Buchsbaum's top 10

1. John Tait
2. L.J. Shelton
3. Aaron Gibson
4. Damien Woody
5. Matt Stinchcomb
6. Jon Jansen
7. Floyd Wedderburn
8. Solomon Page
9. Luke Petitgout
10. Doug Brzezinski

Positives: Fine intangibles. Good size and strength. Tough and physical. Can be overpowering at times. Can and will muscle and maul people. Will work to finish his blocks. Is generally effective in close quarters. Good technician who has been well-coached. Very durable. Can be counted on to play every week. Blue-collar attitude.

Negatives: Not as fluid, nifty, mobile or athletic as scouts would like. Gets exposed when he is outside with a lot of space around him. If he plays tackle on the next level, he would have to be a right tackle. Just does not have the feet to be a left tackle. Dominated average players, but the more athletic the competition, the more he would struggle.

Summary: One of the top guards in the country and a blue-collar tough guy. However, he does have limitations and is not nearly as gifted an athlete as scouts would like.

Positives: Rare size and strength. Simply huge and massive all over and does not look fat at 386 pounds. Seems to have gotten his weight under control. Great testing athlete for his size. Will do the splits before games. Has a giant wingspan. Engulfs defenders. Can be as dominating a run blocker as you will ever see. Great down blocker who can cave in half a defensive line. Above-average balance. Excellent hand punch. Awesome power. Can get better. Has a mean streak.

Negatives: Weight gain is still a concern. Is not very quick. Sloppy footwork. Gets himself in bad positions when pass-blocking. Puts himself in a position where he must chase the outside rusher and, as a result, really struggles to block the perimeter. Does not get out of his stance very quickly. Will give up on his blocks too soon (see Iowa game, 1998) at times. Needs to have a positive relationship with his position coach, since he does need guidance at times. Was injured in the Rose Bowl and could not play in the Senior Bowl, in part because he could not fit into the MRI machine to be checked out and cleared to play in the game.

Summary: Can be an awesome pro guard if he gets with the right coach, works hard and keeps his weight within reason. Could also be a huge disappointment if some of those things do not happen.

Positives: Very good intangibles. Tough, smart, durable and willing to work. Good technician. Excellent hand use. Well-coached. Has a mean streak and can be nasty. Efficient player. Moves around pretty well. Seems to be getting more athletic as he matures.

Negatives: Lacks an outstanding physical characteristic. Does not have really quick feet. Better-suited to play right tackle or guard because he does not have a left tackle’s feet.

Summary: Very good football player who gets the most out of his ability. Is starting to look more athletic now.

Positives: Nice size. Has been durable. Very athletic for his size and can bend his knees well for a big man when he really wants to. Uses his hands and arms and has good feet. Will generally control his body well and keep his feet under him. Has improved every year. Looks as though he can play left tackle in the NFL.

Negatives: Gets a little lazy at times and tends to play too upright. Lacks good techniques at times when blocking for the pass and can’t rely on his athleticism and feet alone to bail him out on a higher level. Has a hard time hitting a moving target when blocking in space. At times will look for the easy way out. Somewhat immature and will lose his poise at times. Can be provoked. Must do additional checking on character and maturity.

Summary: Has a lot of talent and will go high because of it but really would have been better off back in school, maturing and developing his techniques. While Page is a totally different player, in some ways he can be compared to Raider OT Mo Collins, Oakland’s second first-round pick a year ago, in that Page really is not ready from a maturity and consistency standpoint but still will go high because of his size and feet.

Positives: Nice size. Tough and competitive. Good intangibles. Has a nasty streak and will try to punish the defender. Can run and pull well enough to play guard, and his feet are good enough for right tackle and may be passable on the left side if he gets some help.

Negatives: Can bend his knees but has a tendency to play too straight-legged; when he does, he lacks lower-body power and gets muscled. Overplays the outside and gives up the inside while pass-blocking. Has a tendency to jump offside. Will get down on himself at times.

Summary: Is a good prospect but not a great one.

Positives: Huge body. Large wingspan. Naturally powerful. Looks the part. Very athletic for one so large. Light on his feet and more agile than you would suspect. Can shuffle and slide his feet and can play with his weight under him when he uses proper technique. Has good balance and can bend his knees. Flexible. Can do the splits. Will generally rise to the occasion and plays better against better players. Had a great week and played as well as he ever has at the Senior Bowl.

