Jene Bramel
Footballguy
Caught my eye at B&N last evening.
I'm a little over 70 pages into it. A little dry with background of the major principals followed (similar to John Feinstein), but has some insight into player evaluation at the scout and personnel director levels (McKay) and a look into how agents (Dye, Scharf) pursue players. Looks like the middle section will have some nice information about the combine and pro days.
The Draft
Draft: A Year inside the NFL's Search for Talent
FROM THE PUBLISHER
"The Draft follows a handful of NFL hopefuls through the ups and downs of the 2004 college football season and the predraft process, culminating with the 2005 draft. Among the prospects are Virginia defensive end Chris Canty, who overcomes a devastating early-season knee injury to reestablish himself as a top draft hopeful, only to suffer a detached retina in a night-club skirmish; and Fred Gibson, a talented but rail-thin Georgia wide receiver who struggles to put on the weight needed to go over the middle in the NFL." It's a complex environment, with college coaches attempting to protect their "student-athletes" from exploitation (while fully aware that they can only remain competitive if they attract NFL-caliber players to their schools), along with sports agents and NFL scouts trying to stay a step ahead of their competition.
I'm a little over 70 pages into it. A little dry with background of the major principals followed (similar to John Feinstein), but has some insight into player evaluation at the scout and personnel director levels (McKay) and a look into how agents (Dye, Scharf) pursue players. Looks like the middle section will have some nice information about the combine and pro days.
The Draft
Draft: A Year inside the NFL's Search for Talent
FROM THE PUBLISHER
"The Draft follows a handful of NFL hopefuls through the ups and downs of the 2004 college football season and the predraft process, culminating with the 2005 draft. Among the prospects are Virginia defensive end Chris Canty, who overcomes a devastating early-season knee injury to reestablish himself as a top draft hopeful, only to suffer a detached retina in a night-club skirmish; and Fred Gibson, a talented but rail-thin Georgia wide receiver who struggles to put on the weight needed to go over the middle in the NFL." It's a complex environment, with college coaches attempting to protect their "student-athletes" from exploitation (while fully aware that they can only remain competitive if they attract NFL-caliber players to their schools), along with sports agents and NFL scouts trying to stay a step ahead of their competition.