normally there are around 600 with draft able or free-agent grades.  True do players with “reject” grades get draft? Yes but it is few and far between.

Spring grades are important for a number of reasons:

1. It is a road map for NFL scouts in the fall to where they should spend their most time.

2. National Scouting runs the NFL Combine so if a player has a good spring grade he is more likely to get invited then if he doesn’t.

3. All-Star games try to get their hands on these grades and use them when they start to invite players to their games.

True as a Senior what you do on the field is most import to your final NFL draft grade, but it doesn’t hurt to start with a good spring grade going into your Senior season.

7 Things an Agent can help a Coach with

By Justin VanFulpen

Social Media Consulting:  An agent can review coach’s social media accounts to make sure they are presenting the best image possible and if they aren’t on a social media platform help them get on it and use it to its best ability possible.

Interview Preparation: An agent can help get coaches prepared for their job interview from everything such as sample interview questions to reviewing their overall plan.

Media & Public Relations:  An agent can help coaches utilize the media and public relations as the ability to get their message out there and help increase their visibility and showcase their skills.

Career Counsel: An agent can be a sounding board with proven-expertise to assist coaches in their all aspects of their career.

Marketing:  An agent can help our coaches identifying potential outside income opportunities that may be available to them, such as public appearances, paid media opportunities, golf outings and more.

Job Placement Support: An agent can work to put their coach in the best position to obtain their desired position through anticipating openings, gathering information, and strategizing in all areas of the search process.

Contract Negotiation: An agent can focus on maximizing their coaches earning potential and professional protection, while the coach can just focus on being the best coach he can be.

An NFL Agent alone can’t get a player drafted or signed

By Justin VanFulpen

Many players were not drafted as high as they thought they would or were promise and some didn’t get drafted at all in this year’s NFL Draft. First off if any agent promise that you will get drafted, or he or she promises you what round you will get drafted …Run!

No one knows for sure were a player will get drafted not even the teams –  see Mitchell Trubisky for an example just this year some people had him going in the second round and he went second overall.

Players might be on NFL team’s draft boards and call players multiple times but never draft them because teams for the most part have to or are willing to react to what happens in the draft as a whole.

An agent is a facilitator of your talents as a player and what you have put on film. 

An agent can help get you into an All-Star game (Senior Bowl, E-W Shrine, etc.), promote your film to NFL scouts, promote you to the media, give you an overview of the NFL landscape in terms of your position with the 32 NFL teams, but if the NFL teams don’t think you can play in the NFL he or she is not going to get you drafted or signed.  NFL teams for the most part don’t care who your agent is.  Also NFL teams are going to do what they feel is best for their teams not doing a favor for an agent that they know or like.

An agent has a valuable role to play in the process and they can help move guys up with their guidance as skills but an NFL agent alone can’t get a player drafted or signed.  It comes down to does the NFL teams think the player has the skills to play in the NFL.

Only Film can raise your NFL Draft stock – Not your 40 time

By Justin VanFulpen

Now that the 2017 NFL Draft is in the books, many people are looking forward to the 2018 including the draft prospects for next year draft.  But if there is one thing that stood out in the 2017 NFL Draft is film is king and for the most part nothing else really matters.  People get excited for the NFL Combine to come and see how fast the NFL prospects run but one of the biggest shocks to many was the WR Corey Davis, Western Michigan went #5 overall to the Tennessee Titans.  Davis got hurt training and never did any of the testing, never ran a 40 and still was the #5 overall draft pick and was the first WR selected in the 2017 NFL Draft.  He sent in a video to all 32 teams of him running routes showing that he was almost back health from his ankle injury before the NFL Draft.

LB Haason Reddick, Temple came into the season with a spring grade from NFL scouts with a grade that he couldn’t play in the NFL (In the past it was called a reject grade), not even a low free-agent grade.  Basically saying he isn’t even someone to watch as a draft prospect.  But what did Reddick do this season he showed on film that the scout spring grade was wrong, he had a huge season, he was second on the team in tackles, first of the team in tackles for loss and sacks.  With that great season got him an invite to the Senior Bowl which he had a great week in front of scouts many who at the being of the process back in the spring said he couldn’t play in the NFL.  He was invited the NFL Combine and checked off the box on the numbers that a NFL linebacker should in the time and testing part.   Reddick went on to be the #13 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals.

But as many GMs will tell you their team’s board is set before the even get to the NFL Combine.  As Detroit Lions GM Bob Quinn said after this year NFL draft after drafting Teez Tabor out of Florida who didn’t run well as the NFL Combine or his Pro Day.  (Link here)

Both Corey Davis and Haason Reddick where first round picks who didn’t play in a Power 5 conference and both show that it is about the film, and that it not about your grade going into the season or what you run of even if you run a 40.   Film is key and at the end of the day that is your resume to NFL teams.

2017 NFL Draft: NFL Scouting Combine Results

By Justin VanFulpen

In the football business one of the closely guarded secrets before the official list is released is who is getting invited to the NFL Combine.  The NFL Combine is run by National Scouting and has become a televised event by the NFL Network.  For more information about how the NFL Combine invites work you can check out my article from a year ago: NFL Draft: NFL Combine just part of the process.

Now that the 2017 NFL Draft is in the books we can look at the results.  This year there were 329 players invited to the NFL Combine and their where 28 players that were drafted that did NOT go to the NFL Combine.  Break down as far as rounds go:

2nd round – 1 player
3rd round – 1 player
4th round – 2 players
5th round – 3 players
6th round – 6 players
7th round – 15 players

So 104 players that were invited to this year’s NFL Combine were not drafted.  So the percentage of players that were drafted that were invited to the NFL Combine was 68%, so it is far from a guarantee if you are invited that you will get selected in the NFL Draft.  Last year it was 65% of the players that were at the NFL Combine where drafted.