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Pridružen/-a: 05.07. 2018, 10:24
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 Objavljeno: 28 Sep 2018 07:10 Naslov sporočila: the draft radar. |
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Anthony Miller is trying really hard to follow advice given to him at the NFL combine.
Slow down Rickard Rakell Jersey , just enough to stay focused and avoid making a mistake simply because the wide receiver is moving too fast.
That's easier said than done for the man who had no offers from any FBS college coming out of high school and chose to walk on at Memphis. Miller is in a hurry to prove he's the best wide receiver in the 2018 NFL draft.
"There's not anything in my game that somebody can say that I don't have," Miller said. "I feel like I bring a lot to the table, and I feel like I deserve a chance. That's really all I need is a chance. Say I go first round or third round, if I get that chance I'm going to remain on that team. They're going to love what I bring to the table."
Miller comes by that self-confidence naturally. That's why he ignored a couple of offers from Football Championship Subdivision schools in order to walk on at his hometown university. And he left with a handful of receiving records: 238 catches for 3,590 yards and 37 touchdowns for his career. He topped his own single-season marks with 96 receptions for 1,462 yards, helping Memphis rank No. 25 in the final Associated Press poll.
"It's just fun to me," Miller said of playing football. "I feel like a person shouldn't do anything if they don't enjoy doing it. Whenever I step on that field, I see it as fun. I'm blessed to have this talent that I have, and every time I step on that field I'm just going to give it my all because it's created so many opportunities for me as well."
Kevin Locastro has seen Miller's love of football. Locastro first met Miller when the receiver was in the seventh grade and headed to Christian Brothers High School. Miller came in as a freshman, undersized and maybe 105 pounds, but always the first player on the field for practice and the last to leave. He saw someone who enjoyed football so much that Miller's work ethic was infectious, even in the sticky heat of summer weight workouts.
"You don't see much of his humility when he's playing, to be honest with you," said Locastro Authentic Taylor Hall Jersey , now athletic director at Lausanne Collegiate School. "Not that he's an in-your-face, trash-talking type kid all the time. He plays with a certain level of confidence, and he wants to compete with the best. As soon as he steps off the field, he's just a really good young man. He's a yes sir, no sir kid. Very polite."
Miller had one edge, even as a high school freshman: big hands. Locastro says it seems Miller's hands are still growing, and Miller had some of the largest hands measured at this year's combine at 10 inches.
"The other day I visited my grandma, and we put our hands up next to each other. I saw that her hands were pretty big as well," Miller said of his mother's mother. "She's like, 'That's where you got your hands from.' I said, 'maybe so.' But my dad has big hands as well. So do my uncles. I guess it runs in the family a little bit."
Miller also lifted 225 pounds 22 times at the combine. Memphis coach Mike Norvell, who calls Miller one of the greatest wide receivers he's been around, said that combination allows Miller to do so many things.
"When he gets those mitts on you, it's a challenge for most defensive backs," Norvell said. "But then some of the catches that you see him have Carey Price Jersey , the one-handed catches, the reaction catches where he's only able to get one hand up, having the size hands that he has and the strength that he has in them really allows him to do some special things catching the football."
Miller answered one question about himself on April 3. He broke his right foot in the Liberty Bowl when Memphis lost 21-20 to Iowa State , but Miller ran the 40-yard dash at Memphis' pro day , where he was told scouts clocked him at 4.46 and 4.52 seconds.
That has kept him very busy visiting with teams. The Minnesota Vikings showed interest, as did Carolina and Atlanta. He grew up rooting for the Cowboys like his father, but Miller only wants to be drafted.
"Like I said," he repeated, "I just need an opportunity."
Jimmy Garoppolo and most of the other high-profile members of the San Francisco 49ers made brief cameos at most in the exhibition opener.
That gave a pair of seventh-round picks an opportunity to shine, and they made the most of that chance.
Receiver Richie James Jr. and defensive lineman Jullian Taylor both played from start to finish and delivered big plays throughout in San Francisco's 24-21 victory over Dallas on Thursday.
James caught four passes for 46 yards, and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 18 seconds remaining, as he tries to make the team as a slot receiver. Taylor had three tackles, one sack, two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss, showing more signs that the Niners might have found a late-round gem.
But both players know there's plenty of more work needed to make the roster.
"You can't get too high off one play when you have a whole season ahead of you Sean Monahan Jersey ," James said Sunday. "If that was the Super Bowl then wow, I'm celebrating. But that was just preseason."
James has taken advantage of an injury to Trent Taylor, who has been limited following offseason back surgery that kept him out of the first exhibition game.
James got on the field early, catching the first pass from Garoppolo to convert an early third-down out of the slot and then catching the game-winning TD from Nick Mullens.
"His athletic ability for such a young guy, it's impressive," Garoppolo said. "You know, once you put the mental part of it with the physical part it'll be something good."
James was prolific in college, catching 212 passes for 2,959 yards and 20 touchdowns his first two seasons at Middle Tennessee State. But a broken collarbone limited him to five games last year and he wasn't picked until 240th overall.
With Marquise Goodwin and Pierre Garcon solidified as starters, James is competing with Taylor, Kendrick Bourne, Aldrick Robinson and Aaron Burbridge for a backup spot on the 53-man roster.
James showed his versatility with a 33-yard kick return in the game against Dallas, but he was best as a receiver, with Niners quarterbacks having a 150.4 rating when targeting him, according to Pro Football Focus.
"What we love about Richie is that I think you guys can all see is he's fearless with the ball in his hands Alex Pietrangelo Jersey Kids ," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "He's making good cuts and getting himself after the catch."
Taylor had barely played organized football before getting drafted 223rd overall by the Niners in April. He played only one year in high school and had just limited experience at Temple because of injuries.
That's why it was so important for Taylor to get as much time as he did against the Cowboys. He played 32 defensive snaps in all, starting at defensive end in place of the injured Arik Armstead and playing through the fourth quarter.
He had a few misplays early but delivered the sack that helped set up the game-winning drive.
"It was probably just me getting the jitters out honestly," he said. "This was my first game and I started so it was kind of like, 'Whoa!' Once I settled down and really got my feet under me, it got easier. It was just playing football at the end of the day."
Taylor just hasn't done much of it. He went down with season-ending knee injuries in 2015 and '16 and played just 15 games in all on defense in college. He showed promise as a senior last year with 40 tackles, including 10 for losses, in 12 games for the Owls.
He matched up well against No. 6 overall draft pick Quenton Nelson of Notre Dame and had 4 1/2 tackles for loss against undefeated Central Florida to get on the draft radar.
He has been impressive in camp, which carried over into his first game action as a pro when Shanahan wanted to get him snaps with the starters to see how he'd fare against tougher competition.
"His arrow is going up," defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. "He does everything right. He plays violent, relentless. He fought his tail off against the big O-line with the 1s. As the game wore on, the expectation was that he'd become more dominant and he did. ... He took a really good step."
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