Notable Players Who Went Undrafted
In addition to the Michigan guys, some notable players who went undrafted. (Full list here.) I thought these were interesting:
- Sam Hartman, QB, Notre Dame
- Taulia Tagovailoa, QB, Maryland
- Kedon Slovis, QB, BYU
- Frank Gore Jr., RB, Southern Miss
- Eyabi Okie-Anoma, DE, Charlotte
- Taylor Upshaw, DE, Arizona
- Kalen DeLoach, LB, Florida State
- Curtis Jacobs, LB, Penn State
- Miyan Williams, RB, Ohio State
- Xavier Johnson, WR, Ohio State
April 28th, 2024 at 10:54 AM ^
Sam Hartman was the biggest fraud of the 2023 season.
April 28th, 2024 at 11:02 AM ^
Here's an interesting thought experiment- if his coach had managed to put 11 guys on the goal line and pulled off the win vs Ohio State, would Hartman's draft stock have been a little higher?
April 28th, 2024 at 11:05 AM ^
I don’t know about that, but Lou Holtz would have gotten a little tougher.
April 28th, 2024 at 11:35 AM ^
It's an interesting thought, but ultimately him having mediocre arm strength and accuracy would matter far more.
Watching the combine was when I realized that was not even an NFL backup qb
If that had happened, then he would have been even MORE overrated than he already was.
I'm not saying he was a trash QB, he was a replacement level QB, but everyone kept saying he was such a veteran and how amazing he was.
It reminds me of Jeter at the end of his career when he'd get a bloop single of the end of his bat, and the announcers would explode about how "clutch" he was. And this is coming from a Yankee fan.
April 28th, 2024 at 12:04 PM ^
A year ago at least one SI person had him ranked just behind J.J.:
https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/news/who-are-the-best-quarterbacks-in-the-2024-nfl-draft
Ha.
If Boogie Nights 2 Electric Bootie Boobs comes out - Hartman can get a role as a 70's/80's porn dude.
The Daily Mail's headline:
"Washington Commanders sign 'male model' to back up #2 pick Jayden Daniels." Not even kidding.
I'm posting the link out of pity for anyone who wants to read the article but is not awake enough to realize that putting "male model" and "back up" in their search string could have HR taking a closer look.
i just upvoted you to give you 20000-- congrats!
April 28th, 2024 at 11:16 AM ^
Tough break for Handsome Shrek.
April 28th, 2024 at 11:17 AM ^
Braiden McGregor. NFL has to view him as weak against the run.
April 28th, 2024 at 11:32 AM ^
Didn't he grade out extremely well against the run this year? I think it's more just that he didn't put up elite numbers. The Jets just signed him as an UDFA and I think that's a great spot for him. I think if he had come back, this would've been a breakout season for him. He does things that don't show up on the stat sheet, has been on an upward trajectory since his injury, and still has upside. Say what you want about the Jets, but Saleh always gets the best out his DL and develops dudes
April 28th, 2024 at 12:02 PM ^
I too remember him grading out pretty well, especially against the run in Seth's UFRs. I agree with everything you said.
It would have been nice to have him and Trente back on the team for 2024. Both of them would have improved their draft stock while earning some money and competing for another championship. A missed opportunity all the way around.
April 28th, 2024 at 12:49 PM ^
Agreed I would think the NFL's more concerned about a lack of pass rush upside. And his one elite skill is he murdered zone reads, which is more valuable against college crappe than most NFL offenses.
There are always exceptions but for the most part people not drafted or UDFA's or draftees taken in round 7 are in those positions for a reason.
Frequently UDFs have a better chance of making it than 6th & 7th round guys . They get to talk to a number of teams and decide to go to the one where they think they have the best chance.
I’d think most everyone on D grades well and is lifted by overall talent around them.
I think his job often is to set edge which on tape might look like he is getting pushed outside. Surprised he wasn’t picked. Would be curious what teams didn’t like. Medical?
April 28th, 2024 at 11:27 AM ^
James Turner signed with the Lions. That is a great spot for him. Lions are in dire need of m upgrade at K.
April 28th, 2024 at 12:05 PM ^
Is he an upgrade for them? Badgley is no stud, but he's performed when it has mattered most and I think thats why they keep bringing him back. I think Turner would have to outperform him consistently in camp in order to take his spot. Plus they're likely to bring in a UFL kicker, probably the guy who plays for the Michigan Panthers.
Well, at least once in the NFC title game, the Lions rolled the dice on 4th down when they might have been better off trying for three points from 45-50ish yards. Those decisions were obviously products of Campbell’s aggressiveness, but his lack of confidence in Badgley’s range had something to do with it too.
The Lions need somebody to push Badgley, and I’m glad Turner gets a chance to do it. If the Michigan Panthers guy can get a look, I’m all for that too. They’re gonna need somebody to hit a 50+ yarder in a big spot this fall. It remains unclear if Badgley is the guy for that moment.
Why? Campbell doesn't believe in kicking field goals anyway.
He doesn't believe in 5th down, that's why he always goes for it on 4th.
Hometown motivated. Good luck dude.
