***The OFFICIAL Justise Hairston thread (1 Viewer)

[Cecil Lammey]

Here's my take on Hairston:

Games I've seen him in, and have on dvd:

2007 Hula Bowl & 2007 Texas v. The Nation

Game summary:

Hula Bowl: 4 carries, 12 yards - 1 reception, 5 yards

Tx v. Nation: 7 carries, 17 yards (he did have a 19yd run)

I need to note that he didn't stand out for me in either game. The 19 yard run was nice, but there was a blown assignment on the play. He did take advantage of the hole, so that's good.

On his game:

north and south runner with ok speed. no wiggle in his hips, no instincts. he has good pad level when running inside, and has the ability to run defenders over.

On his situation:

Laurence Maroney has durability issues. This may or may not be a problem with him in 2007. Justise has always been in the Patriots backyard, so this makes a nice fit. It must be noted that Pioli was not going to CC's homecoming to scout Hairston. He was accepting an award and the game happened to be the finest of Hairston's career.

Back to his situation - IF Maroney goes down then the backfield would be up for grabs in NE. It would more than likely come down to a RBBC with Faulk, Morris, and maybe Hairston.

Bottom Line: Is he worth a late round flier? Sure. You just never know with these players. The Patriots didn't know how good Tom Brady was going to be, but it's important to remember that teams don't draft 6th rounders to be stars. If they happen to work out (Brady/TDavis/etc) then that's great. But teams are lying if they expect that going in. Sixth round picks are largely special teamers or projects.

So where does that leave Hairston? He is a project with limited instincts and athletic ability, his hands are not natural, but he does seem to have a nose for the end zone and he can bang between the tackles.

here's his NFL.com profile:

http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2007/hairston_justise

they say he has similarities to Michael Turner. I could not disagree more. He lacks the explosion that Turner has, and he is not as tough to bring down as Turner either.

some compare him to Brandon Jacobs. This is a closer comparison (both transferred from big programs to small ones) Jacobs from Auburn to Southern Illinois. Jacobs is a taller back with good size and speed. The main difference is the speed. Jacobs is faster, WAY faster than Hairston. Justise does have a better pad level when running through trash at the line of scrimmage though. Both are north and south runners with no wiggle.

I still like Jacobs more than Hairston.

it is also of note that he only had 1,100 yards rushing as a senior in hs. as a junior he had 1,500. Hardly spectacular numbers for high school IMHO.

Transferred from Rutgers because Ray Rice and Brian Leonard were above him on the depth chart. Went from a small program (this last Rutger's season was great, but they are hardly a college FB juggernaut) to an even smaller program to get playing time. Players transfer all the time, but most RB's go from a good program to another good program. (Thomas Clayton went from Florida State to Kansas State - YES I know KState isn't exactly USC - but at least they are Big XII) Clayton may be a poor example because he had off field issues, and from all reports Hairston is a good kid.

Notice how all guys named Clayton walk on the wild side

I have all the world's respect for Josh Buchanon, our featured guest on the Audible. He is going to be hired by an NFC team this fall (he's narrowed it down to 2 teams) to be a scout, and the kid knows his ####. He is in constant contact with other scouts/players/agents/etc.

When I asked him about Hairston he said, "Arlen Harris with less upside" Harris was a phenom in hs in PA, I believe. Harris had some success in the NFL, but he's not exactly a feature back.

I then asked Josh if Hairston was similiar to Adrian Peterson (from Georgia Southern). Peterson left college as D2's all time leading rusher. he said that he was faster than Peterson, but not as tough or instinctive.

Does that mean Josh is right? No, although it makes the picture even more bleak for Hairston IMHO.

What has the SP been saying about him?

coolnerd was the first to mention him back in January:

From the way too deep sleeper category from the Hula bowl

Justise Hairston 6'1 217 from Central Conn. College

Highly productive with a NFL body at low level college football, did not carry enough to judge but deep somewhere in the back of your mind.

more great insight from our posters:

Two guys who have NFL bodies(not sure about speed) that I saw on one of the early all-star games. Looking at them as crazy deep sleepers.

Jeff Smith QB Georgetown (6'5ish)

Justise Hairston RB Cental Conn (6-0 220ish)

I've been playing catchup on Hairston for a few weeks. Remember I had two small school RBs (Whitlock and Race) ranked pretty high and mentioned a good source said Hairston was just as good? I saw both and Hairston in the Hula Bowl and scoured around for practice opinions. They are split. But from what I saw on the field Hairston looked the most NFL ready, Race the least and Whitlock very hard to project-- certainly explosive.

