Jarvis Moss Declared (1 Viewer)

[bez18]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2728981

Caldwell to remain at Florida; Moss to enter draft

By Joe Schad

ESPN.com

At least six juniors on Florida's national championship football team were considering entering the NFL draft. At least one will return, while another has decided to pursue a pro career.

Wide receiver Andre Caldwell, who had 577 yards receiving and five touchdowns in the regular season and a TD in the Gators' BCS national championship game win over Ohio State, said Friday he will return for a senior season.

Later on Friday, junior defensive end Jarvis Moss, one of the nation's most-feared pass rushers, said he will enter the NFL draft.

"I want another championship," said Caldwell, who was projected by the NFL draft advisory committee as a third-round draft choice. "I also want to work my way into a first-rounder."

Caldwell said he's excited to work with next year's projected starting quarterback, Tim Tebow.

"He's a better passer than anybody knows," Caldwell said. "I see it in practice every day."

Florida's offense should be strong next season.

"I talked to my brother Reche [former Gator with the Patriots] and he said, 'Enjoy your time in Gainesville, don't rush anything, the NFL will always be there,'" Caldwell said.

Moss, at 6-foot-6, 251-pounds, was fourth on the Gators with 56 tackles, including 11 for loss. He had 7½ sacks and led the team with 12 quarterback hurries this season. During his Florida career, Moss overcame hernia and hip injuries and a rare infection that caused him to lose 30 pounds

Moss also may have saved Florida's season by blocking a field goal late in a defeat of South Carolina.

Florida coach Urban Meyer is waiting on decisions from at least four other junior defensive players: safety Reggie Nelson, defensive end Derrick Harvey, linebacker Brandon Siler and cornerback Ryan Smith.

Joe Schad covers college football for ESPN.

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

This DE class is starting to get nuts...

I have a feeling Moss will end up in the top 20 when the dust settles.

 

[bez18]

This DE class is starting to get nuts...

Really is.. there is some good quality there! Hope the Skins are paying attention!

 

[Chaos Commish]

This DE class is starting to get nuts...I have a feeling Moss will end up in the top 20 when the dust settles.

After Adams and Moses, the senior class is very soft. Questionable guys like Woodley, McDonald and Abiamiri made big moves. Carriker and Moses had bad years. Adams was overrated at the end of last year, made some highlight reels early this year as Charles Johnson outplayed Moses-- all developing a perfect situation for underclassmen DEs to test the waters. I'll be surprised if a DE is drafted in the top 10, seriously. Scan a decade of drafts and you'll be surprised how common that is. But I also think there will be a strong run on these guys once a couple fall. I like Moss a lot. I loved the way he took on a leadership role late in the season. He even led the Gators onto the field in the BCS game. I don't think he's explosive enough to be a great NFL pass rusher, nor do I think he's strong enough to be a solid run stopper. I agree he's close in both categories. A guy like this should normally stay in school and develop himself just a little more, but he ended the season on a roll, and the class being drafted is weak, so come on in Jarvis, the water's fine. Give him a couple years if your team drafts him He needs the weightroom and some physical maturity. Solid guy though.

 

[JaxBill]

Earlier in the week, Derrick Harvey said he was staying and I read where Harvey hadn't filed the paperwork to check on his draft status.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Earlier in the week, Derrick Harvey said he was staying and I read where Harvey hadn't filed the paperwork to check on his draft status.

Good. He needs even a more development than Moss, but he is already more explosive. He was outstanding against Ohio State, but he also seemed determined to avoid any talk of leaving school.

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

This DE class is starting to get nuts...I have a feeling Moss will end up in the top 20 when the dust settles.

After Adams and Moses, the senior class is very soft. Questionable guys like Woodley, McDonald and Abiamiri made big moves. Carriker and Moses had bad years. Adams was overrated at the end of last year, made some highlight reels early this year as Charles Johnson outplayed Moses-- all developing a perfect situation for underclassmen DEs to test the waters. I'll be surprised if a DE is drafted in the top 10, seriously. Scan a decade of drafts and you'll be surprised how common that is. But I also think there will be a strong run on these guys once a couple fall. I like Moss a lot. I loved the way he took on a leadership role late in the season. He even led the Gators onto the field in the BCS game. I don't think he's explosive enough to be a great NFL pass rusher, nor do I think he's strong enough to be a solid run stopper. I agree he's close in both categories. A guy like this should normally stay in school and develop himself just a little more, but he ended the season on a roll, and the class being drafted is weak, so come on in Jarvis, the water's fine. Give him a couple years if your team drafts him He needs the weightroom and some physical maturity. Solid guy though.

