Post by ElonPhan on Apr 27, 2007 9:32:31 GMT -5
Elon defensive stalwart could land in NFL Draft
By Adam Smith / Times-News
April 27, 2007 3:00 AM
Elon University's Chad Nkang, a two-time SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, is hoping to hear his name called at this weekend's NFL Draft (Peter Schumacher / Times-News) ELON — Chad Nkang’s quest to crack the most exclusive level of professional football has crisscrossed the country during recent months, with stops in Atlanta, Honolulu, Indianapolis and several locations he has chosen to keep secret.
Soon, the moment the Elon University tackling machine has pursued so persistently will arrive.
The NFL Draft will be held this weekend and Nkang’s name might be part of the discourse.
“You can only do so much,” he said. “I think I’ve done all I can up to this point. It’s time to just see what happens now.”
If the two-time Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year is picked somewhere among the seven rounds and 255 selections on tap, he will become Elon’s first NFL draftee in the last 15 years.
Covering the last 25 drafts only Jimmy Smith in 1984 and Joe Randolph in 1992 have been taken out of Elon, according to a cataloged history maintained by NFL.com.
Nkang’s stock steadily gathered momentum throughout his senior season last fall and ultimately has soared into rarified air for an Elon product.
His status as a linebacker prospect has popped up on the pages of such publications as the Dallas Morning News and Sporting News, in addition to gobs of Web threads and draft boards.
Yet how this will translate to the marathon proceedings Saturday and Sunday in New York City is difficult to decipher.
A scout for an AFC South team, who requested anonymity, said Nkang projects as a fifth-round choice at the earliest. But Nkang’s agent, Philip Wickstrom of Sports Capital Group in Atlanta, said his client potentially could vault into the third round and the draft’s first day.
“There is a strong group of about 13 teams that are really high on Chad,” Wickstrom wrote in an e-mail. “He could be drafted anywhere from the third round to the seventh. The draft is not a logical process, so we will just have to see what happens.”
Several NFL teams have brought Nkang to their headquarters and conducted facility tours while introducing him to general managers, coaches and players.
He decided not to divulge the organizations he visited, citing instructions from his agent. He did offer that he went on “a little more than five and a little less than 10” of those trips.
“They don’t really talk about where they want to take you,” Nkang said. “They just say that they might give you a call. They haven’t told me when or what round or anything like that.”
To be sure, though, a concrete answer is coming.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is only hours away from walking out and decreeing that the Oakland Raiders are on the clock for the top pick.
ALOHA, BIG TIME
Consensuses do take shape when the subject of Nkang’s Hula Bowl performance from three months ago is raised.
He quickly blossomed from the first Elon player invited to the game in Hawaii — which is one of the most high-profile all-star competitions in college football — to a starter at weak-side linebacker.
And from there, even with eight players from the BCS national championship game participating on the opposing team, it unfolded as somewhat of a national-television showcase for Nkang.
Despite play-by-play man Gary Thorne’s mispronunciations of his school and last name, Nkang (in-kang) racked up nine tackles and earned team Most Valuable Player honors.
Minnesota Vikings scout Jamaal Stephenson, who stopped by an Elon practice in October, chatted with Nkang at the Hula Bowl.
“When you put that tape on, he’s all over the field making tackles,” Stephenson said. “That kind of answers some questions of whether or not him playing at a smaller level was a detriment.
“I think from that standpoint Chad answered some questions about his ability to play with guys at a higher level. That just kind of solidified that he can play with guys that play at the Division I level. And that’s what you look for.”
The AFC South scout who didn’t want his named revealed has met with Nkang on at least three occasions since the fall.
He said the Hula Bowl legitimized Nkang to such a degree that it prompted teams around the NFL to intensify their inspection of the linebacker’s portfolio.
“Coming from a smaller school,” the scout said, “he needed to see how he stacked up against that step up in competition. And he did that well. He showed a lot of positives.
“Chad has an opportunity. He has a chance to play in this league because he is fast and active and instinctive and all of those things.”
NUMBERS CRUNCH
In February, Nkang was one of 34 linebackers invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, a development that reinforced his resumé had entered serious draft consideration.
He placed among the top 10 finishers at his position in the 40-yard dash, the vertical jump, the broad jump and the 60-yard shuttle run. His 23 bench-press repetitions of 225 pounds ranked 18th in the group.
Nkang’s 40 time of 4.51 seconds checked in third quickest for the linebackers. But he viewed it as plodding because he has been clocked at 4.41 in that department.
“He’s a guy who plays fast and dominated his league,” said Stephenson, the Vikings scout. “He’s relentless in his pursuit of the football. He’s reckless with his body.