Negatives: Lacks football experience. Rarely tested in college. Will play down to the level of the competition. Gets lazy about his technique and plays too upright or bends at the waist instead of bending his knees and sinking his hips. Does not seem to play mean or nasty. Rarely works to finish his blocks.

Summary: Showed how good he could be at the Senior Bowl and may have hit the jackpot. Went from a mid-round pick whom some club would have stolen in the fourth round to a top pick in one week by showing he could and would raise his game a notch. If you just watched this player during Senior Bowl week, you would erase almost all of the negatives listed above.

Positives: Great intangibles. Supersmart. Terrific work ethic. Excellent academic student, and student of the game. Uses his hands well. Understands blocking angles and techniques. Tenacious and very competitive. Versatile. Can probably play anywhere on the line except center. Will play through pain. Mature and a team leader.

Negatives: Lacks great natural size and lower-body strength. Is not an overpowering blocker and, at times, will get pushed back. Does not have the mass in the butt and legs that scouts like to see in an offensive lineman and can’t anchor the way you would like. Is an above-average-to-good athlete but not a great one and gets outquicked at times. Could not seem to keep up with Virginia’s speed-rushing Patrick Kerney in the Peach Bowl, which turned out to be one of the worst games of Stinchcomb’s career. However, the shoulder injury also could have figured into the equation.

Summary: Smart, solid player who does not have all the tools but maximizes his talent. A true achiever in the classroom and on the football field. Will do what he has to do to be the best he can be, but there is a ceiling on what he can do on the football field.

Positives: Looks like a stud. Is really well-built with very little fat or flab. Very good athlete for an offensive lineman. Has very good feet, balance and body control. Knows how to pass-block. Uses his hands well. Understands blocking angles and position. Much more aggressive and effective run blocker than most BYU offensive linemen. Has pop off the ball and will work to finish his blocks. Generally gets good fits. Will hustle downfield to make a second block. Played left tackle in college and looks as though he can play left tackle on the next level.

Negatives: Not quite as thick and massive as some would like an offensive lineman to be these days. Was not tested by really top players in college very often. Had great games against schools such as San Diego State but was often going against 230-pound defensive ends whom he could dominate like a man vs. a child. Competition and ability to step up are concerns. Could not practice or play against the best the colleges had to offer at the Senior Bowl because he is technically a junior as far as the NFL is concerned, making him ineligible for the game. Very few BYU offensive linemen have really panned out as NFL players, although many have been high draft selections.

Summary: Based on what I have seen so far, this player looks like the real McCoy. Although Tait is much more aggressive than the typical BYU offensive lineman, there have been so many who never returned round value that you have to be concerned. If he had come from a school such as USC, you’d say he probably would be a top-10 pick. It may be unfair to hold the track record of other BYU offensive linemen against him, just as holding the track record of other BYU quarterbacks against Jim McMahon would have been a mistake.

Positives: Huge and massive yet light on his feet. Very powerful but is also pretty athletic. Has improved tremendously since moving to offense. Good lower-body explosion and feet. Can be overpowering and dominating. May be able to protect the quarterback’s blind side and has lined up at both left and right tackle. Provided his knee is sound, he should continue to improve.

Negatives: Suffered a major knee injury in ’95 that still may be a concern. Has a tendency to get heavy. Limited background on offense and still raw around the edges. Had some moments while trying to pass-block when his inexperience showed. Intensity and focus have not always been there but were much better in ’98. Is not quite as athletic as scouts would like a tackle to be.

Summary: Will be one of the top offensive linemen drafted if his knee checks out.

Positives: Fine size. Long arms. Quicker and lighter on his feet than your normal center, although he is a huge man. Can probably play guard and might be able to play tackle. Seems to move around well. Flexible. Can bend. Light on his feet. Has good balance and body control when he plays hard and pays attention to technique. Naturally strong.

Negatives: Gets lazy and becomes a straight-legged blocker or just leans and falls off blocks. Sometimes seems to almost quit on plays after he makes his initial block instead of looking for somebody else to hit. Lacks consistency. Does not work hard enough to finish his blocks. Very young, especially for a center (turned 21 in November ’98).

Summary: Has a lot of ability but needs to work harder and learn what being a pro is all about.