Anyway, I'm just scrolling the rosters and is really appropriate. GB the organizers of this one. I want to be there more than I wanted to be at the Senior Bow. You need to review your Hunter S. Thompson and report back to us in true gonzo style.

I liked Hairston when he was at Rutgers. He had a great freshman season. Good size, good speed. Backfield just got too crowded (no shame in not being able to beat out Brian Leonard and Ray Rice for playing time). Handled it with class, and didn't complain or cause a problem when his playing time diminished.

I'm also interested in seeing some of the smaller school players who have been mentioned as sleepers... such as Rascati and Dawson.

Edited by Jeff Pasquino to break into two posts.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

And some interesting tidbits from our most recent thread:

I was disappointed when he left Rutgers. He was solid for us. He has potential as an NFL player, and while he won't beat out Maroney, I won't be surprised if he eventually becomes the primary backup.

From what I had heard, he's a bit on the slow side for a RB (4.6ish). I like the optimism, and he's likely worth a gamble late in rookie drafts. But making the roster would be an accomplishment at this stage, let alone fantasy production of any sort.

From what I saw in El Paso, he's got good vision and straight ahead burst, but he's basically a between the tackles grinder. He will make a living in the NFL on special teams, and I do think he can make the Pats roster - so any RB with a pulse on a team with a young unproven starter is worth tracking, but guys like Thomas Clayton and Ahmad Bradshaw are more talented than Hairston, more able to seize the moment if opportunity knocks.

On a side note, Hairston really is an impressive young man - he already had a plan for a program he wanted to pilot in Boys and Girls clubs to get kids taking college prep classes as early as possible. He also had a "take on all comers" attitude. His combo of Rutgers and Central Connecticut gave him a lot of pro day options, and he wanted to take advantage of all of them. He didnt care if he was working out next to Adrian Peterson, he just wanted as many opportunities as possible to show his wares. No worries about getting the best time and then shutting it down - this kid was a competitor all the way. I could see right away why the pats would see Hairston as a character fit for the way they do business.

I really like this kid. I've seen him play & while he's not fast (4.58), he's got outstanding natural quickness (1.56 @ 10 yards). Everyone knows he's got very good power, but I believe he's got enough burst to be the next big backup RB (ala Michael Turner). Another plus for him is Maroney's propensity for injury.

As far as the Pats roster goes how many RBs they will carry is tugh to figure out with them. You never know how many they will carry because it changes year to year. A few years ago they tried to get away only having only three in Dillon, Faulk and Pass until injuries hit. Right now I'd say Maroney, Faulk, Morris and Evans are pretty much locks. So the question is will the Pats carry a #5. The fact they were talking with Chris Brown would make it seem like a strong possibility (especially with Maroney coming off of an injury). An x-factor in this could be the WR position. If they decide to keep six WRs (they usually keep five) than a fifth RB could be the casualty. That means Troy resigning (which seems like a strong possibility) and Chad Jackson's status could have an effect here.

As for Hairston it was reported he had a really tough day over the weekend catching the ball. He looked real rough in that area. On the flipside it was also reported that Ivan Fears (the RB Coach) was all over him in a tough manner that some reporters speculated was a positive since he was spending so much time with him (again pure speculation).

As a Rutgers season ticket holder, and Maroney owner, I'm very familiar with Hairston, and I hope he does well. He's certainly on my radar. But the above statement plays a bit loose with the facts. Let me correct the record.

Hairston and Leonard both started at Rutgers in 2003, Hairston as HB and Leonard as FB. They split carries for most of the season until Hairston got hurt. Usually, the one with the hot hand got the bulk of the carries, although Leonard was always involved in the passing game. Upon Hairston's return from injury, Leonard was entrenched as the primary ballcarrier and Hairston never started for Rutgers again. In 11 games that year, Leonard had 260+ touches for 1400 yards, while in 8 games, Hairston had 557 on a little over 100 touches, but even when they both played before the injury, Leonard outgained him 4 of 7 games.