“But there are areas of concern, obviously, with his size. He’s kind of a tweener.”
At 5-foot-11½ and 220 pounds, Stephenson said Nkang carries the frame of a safety. He said NFL teams ideally prefer their linebackers to possess more length and an additional 10 or 20 pounds.
OK, so why not switch and target Nkang for a safety spot on Sundays?
“You’ve never seen him play safety,” Stephenson said. “You’d be guessing if you say that’s what he can do at the NFL level because he’s never done it.”
Elon coach Pete Lembo has said Nkang can counteract size doubters by turning in often overlooked special teams contributions once training camps commence.
The unnamed AFC South scout said Nkang’s speed and tenacity are assets that could evolve into a natural and valuable package on an NFL special teams unit. Wickstrom, Nkang’s agent, concurred.
“Every team regardless of their defensive scheme knows that Chad will be a big contributor on special teams as a rookie,” Wickstrom wrote in an e-mail. “That is extremely valuable because they know when they draft him they are going to get production out of him from Day 1.”
SLEEPER HOLD HURTS
Nkang is taking one class at Elon this semester, a computer information systems course, in an effort to free his schedule for this run at NFL Draft inclusion.
And that also has afforded time for research. Some of what’s been uncovered hasn’t pleased him.
Scripps News Service tagged Nkang as one of the draft’s hidden gems. The Dallas Morning News and Sporting News designated him as a second day sleeper pick at linebacker.
“I don’t really believe in that sleeper thing,” Nkang said. “If you consider my stats with the other kids’ stats from smaller schools like (Division) I-AA, mine are better than all of them.
“But I’ll take it as it comes and just try to make my point when I’m fighting for a position when I get there.”
Citing production does place Nkang in a nearly unrivaled category, even when comparing him to the crop of linebackers from major college football factories.
Nkang cranked out 135, 152 and 127 tackles during his last three Elon seasons after converting from fullback. He racked up 19, 18½ and 16½ tackles for losses in those years.
“He was prolific,” said Stephenson, the Vikings scout, “and that’s what you want in guys that play at a lower level of competition.”
At one point or another during this academic calendar, 25 NFL organizations sent representatives to Elon’s campus to study Nkang.
What that truly means remains to be seen.
“You don’t really know until it actually happens,” Nkang said. “There’s a lot on my mind at the moment. It’s a big weekend coming up. Hopefully it all works out.”
By Adam Smith / Times-News
April 27, 2007 3:00 AM
Elon University's Chad Nkang, a two-time SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, is hoping to hear his name called at this weekend's NFL Draft (Peter Schumacher / Times-News) ELON — Chad Nkang’s quest to crack the most exclusive level of professional football has crisscrossed the country during recent months, with stops in Atlanta, Honolulu, Indianapolis and several locations he has chosen to keep secret.
Soon, the moment the Elon University tackling machine has pursued so persistently will arrive.
The NFL Draft will be held this weekend and Nkang’s name might be part of the discourse.
“You can only do so much,” he said. “I think I’ve done all I can up to this point. It’s time to just see what happens now.”
If the two-time Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year is picked somewhere among the seven rounds and 255 selections on tap, he will become Elon’s first NFL draftee in the last 15 years.
Covering the last 25 drafts only Jimmy Smith in 1984 and Joe Randolph in 1992 have been taken out of Elon, according to a cataloged history maintained by NFL.com.
Nkang’s stock steadily gathered momentum throughout his senior season last fall and ultimately has soared into rarified air for an Elon product.
His status as a linebacker prospect has popped up on the pages of such publications as the Dallas Morning News and Sporting News, in addition to gobs of Web threads and draft boards.
Yet how this will translate to the marathon proceedings Saturday and Sunday in New York City is difficult to decipher.
A scout for an AFC South team, who requested anonymity, said Nkang projects as a fifth-round choice at the earliest. But Nkang’s agent, Philip Wickstrom of Sports Capital Group in Atlanta, said his client potentially could vault into the third round and the draft’s first day.
“There is a strong group of about 13 teams that are really high on Chad,” Wickstrom wrote in an e-mail. “He could be drafted anywhere from the third round to the seventh. The draft is not a logical process, so we will just have to see what happens.”
Several NFL teams have brought Nkang to their headquarters and conducted facility tours while introducing him to general managers, coaches and players.
He decided not to divulge the organizations he visited, citing instructions from his agent. He did offer that he went on “a little more than five and a little less than 10” of those trips.
“They don’t really talk about where they want to take you,” Nkang said. “They just say that they might give you a call. They haven’t told me when or what round or anything like that.”