April 28th, 2024 at 11:36 AM ^
If Sherrone Moore had kept to his '23 pre-season public statement that each of the 4 candidates for LT/RT would get a start in the first 2 games, Trente Jones would have either been drafted or he would have come back. And if the latter we wouldn't be going thru this dance at RT this season.
This is all on Moore. We know from his social media Trente took it pretty hard when he didn't get his publicly promised start.
April 28th, 2024 at 11:39 AM ^
Yeah, this was such a weird situation.
April 28th, 2024 at 12:12 PM ^
Did Trente Jones actually say that he left because of this broken promise? That his mental health struggles were directly tied to that? If not that is some irresponsible speculation.
I watched several interviews with him and he was all on board with coming back in the postseason. It seemed to me that he just thought he showed enough to get drafted and decided to take his shot.
I did not say that Trente made a public statement. But if your OC reneges on a prominent public promise, then becomes head coach, its not hard to figure this played a part in his decision to move on. If Moore broke his word once why not again?
April 28th, 2024 at 12:17 PM ^
He did start the last 3 games, and those were very important games. By starting those games, Sherrone effectively guaranteed him the starting job for 2024.
So, this sounds like BS.
Sherrone publicly promised Trente a start in one of the '23 season's first two games. If Sherrone was willing to go back on that why not go back on your "effective guarantee"?
You dying on this hill?
Because he wants to win.
If you promise a guy a start, you give him the start. Unless he does something stupid in the interim, like publicly attack Lou Holtz.
Then, after the start, you sit down with him and say "Trente, our best shot of winning the natty is if you captain our jumbo package because none of our biggest opponents has an answer for it. And you're much better in that package than Karsen Barnhart."
If as a coach you publicly promise something you don't renege on that promise two weeks later.
Are you serious? Are you suggesting SM has something against him? Maybe Trent did something stupid. Maybe SM talked to him and explained why he is not staring. Unless your name is Trent, you don't know, and neither do I. Claiming that SM just woke up one day and decided to backpedal on his promise for no reason makes no sense. SM will get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to OL.
"Are you suggesting SM has something against him?"
Did I suggest that? I've read my response several times and cannot see where I suggest that. But you're more interested in knocking down legions of straw men.
And Cromulent Jones is heard from...
You're connecting dots that aren't connected.
A start versus BGSU wasn't going to change anything.
He started against two NFL DLs (Bama and Washington) and he started against Iowa's great defense.
He also got extended reps versus OSUs fantastic DL and others.
BGSU has nothing to do with it, lol.
Stay mad though, stay mad.
"A start versus BGSU wasn't going to change anything."
Sure it does. It means your coach kept his word to you.
HEY, GUYS, LOOK! HE GOT THE LAST WORD! HOLY FUCK, DID HE SHOW YOU! PWNED! OH, THAT WAS A SICK BURN!!!
April 28th, 2024 at 11:40 AM ^
Miyan Williams isn’t that shocking. When healthy, he’s a great downhill, punishing runner, but the chronic injury history the last 2-3 seasons definitely scared teams away. Especially since Miyan didn’t recover enough to workout at either the Combine or the OSU’s pro day.
Xavier Johnson is more shocking too me. I feel like the fact that he was a walk-on made teams overlook him a bit. At the very least, Xavier should have done enough to earn an invite to the Combine - he’s a versatile offensive player that was a great route-runner, decent change-of-pace running back, and a physical receiver. As a walk-on, he did enough to earn significant playing time in a stacked WR room.
The Buffalo Bills did sign him immediately after the drafted ended, so glad he at least is getting a shot.
April 28th, 2024 at 12:10 PM ^
OSU isn't a school that comes to mind when it comes to player development, but neither of those guys were the typical Top 200 OSU recruit.
IIRC, the Urban Meyer regime had a pretty good hit rate on 3-stars. As always, partly scouting, partly development.
April 28th, 2024 at 12:16 PM ^
Meyer had a Really good track record on that at OSU. Malik Hooker immediately comes to mind. Pretty sure he was a generic three star nobody that Meyer molded into a ball hawking first rounder.
well even more recently was Dawand Jones was a #1100+ ranked, 3-star recruit that became a multi-year anchor at OT for OSU and started at RT for the Cleveland Browns last year as a rookie.
I think XJ was overshadowed by the truly stunning number of cromulent WR in this draft. There were names as late as the 5th round that I wondered "why so late?", then I went back and looked at the previous WR taken ... "Oh."
April 28th, 2024 at 11:45 AM ^
If I'm an NFL GM and my QB room justifies it I'd give Tagovailoa a UDFA shot. Am convinced Locksley is very good at offensive gameplanning but poor at developing QB.
April 28th, 2024 at 12:57 PM ^
Anyone who was ever coached by Josh Gattis should get extra college eligibility so they can unlearn everything he taught them
All an NFL offensive coordinator would need to do with Tualia would be to choose the correct 50% of Good Tualia plays and just run the ball or put in the backup for the other downs.
He should sign with Miami and try to back up his brother.
April 28th, 2024 at 11:46 AM ^
I’m curious about what y’all think about this. Is it better to get drafted in the 7th round or to be undrafted at that point? I wonder if it’s better to have the freedom of beings a UDFA. Any thoughts?