FAB 4. BUCS PROBING MICHIGAN FOR WOLVERINES WITH HELP FROM HOKE
It’s not uncommon for teams like Tampa Bay to look at multiple players from a school that is stocked with NFL-caliber talent in preparation for the NFL Draft. The Bucs are intrigued by defensive tackle Caleb Brantley, defensive end Bryan Cox, Jr. and safety Marcus Maye from Florida. Tampa Bay has scouted cornerback Kevin King, safety Budda Baker and wide receiver John Ross from Washington.

But one school stands apart this year when it comes to NFL talent and that’s Michigan. The Maize and Blue had a school-record 14 Wolverines at the NFL Scouting Combine this year, which was four more than Alabama and LSU, which each had 10.

Michigan NFL Scouting Combine Invites
RB De’Veon Smith
OL Ben Braden
TE Jake Butt
WR Jehu Chesson
WR Amara Darboh
DE Taco Charlton
DE Chris Wormley
DT Ryan Glasgow
LB Ben Gedeon
LB/DB Jabrill Peppers
CB Jourdan Lewis
CB Jeremy Clark
CB Channing Stribling
S Delano Hill

Ex-Michigan coach Brady Hoke – Photo by: Getty Images

Six of those players – Gedeon, Smith, Wormley, Lewis, Darboh and Glasgow – were invited to the Senior Bowl, while seven participated in the East-West Shrine Game. Offensive tackle Erik Magnuson, guard Kyle Kalis, safety Dymonte Thomas and defensive tackle Matthew Godin joined Smith, Stribling and Hill in St. Petersburg, Fla. helping the East defeat the West. Between the 14 NFL Scouting Combine invites and Magnuson, Kalis, Thomas and Godin, the Wolverines had 18 players participate in the pre-draft process this offseason, which is unheard of.

Tampa Bay has personally worked out or met with three Wolverines on the defensive side of the ball in Peppers, Charlton and Hill. And the Bucs have an interesting connection to the Michigan talent pipeline in secondary coach Jon Hoke, who is the older brother of former Wolverines head coach Brady Hoke.

While Jim Harbaugh gets the credit for turning the Michigan program around over the last two years, he did so with the talent that Hoke recruited and coached for the first two years of those players’ careers. The pre-draft process for NFL scouts is collecting as much information about a player’s character, work ethic, love of football, skill set and football I.Q. Hoke’s insight into his former players gives Tampa Bay a unique look into this year’s class of Wolverines.

One thing that should be noted is that when a big group of prospects from a school enter the draft the class falls under a degree of scrutiny as scouts try to decipher whether the players were successful on their own or whether it was a collective product of the player being surrounded by a star-studded group of players around him that helped hide flaws or weaknesses.

The ultimate case in point was the USC Trojans, which went 13-0 in 2004, 12-1 in 2005 and 11-2 in 2006 under Pete Carroll. The Trojans won the national championship in 2004 and shared the title with LSU in 2005 before having to vacate all of those wins in the Reggie Bush eligibility scandal. Take a look at the number of Trojans that were drafted in the first four rounds after playing part or all of that duration at USC.

Drafted Players That Played On USC’s 2005 Team
QB Mark Sanchez – Round 1 – Jets
QB Matt Leinhart – Round 1 – Cardinals (Bust)
RB Reggie Bush – Round 1 – Saints
RB LenDale White – Round 2 – Titans
WR Steve Smith – Round 2 – Giants
WR Patrick Turner – Round 3 – Dolphins (Bust)
WR Dwayne Jarrett – Round 2 – Panthers (Bust)
TE Fred Davis – Round 2 – Redskins
TE Dominique Byrd – Round 3 – Rams (Bust)
C Ryan Kalil – Round 2 – Panthers (2x Pro Bowler)
G Deuce Lutui – Round 2 – Cardinals
OT Winston Justice – Round 2 – Eagles
OT Sam Baker – Round 1 – Falcons
OT Charles Brown – Round 2 – Saints (Bust)
DT Sedrick Ellis – Round 1 – Saints
DE Lawrence Jackson – 1 Seahawks
DE Frostee Rucker – Round 3 – Bengals
DE Kyle Moore – Round 4 – Bucs (Bust)
LB Brian Cushing – Round 1 – Houston (1x Pro Bowl)
LB Clay Matthews – Round 1 – Packers (6x Pro Bowler)
LB Rey Maualuga – Round 2 – Bengals
LB Keith Rivers – Round 1 – Bengals
CB Terrell Thompson – Round 2 – Giants
CB Kevin Thomas – Round 3 – Colts (Bust)
S Darnell Bing – Round 4 – Raiders (Bust)

A total of 25 Trojans were drafted in the first four rounds from 2005-07, including an astonishing 19 players in the first and second rounds. Only three have made it to the Pro Bowl out of nine first-round picks.

Wolverines LB Julius Peppers and Ben Gedeon and DE Taco Charlton – Photo by: Getty Images

At least eight were flat-out busts, and you could argue that over a dozen more had underwhelming NFL careers or at least didn’t have the production that warranted a first- or second-round pick.

While the Bucs kick the tires on Peppers and Charlton, Wormley might end up being the best Wolverine selected early. He should go in the second round.

In the end, Tampa Bay may not draft any Wolverines after scouting them and getting info from Hoke, but keep an eye on Hill. The Bucs met with him after his pro day in Ann Arbor and like his size at 6-foot-1, 217 pounds. Hill ran a 4.47 at the NFL Scouting Combine and showed what he could do as a full-time starter for the first time in 2016, recording 52 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, including a pick-six, and three pass breakups.