To be sure, though, a concrete answer is coming.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is only hours away from walking out and decreeing that the Oakland Raiders are on the clock for the top pick.
ALOHA, BIG TIME
Consensuses do take shape when the subject of Nkang’s Hula Bowl performance from three months ago is raised.
He quickly blossomed from the first Elon player invited to the game in Hawaii — which is one of the most high-profile all-star competitions in college football — to a starter at weak-side linebacker.
And from there, even with eight players from the BCS national championship game participating on the opposing team, it unfolded as somewhat of a national-television showcase for Nkang.
Despite play-by-play man Gary Thorne’s mispronunciations of his school and last name, Nkang (in-kang) racked up nine tackles and earned team Most Valuable Player honors.
Minnesota Vikings scout Jamaal Stephenson, who stopped by an Elon practice in October, chatted with Nkang at the Hula Bowl.
“When you put that tape on, he’s all over the field making tackles,” Stephenson said. “That kind of answers some questions of whether or not him playing at a smaller level was a detriment.
“I think from that standpoint Chad answered some questions about his ability to play with guys at a higher level. That just kind of solidified that he can play with guys that play at the Division I level. And that’s what you look for.”
The AFC South scout who didn’t want his named revealed has met with Nkang on at least three occasions since the fall.
He said the Hula Bowl legitimized Nkang to such a degree that it prompted teams around the NFL to intensify their inspection of the linebacker’s portfolio.
“Coming from a smaller school,” the scout said, “he needed to see how he stacked up against that step up in competition. And he did that well. He showed a lot of positives.
“Chad has an opportunity. He has a chance to play in this league because he is fast and active and instinctive and all of those things.”
NUMBERS CRUNCH
In February, Nkang was one of 34 linebackers invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, a development that reinforced his resumé had entered serious draft consideration.
He placed among the top 10 finishers at his position in the 40-yard dash, the vertical jump, the broad jump and the 60-yard shuttle run. His 23 bench-press repetitions of 225 pounds ranked 18th in the group.
Nkang’s 40 time of 4.51 seconds checked in third quickest for the linebackers. But he viewed it as plodding because he has been clocked at 4.41 in that department.
“He’s a guy who plays fast and dominated his league,” said Stephenson, the Vikings scout. “He’s relentless in his pursuit of the football. He’s reckless with his body.
“But there are areas of concern, obviously, with his size. He’s kind of a tweener.”
At 5-foot-11½ and 220 pounds, Stephenson said Nkang carries the frame of a safety. He said NFL teams ideally prefer their linebackers to possess more length and an additional 10 or 20 pounds.
OK, so why not switch and target Nkang for a safety spot on Sundays?
“You’ve never seen him play safety,” Stephenson said. “You’d be guessing if you say that’s what he can do at the NFL level because he’s never done it.”
Elon coach Pete Lembo has said Nkang can counteract size doubters by turning in often overlooked special teams contributions once training camps commence.
The unnamed AFC South scout said Nkang’s speed and tenacity are assets that could evolve into a natural and valuable package on an NFL special teams unit. Wickstrom, Nkang’s agent, concurred.
“Every team regardless of their defensive scheme knows that Chad will be a big contributor on special teams as a rookie,” Wickstrom wrote in an e-mail. “That is extremely valuable because they know when they draft him they are going to get production out of him from Day 1.”
SLEEPER HOLD HURTS
Nkang is taking one class at Elon this semester, a computer information systems course, in an effort to free his schedule for this run at NFL Draft inclusion.
And that also has afforded time for research. Some of what’s been uncovered hasn’t pleased him.
Scripps News Service tagged Nkang as one of the draft’s hidden gems. The Dallas Morning News and Sporting News designated him as a second day sleeper pick at linebacker.
“I don’t really believe in that sleeper thing,” Nkang said. “If you consider my stats with the other kids’ stats from smaller schools like (Division) I-AA, mine are better than all of them.
“But I’ll take it as it comes and just try to make my point when I’m fighting for a position when I get there.”
Citing production does place Nkang in a nearly unrivaled category, even when comparing him to the crop of linebackers from major college football factories.
Nkang cranked out 135, 152 and 127 tackles during his last three Elon seasons after converting from fullback. He racked up 19, 18½ and 16½ tackles for losses in those years.
“He was prolific,” said Stephenson, the Vikings scout, “and that’s what you want in guys that play at a lower level of competition.”
At one point or another during this academic calendar, 25 NFL organizations sent representatives to Elon’s campus to study Nkang.
What that truly means remains to be seen.
“You don’t really know until it actually happens,” Nkang said. “There’s a lot on my mind at the moment. It’s a big weekend coming up. Hopefully it all works out.”