In 2004, Leonard was moved to TB, and as his backup, Hairston was down to 70 touches for 251 yards and averaged 2.7 yds. per carry. He was also suspended for two games for breaking team rules and was in Schiano's doghouse for several weeks as a result of fumbles, which plagued him throughout his career at Rutgers.

It was the emergence of freshman Ray Rice at tailback in 2005 that spelled the end for Hairston and forced him to transfer.

It possible that he has improved over the years since he left RU, but I have a hard time believing that a guy that was slated to be 4th on our depth chart in 2006 before transferring to 1-AA is all of a sudden going to be an NFL RB. He has never been involved in the passing game, with only about 20 catches his entire college career, and he's not particularly fast or athletic. Other than Maroney not being ready for the start of the season, I don't see him making the roster.

Looking back in my Phil Steele 2003 College Football Preview it states that Hairston was the #94 RB when he came out of high school. Brian Leonard was the #83 high school RB.

There was some valuable information in the other thread. I just wanted to start one where we could all voice our opinions about the player.

In summation, Hairston is worth a late round flier for some. I personally would not draft Hairston, although I will be watching him VERY CLOSELY in camp and in preseason. It remains to be seen if he will pay off.

:whew:

I took the liberty of cleaning this post and breaking it into two.You cannot have >10 quotes in a single post - learned that from trial and error.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

Original Hairston Thread

(Warning - multiple hijacks inside).

Moving forward, I'll re-post some of what I like about him - it's a combo of talent and opportunity.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

Ok, I've been known to tout a few players from time to time.

Bear with me on this one.

JUSTISE HAIRSTON, RB, Central Connecticut.

This guy may be way off of your radar, but he was a steal for the Patriots in Round 6 (208 overall) of this year's NFL Draft.

Why do I like him so much?

Well, he just blew up at Central Connecticut with huge numbers last year. Big deal, right? Well, they were a Div 1-AA school not far from NE, so the Pats know about him. This is how the Eagles knew a lot about Westbrook, he went to Villanova, another 1-AA local program.

He led the nation in rushing last year and scored 20 TDs.

NFLDraftScout.com

Here's more about the good and bad on him:

Rivals.com

The problem most have with a 1-AA kid is how to compare him to a pro prospect. Well, take this info to heart. Hairston was a starter at Rutgers over some guy named Brian Leonard. Yeah, the 2nd round draft choice Brian Leonard.

Here were his stats from RU:

Hairston

Add in the fact that - well, who's Maroney's backup? Has Maroney been healthy much? Do we expect a lot out of a healthy Maroney?

Is this kid a sure-fire can't miss prospect? Absolutely not. But, when you want to shake up your rookie drafts and find someone off the beaten path OR want to watch for a RB to look over in training camp, consider Hairston. His skills and the opportunity in NE are making me pay attention.

 

[Burning Sensation]

Do we really need two Justise Hairston threads?

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

Cec,

Nice work here. I think you summed it up pretty well. I just wanted to point out two things:

Here's my take on Hairston:

On his game:

north and south runner with ok speed. no wiggle in his hips, no instincts. he has good pad level when running inside, and has the ability to run defenders over.

some compare him to Brandon Jacobs. This is a closer comparison (both transferred from big programs to small ones) Jacobs from Auburn to Southern Illinois. Jacobs is a taller back with good size and speed. The main difference is the speed. Jacobs is faster, WAY faster than Hairston. Justise does have a better pad level when running through trash at the line of scrimmage though. Both are north and south runners with no wiggle.

I still like Jacobs more than Hairston.

Just a comment on the speed - IIRC he clocked a pretty nice 40 time at his Pro Day at Yale.Hairston Clocks a 4.47

Transferred from Rutgers because Ray Rice and Brian Leonard were above him on the depth chart. Went from a small program (this last Rutger's season was great, but they are hardly a college FB juggernaut) to an even smaller program to get playing time.

Players transfer all the time, but most RB's go from a good program to another good program. (Thomas Clayton went from Florida State to Kansas State - YES I know KState isn't exactly USC - but at least they are Big XII) Clayton may be a poor example because he had off field issues, and from all reports Hairston is a good kid.

You cannot quite equate this to when a player goes from 1-A to 1-AA. With the current NCAA rules, a player doesn't have to sit out a year when they drop down a level, so when a player moves to 1-AA, they shouldn't necessarily be slighted for it. Gil Brandt has said this as well, and I tend to agree with him. I forget which player he was speaking about at the time (I think a QB that went out to Idaho - Gutierrez?) but that is one reason that a player would drop to 1-AA.

