After Scooby Wright’s precipitous fall last year, I’m reluctant to make any definitive statements about Arizona Wildcats draft prospects.
But by all accounts, the arrow seems to be pointing up for a pair of players who participated in last week’s East-West Shrine Game.
Whether those performances lead to Paul Magloire Jr. and Trey Griffey being drafted come April remains to be seen. They made a positive first impression, though, and that has to count for something.
Magloire was the top-rated linebacker in Saturday’s East-West Shrine Game, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF credited Magloire with four tackles and two “defensive stops” – defined as plays that don’t gain enough yards to be considered a win for the offense (40 percent of required yardage on first down, 60 percent on second down and the entire amount on third or fourth).
Topping LBs with an 80.4 grade, Arizona LB Paul Magloire Jr. collected 4 tackles and a pair of defensive stops in the East-West Shrine Game.
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) January 22, 2017
Magloire drew praise from draft evaluators, including Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller, who listed Magloire among his post-Shrine Game “risers.” Miller currently ranks Magloire 162nd overall, which would put him in the fifth- to sixth-round mix.
Updated my Big Board with some Shrine Game risers/fallers.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 22, 2017
⬆️ on Fabian Moreau, Trey Hendrickson, Paul Magloire.https://t.co/jtLRWSR6Ny
As I wrote last week, Magloire still must prove he’s a legitimate linebacker – a real playmaker and not just an accumulator of tackles. I thought he became more physical as last season progressed, perhaps an indication that he was feeling more comfortable at the position. (Magloire started his UA career at safety after playing there at Arizona Western College.) He looked natural covering receivers in the Shrine Game, a role he seldom assumed last year in Marcel Yates’ scheme.
Griffey also generated positive buzz throughout the week before performing well in the game. Griffey led the West squad with three receptions, good for 34 yards, in a game featuring few big plays and only one touchdown. (The West defeated the East 10-3.)
Do you know how many times Griffey caught three or more passes in a game for the 2016 Wildcats? Try four. And only one of those came in the second half of the season.
Over the final six games, Griffey had only seven receptions for 76 yards. Such was the sorry state of Arizona’s passing attack, which failed to reach 200 yards in any of those six games.
Simply put, Griffey’s lack of production wasn’t his fault. Kudos to the organizers of the East-West Shrine Game for looking beyond the numbers and recognizing his talent.
Now it’s up to NFL scouts to do the same.