I agree that he's not a gifted pass rusher in the mold of Adams/Moses, but he's determined and athletic, much like Johnson, and can definitely refine his skills. Also agreed that he doesn't have the body type to absorb double teams and wreak havoc in the run game (Jamaal Anderson has this potential), but he's terrific in pursuit, which helps make up for being more of a long DE than a stout DE. He's also got the ups to be a menace on the FG blocking team (see: South Carolina/Florida game) and disrupt passing lanes.I see him as a mid to late first rounder if his measureables match the athleticism he shows on the field.

 

[JaxBill]

In a somewhat realted move, UF CB Ryan Smith has declared. No word on Reggie Nelson. Rumors are circulating that he wants to stay, but it'll be tough to pass up his projected draft spot.

 

[Chaos Commish]

I see him as a mid to late first rounder if his measureables match the athleticism he shows on the field.

My current mock is... a giant "if then else but maybe/wtf" statement. I guess I could see Moss as high as you have him, but remember as weak as this class is, the elite portion of it is very solid. I can see Moss falling quite a bit further than you, but I just have no sense of range on a bunch of guys right now. To me, Jarvis Moss is a first day pick. How's that for narrowing it down?Back to Moss the player. He is what Kiwi was as a junior, but lacking the great first step.

 

[Chaos Commish]

In a somewhat realted move, UF CB Ryan Smith has declared. No word on Reggie Nelson. Rumors are circulating that he wants to stay, but it'll be tough to pass up his projected draft spot.

This I expected. I like this kid more than most. Small, but very aggressive, good ball skills, great shadowing WRs. Dee Webb ended up being a nice pick late last year and this is the same kind of player.

 

[Steelnation]

Welcome to the Burgh J Moss

 

[FreeBaGeL]

and disrupt passing lanes.

This is something that people overlook by a ton. One of the reasons UF's defense was so successful this year was that they never committed a player to defending the flats, and just relied and Moss and Harvey's wingspan to prevent the QB from getting it out there. That left them free to have more guys downfield or rushing the passer, never having to worry about leaving the flats open.Also, when was the last time anyone saw a team run a screen against the Gators? There's a reason for that...

 

[FreeBaGeL]

In a somewhat realted move, UF CB Ryan Smith has declared. No word on Reggie Nelson. Rumors are circulating that he wants to stay, but it'll be tough to pass up his projected draft spot.

This I expected. I like this kid more than most. Small, but very aggressive, good ball skills, great shadowing WRs. Dee Webb ended up being a nice pick late last year and this is the same kind of player.

Ryan Smith is way undersized, but he has some of the best ball skills I've seen out of a college corner. He does a terrific job of finding the ball and NEVER ends up in one of those situations where he's playing the WR and just flailing his arms hoping the ball hits him in the back.

 

[Guapote]

I hope you're right about Smith, I certainly wish him the best. The NFL draft advisory folks told him he's likely a fifth round pick at best. He's benefited a lot from playing with Nelson, and I doubt he'd be drafted any higher next year. I'm afraid he's going to be abused by NFL WR with speed, he got a lot of help when he had bad matchups this year. He's certainly a smart player, and plays with a lot of heart, but I doubt that's enough for him to succeed on the next level. He's a year into a masters program now, I'm guessing he figures getting a nice check for preseason this year is going to help set him up in life better than going undrafted next year.

 

[The Hank]

Welcome to the Burgh J Moss

Steelers are more than happy with Brett Keisel and Aaron Smith with their DE's, with Travis Kirschke and Rodney Bailey backing them up. I believe CB, OLB, or OT is a more pressing concern.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Welcome to the Burgh J Moss

Steelers are more than happy with Brett Keisel and Aaron Smith with their DE's, with Travis Kirschke and Rodney Bailey backing them up. I believe CB, OLB, or OT is a more pressing concern.

Moss isn't phjysical enough for a 3-4 DE duty, but he could be McGinest like on the edge if he's athletic enough. Just a thought.

 

[Chaos Commish]

I hope you're right about Smith, I certainly wish him the best. The NFL draft advisory folks told him he's likely a fifth round pick at best. He's benefited a lot from playing with Nelson, and I doubt he'd be drafted any higher next year. I'm afraid he's going to be abused by NFL WR with speed, he got a lot of help when he had bad matchups this year. He's certainly a smart player, and plays with a lot of heart, but I doubt that's enough for him to succeed on the next level. He's a year into a masters program now, I'm guessing he figures getting a nice check for preseason this year is going to help set him up in life better than going undrafted next year.

I know it's considered wise to disrespect the measuring process (something I consider foolish), but in Smith's case, strength and speed will be telling.

 

[Guapote]

A little off topic, but...

Funny Ryan Smith story. He got a lot of grief (good-natured) about coming from the football powerhouse of Utah. His reply was calling his new teammates a bunch of Outback Bowl heroes, as he was the only guy on the team who had ever played in a BCS game prior to this year. Good kid, I hope he does well at the combines.