Notice how all guys named Clayton walk on the wild side

This was not lost upon me.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

Useless trivia: IIRC, Arlen Harris had the PA State Rushing record until it was broken by James Mungro.

Edited to add that I think Mungro's record was broken by Austin Scott, who is a Senior at Penn State.

 

[Boston]

This falls into the "take it for what it's worth" category...

Locally there is no buzz about Hairston. It doesn't seem like he left a big impression on the local media during mini-camp. I know he had one really rough day as far as catching balls out of the backfield. It was reported he looked real sloppy. Outside of that there really wasn't too much info about the kid be it good or bad.

I'm not saying that this means anything. How the media feels about a player usually means squat (actually less than squat when it comes to BB). Yet, they often do pick up on rookies that show a little zip early, especially when it comes to the unknowns (seventh rounder Willie Andrews was an example last year) . Guys like Reiss and Tomase to a very good job and are wired in pretty good and if there was something to report on Hairston (other than the drops) it would have been out there, especially since they're looking for material this time of year.

It will be interesting to see what happens here. I'm of the belief the Pats would be well served to add another RB. Maroney has the chance to be a real good one but he also has injury questions and no one knows whether he can handle a full 16 games as a workhorse. Faulk is still a big time third down back...but he's been hurt two years in a row and it's not realistic to see him increasing his load. Sammy Morris should help with his versatility but if Maroney went down for an extended period of time I can't say I'd be too comfortable about him being a primary ball-carrier. Heath Evans can also carry the ball in a pinch but that's not what you want out of him.

I think the Pats would be well served to find another RB who can handle some carries along with Faulk and Morris should Maroney go down in a worst case scenario. If Hairston rises to the occasion that would be a best case scenario since he's young and won't even make a dent against the cap for a few years. Yet, if that's not realistic than I think adding a veteran RB like Chris Brown would make a ton of sense and solidify this unit.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

Regarding Brown, I heard three teams from Schefter tonight - Tennessee (duh), Green Bay and I'm forgetting the other one....Houston maybe?

Pretty sure it wasn't NE.

 

[Cecil Lammey]

Cec,

Nice work here. I think you summed it up pretty well. I just wanted to point out two things:

Here's my take on Hairston:

On his game:

north and south runner with ok speed. no wiggle in his hips, no instincts. he has good pad level when running inside, and has the ability to run defenders over.

some compare him to Brandon Jacobs. This is a closer comparison (both transferred from big programs to small ones) Jacobs from Auburn to Southern Illinois. Jacobs is a taller back with good size and speed. The main difference is the speed. Jacobs is faster, WAY faster than Hairston. Justise does have a better pad level when running through trash at the line of scrimmage though. Both are north and south runners with no wiggle.

I still like Jacobs more than Hairston.

Just a comment on the speed - IIRC he clocked a pretty nice 40 time at his Pro Day at Yale.Hairston Clocks a 4.47

Transferred from Rutgers because Ray Rice and Brian Leonard were above him on the depth chart. Went from a small program (this last Rutger's season was great, but they are hardly a college FB juggernaut) to an even smaller program to get playing time.

Players transfer all the time, but most RB's go from a good program to another good program. (Thomas Clayton went from Florida State to Kansas State - YES I know KState isn't exactly USC - but at least they are Big XII) Clayton may be a poor example because he had off field issues, and from all reports Hairston is a good kid.

You cannot quite equate this to when a player goes from 1-A to 1-AA. With the current NCAA rules, a player doesn't have to sit out a year when they drop down a level, so when a player moves to 1-AA, they shouldn't necessarily be slighted for it. Gil Brandt has said this as well, and I tend to agree with him. I forget which player he was speaking about at the time (I think a QB that went out to Idaho - Gutierrez?) but that is one reason that a player would drop to 1-AA.

Notice how all guys named Clayton walk on the wild side

This was not lost upon me.

I would say Jacobs and Hairston's timed speed is very similiar. What I should've been more specific was their pad speed. Both are great on a track, but Brandon is more swift in pads.And Gutierrez transferred to Idaho State from Michigan. A much different story coming from a program like that.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

And Gutierrez transferred to Idaho State from Michigan. A much different story coming from a program like that.

