Tracy Claeys on Eric Murray: "He's the best overall player I have ever coached."

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"A few thought that he might be drafted in the first round if he had a great senior season" = "EVERYONE KNEW that he WOULD be drafted in the first round if he repeated his junior season". Got it.
 

I'll back up bottlebass --- the preseason consensus was that he was one of the very best CBs in college football, maybe the best. There was more than one prediction that he'd be a first-rounder, and like bottlebass I noticed that his performance wasn't as good as predicted.

Often we know things that we can't document. I don't know who said Murray would be a first-round pick, but I know I heard it on TV and read it on the web.
 

My take is that he had a better senior season than junior season. He played almost every snap including special teams and was seldom challenged even though the pass rush was maybe even lighter this year over last and the team was playing 3rd and 4th string safeties.
 

I thought Murray was outstanding again this season. He was asked to be on an island A LOT. There are only a few CB's in the world who can constantly shut down any WR they are lined up against. Just about any corner out there will get beat occasionally. It happens. Especially with how the game is slanted towards the offense nowadays. I think expectations for Murray got to be so high that if he gave up a catch some fans started to get disappointed. I think he'll get drafted higher than most expect. He'll run in the 4.4's, he has good size, good technique, and he has impressive tape. The only knock I have on Murray is his ball skills are only average.
 

everybody knows my name said:
I'll back up bottlebass --- the preseason consensus was that he was one of the very best CBs in college football, maybe the best. There was more than one prediction that he'd be a first-rounder, and like bottlebass I noticed that his performance wasn't as good as predicted.

Often we know things that we can't document. I don't know who said Murray would be a first-round pick, but I know I heard it on TV and read it on the web.
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I'd love to see an example of someone outside of GopherHole saying Eric Murray would be a first round pick before this season started. Except it doesn't exist.

BBC was better than Murray last season. We've discussed this before, Murray was beaten more than some people want to remember his junior year. I thought Murray was better in coverage this year, except he had too many pass interference penalties called against him. He'll be a mid-round pick.
 


bottlebass said:
Nope, not after the season he just had. There are too many other CBs ahead of him.
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The problem with your argument is that unless he has a great combine, you will think you are proven right. I could probably easily rattle off 10 first rounders over the past 5 years that weren't on the radar in December.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I'd love to see an example of someone outside of GopherHole saying Eric Murray would be a first round pick before this season started. Except it doesn't exist.

BBC was better than Murray last season. We've discussed this before, Murray was beaten more than some people want to remember his junior year. I thought Murray was better in coverage this year, except he had too many pass interference penalties called against him. He'll be a mid-round pick.
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Go back and read post 27. His coach said it. ESPN ran the article. I remember the star trib running an article saying it also (though that's not saying much). So it does exist....
 

I no longer know what EVERYONE means I guess.
 

bottlebass said:
Go back and read post 27. His coach said it. ESPN ran the article. I remember the star trib running an article saying it also (though that's not saying much). So it does exist....
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You're right, I read post 27 wrong. From what I've seen, none of the 'draft experts' have ever suggested Murray would be a 1st round pick and that's more of what I was referring to.
 



As usual, lots of experts weighing in on this thread. I'll defer to the evaluation from TC, who has coached NFL first-round picks.
 






It's CBS and I have no idea how credible their info is, but they list BBC as the #11 CB in the country and Murray as the #16 corner with 3rd and 4th round projections. Pretty damn good.

I didn't realize BBC was a juco kid.
 


It's a message board so all these opinions and conversations are welcome, but seriously, any layman (including me) trying to break down NCAA CB play is likely gonna sound silly. EVERY CB gets beat. All of them. Josh Norman shut down the best WR in the NFL all day...until he didn't. First of all, scheme matters so much. So does the pass rush and other players in the secondary. Some of the best CBs in the NFL were not 1st round picks. They got to the league, got coached up in a scheme, and suddenly they were great.

Second, our memories are horrible indicators of how a CB played over the course of a season. We only remember the extremely good and bad. We don't remember great tackles for a 3 yard gain, or blanket coverage leading to an overthrow, or plays where the QB sees the match-up and doesn't even look that way. Murray is good. His coach thinks he's great. NFL scouts will determine how valuable he'll be at the next level. Period.

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MNBadgerGuy said:
It's CBS and I have no idea how credible their info is, but they list BBC as the #11 CB in the country and Murray as the #16 corner with 3rd and 4th round projections. Pretty damn good.

I didn't realize BBC was a juco kid.
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I would bet a lot of money that Murray is drafted well before BBC.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I'd love to see an example of someone outside of GopherHole saying Eric Murray would be a first round pick before this season started. Except it doesn't exist.

BBC was better than Murray last season. We've discussed this before, Murray was beaten more than some people want to remember his junior year. I thought Murray was better in coverage this year, except he had too many pass interference penalties called against him. He'll be a mid-round pick.
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A little known draft expert named Mel Kiper ranked him the 4th best CB in the country during the offseason (that's somewhere in the late 1st to early 2nd every year).
 

dpodoll68 said:
"A few thought that he might be drafted in the first round if he had a great senior season" = "EVERYONE KNEW that he WOULD be drafted in the first round if he repeated his junior season". Got it.
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Nobody in that thread objected to his characterization as a possible first round pick so...

Until the draft experts sit down and look at every play these guys participated in and they run the combine we are all left with our imperfect opinions of these players. Did anyone project the Damien Wilson draft last season?

I liken this debate to the Hageman draft where he was projected a first rounder by many mock drafts but fell into the second as time went on. Probably because he disappeared for long periods in too many games, and technique issues. This assertion, that he might not be perfect was met with great hostility if I recall.

Who cares what round Murray goes? Murray is going to be on an NFL squad and given a chance to prove himself. Great, great player for us and let's hope we have someone that can approximate him.
 

let's try to elevate the conversation (which shouldn't take much effort)

IMHO, in order to honestly and fairly evaluate a DB's performance, you should ideally have access to the coaches' game film, which is not the same as the TV coverage.

Then, you need to have the following information:

What defense was called on each play?
What is the DB's responsibility in that defense?
Did another DB blow a coverage and throw things out of kilter?
Did a LB not drop into the right coverage?

All of those things could affect the outcome of a play. It's not as simple as watching a guy catch a pass, and saying "Joe DB isn't doing his job."

And, finally - and I know this is a difficult concept for some people to grasp:

Sometimes, the other team just makes a good play. It happens. Not every play is caused by a defensive breakdown. On certain plays, the offense beats the defense. On other plays, the defense beats the offense. That's called football.

And that is MY opinion - not a fact - not something carved on a stone tablet - just my 2 cents worth.
Agree, disagree, up to you. just try to respond without name-calling or personal attacks - unless you're Donald Trump.
 


No doubt Murray has a lot of talent, and I'm convinced if he gets the right coaching in the NFL, he will be a great CB. In my opinion, Murray has been coached to fit in Sawvel and Claeys' system, which isn't flashy. You can see this because of his lack of interceptions, he just does his job. It's been said that Sawvel teaches them to not look back for the ball. Which is different from BBC, who is more flashy and takes more chances, and because of that, gets burned a lot more too. I think both will contribute in the NFL, but I think Murray has more discipline, and technique, and with some good coaching, he will become a very good CB in the NFL.
 

Murray may be awesome but his college measurables are complete B's. He ain't 6 ft tall and I got photos to prove it
 

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