Agreed - just wanted to cite the reasons to move to 1-AA.

 

[DWidmar]

Thank you for all of the information on this guy. This is one reason I love tbese boards soooo much. I get a chance to see all kinds of opinions on players and I use it to balance out what I see on the players. There have been many times where a stud was found and many times where the player ends up being a bust. I heard about Colston last year, watched him play and picked him up in my dynasty league. That was awesome. There has been times I watch players pimped on here and I dont see it and I dont pick up that player. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. (we all do)

It is easy to sit back and criticize peoples projections or peoples heads up on certain players yet said owner never tries to put their own neck on the line.

It sounds like people are all over the place on their thoughts on Hairston. I think his situation makes him somebody to look at. Espcecially in a dynasty format. I appreciate all the information.

 

[Ariakis]

Chris Brown-RB- Titans May. 19 - 10:09 am et

The Patriots have made contact with free agent Chris Brown but nothing is imminent, according to the Boston Herald.

We're surprised the Dolphins aren't in the market for a runner with just injury-prone rookie Lorenzo Booker behind Ronnie Brown. The Patriots are always looking to add talent. Brown would likely push Justise Hairston off the roster.

 

[The Man With No Name]

Chris Brown-RB- Titans May. 19 - 10:09 am etThe Patriots have made contact with free agent Chris Brown but nothing is imminent, according to the Boston Herald.We're surprised the Dolphins aren't in the market for a runner with just injury-prone rookie Lorenzo Booker behind Ronnie Brown. The Patriots are always looking to add talent. Brown would likely push Justise Hairston off the roster.

??? Lorenzo Booker IS NOT injury prone. He missed the 3rd, 4th, and 5th games of the season in 2003, and that's all. He played in 47 games in his college career.Back to Hairston.

 

[Ariakis]

Chris Brown-RB- Titans May. 19 - 10:09 am etThe Patriots have made contact with free agent Chris Brown but nothing is imminent, according to the Boston Herald.We're surprised the Dolphins aren't in the market for a runner with just injury-prone rookie Lorenzo Booker behind Ronnie Brown. The Patriots are always looking to add talent. Brown would likely push Justise Hairston off the roster.

??? Lorenzo Booker IS NOT injury prone. He missed the 3rd, 4th, and 5th games of the season in 2003, and that's all. He played in 47 games in his college career.Back to Hairston.

Umm the news is about Hairston. The Pats are still looking for RB depth let alone the fact this hype is for a player behind a stud in Maroney to begin with. I can't imagine he would beat out Chris Brown if they do sign him let alone the fact they already have Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk in the mix on a team that can get pass-happy anyway.

 

[tombonneau]

Another Pats local who agrees that there's nothing to see here. If there is any diamond in the rough in this year's Pats class it's Matt Gutierrez.

I don't see Hairston as anything more than a warm body.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

dot

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

Another Pats local who agrees that there's nothing to see here. If there is any diamond in the rough in this year's Pats class it's Matt Gutierrez.I don't see Hairston as anything more than a warm body.

Watch the health of Gutierrez's shoulder/arm closely - it's probably the main obstacle to him panning out and being another Pats QB steal.

 

[Boston]

Take it for what it's worth...here's a little news on our boy:

·Sixth-round pick Justise Hairston showed explosiveness whenever he carried the ball.

http://www.patriots.com/news/index.cfm?ac=...795&pcid=41

 

[Beaumont]

Already cut ...

http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/PatsBl...ton_cut_pu.html

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

That's a shame really, as I thought he might be worth something. He has some talent but remember this was far more about an opportunity to play than about the next FWP.

Well, he was a Day 2 flier. I guess this means that NE has 4 backs that they can rely on - Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk and who again? to back up Maroney. I guess Heath Evans is enough at FB / 4th RB.

It's too bad he didn't get more of a shot. I'm guessing this might be a little more about his PUP status and a numbers game, but I would have thought that the Pats would want a pair of fresh legs for preseason at least.

Then again I wouldn't put it past Pioli and BB to bring back the rookie for the PS.

 

[KING]

Do we really need two Justise Hairston threads?

do we even need one?

 

[dirtyhalos]

Colts Add RB Hairston To Practice Squad

NFL.com - http://www.nfl.com/transactions

The Indianapolis Colts on Thursday have added RB Justise Hairston to their practice squad.