Venric Mark pro day
- Thread starter chicagocatfan24
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He doesn't have top-end speed. That's not surprising, but I thought he would be in at least the 4.5s. Wonder what affect injuries might have done to him.
Nonsense. Anyone who has run a 10.94 second 100m sprint and has taken 2 punts and a KO return to the house in D1 ball has better than 4.69 speed in the 40. Watch those videos again and tell me he runs a 4.7 40. I might believe 4.49 for someone with that speed on a slow day, but not 4.69. Obviously he has been injured and/or is out of shape.
I don't think that anyone is faulting you. But based on what WE all saw in Venric he is MUCH faster than that.It's also true that his top end speed did not match his starts. Sort of the opposite of Carl Lewis, who for his level of sprint, was a notoriously slow starter and most often won his races in the second half. Mark was at bare minimum at 4.4ish guy. Either he is hurt or it's a joke or misprint.
Venric's entire game was based on explosion and awareness, not top-end speed. I wouldn't be surprised if his 10- and 20-yard splits were pretty good, but 40 isn't great. The 10.92 also seemed like a pretty decent outlier (would guess heavily wind-aided, as was his 10.96) that was backed up by a 11.18 the next day.
EDIT: In fact, it does appear that Venric's shorter-distance measures were better than his 40, though not elite as one might have hoped. His 1.61 10-yard and 2.68 20-yard splits aren't terrible (on par with the smaller backs at the combine such as Duke Johnson (1.60/2.64), Braylon Heard (1.63/2.68), BJ Catalon (1.68/2.74) and Ameer Abdullah (1.60/2.68)).
He's just not as fast as people might think, but I also indicated that his time was worsened by the same injuries that plagued his time at both NU and WTAMU.
This post was edited on 4/16 1:03 PM by gocatsgo2003
to me he was never fast, just quick. would love to see his 10,20, 30 yard times like at the combine
i remember him getting caught from behind more than once
i remember him getting caught from behind more than once
Micah Hyde ran a 4.56 at the combine. I don't know what holding a ball does to your speed, but I'm not surprised to see Mark a 1/10th of a second slower than Hyde based on this.
Was Micah a guy that could have gotten into NU? I'm asking as I don't know. It's really easy to point at guys and say that the NU coaching staff missed on them. Truth is 75% are guys that can't get into school. Also, was Micah ever interested in NU? Again, I'm asking as I didn't follow his recruitment. I'm just saying it's tough to offer a kid if he doesn't take your phone call.
Was Micah a guy that could have gotten into NU? I'm asking as I don't know. It's really easy to point at guys and say that the NU coaching staff missed on them. Truth is 75% are guys that can't get into school. Also, was Micah ever interested in NU? Again, I'm asking as I didn't follow his recruitment. I'm just saying it's tough to offer a kid if he doesn't take your phone call.
Hyde was on our radar and would have been a borderline academic kid. He was very athletic on high school tape but also VERY slender. Hindsight is always 20/20, but he didn't have any BCS offers until picking up an Iowa offer two weeks before Signing Day in the class of 2009.
some of the comments below are unbelievable. The kid was fast. He probably never fully recovered from some of the beatings he took in 2012 and 2013.
Just in case some of you forgot just how good this kid was, see the tape (link). Maybe it is because the B1G is just too "slow" to compare to the rest of the country, but he sure blew by a lot of people.
I could watch this every day. Loved watching him play - every time he touched the ball I was on the edge of my seat. I don't think he is better than our deservedly revered legends like DA1 and DA2, since their skills were surely broader, but for one year, he might have been the most explosive player ever in our program.
Venric we hardly knew ye
He looks pretty fast to me.
Just in case some of you forgot just how good this kid was, see the tape (link). Maybe it is because the B1G is just too "slow" to compare to the rest of the country, but he sure blew by a lot of people.
I could watch this every day. Loved watching him play - every time he touched the ball I was on the edge of my seat. I don't think he is better than our deservedly revered legends like DA1 and DA2, since their skills were surely broader, but for one year, he might have been the most explosive player ever in our program.
Venric we hardly knew ye
He looks pretty fast to me.
Watching his highlights it looks like he is able to get almost immediately up to full speed after a cut, even if it is only 4.6 something. That's "football speed."
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Posted from Rivals Mobile
He single handidly won a couple games for us that season, people forget that even in the bowl year we were plagued with an often stagnant offense and questionable play call (Minnesota game is a perfect example) but often saved by big runs from Venric. Sad end to his career, I hope some NFL team brings him in for a work out and see what he has to offer as a return man
He was the most explosive return man we have had since I have been following the team. Miles Shuler has track speed but there is no comparison in explosiveness and the ability to accelerate and cut at full speed.
He was caught from behind twice that I recall. He did not have great top end speed as far as RB's go. That still doesn't change the fact that he had sub-11 second speed in the 100 meter dash in HS, that he outran three teams on KO and punt returns as well as Nebraska on an 80 yard TD run. There is no way in my mind he was only a 4.7 40 guy when he was at NU. You think he was faster than Sutton, well, Sutton ran a 4.66 40 at the combine.
4.7 40 guys don't run sub-11 second 100 meter sprints
Actually, Tyrell ran a 4.75 at the Combine and a 4.64 at NU's pro day.
Venric is definitely able to get up to speed quite quickly and make cuts without losing that speed (an important part of being an effective returner). The fact remains that he never had elite top-end speed. The other issue is that Mark's sub-optimal times came with a measurement of 5-6 172.
That said, I would have expected something at least in the high 4.4s. I'm guessing the injuries he built up over the past two years that led him to play a grand total of seven games in the past two years were just too much and took the edge off his speed. There's something more to the story here for sure.
I read 4.66 was Tyrell Sutton's combine 40 time. Maybe the source was wrong.
http://walterfootball.com/draft2009RB.php
Supposedly he ran a 4.35 40 in high school. I seriously doubt that's a reliable time, but I also would have guessed 4.5 as an accurate time for Venric.
Venric is much faster than the 4.69 recorded. A forty time is a situational assessment for that instance alone. JJ Watt has proven to be much faster than 4.81 he recorded at the combine. Chris Johnson has been far less productive than his combine record projected. The forty time does not define a players game speedhttp://www.nfl.com/combine/story/09000d5d81e75746/article/dont-be-so-quick-to-judge-a-player-by-his-40-time. This is why the combine as we no it is set to change http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000474890/article/nfl-considering-changes-to-testing-drills-at-scouting-combine . Officials realize more relevant test are needed in proper player assessment. Venric is fortunate enough to have game film that speaks for itself. He spent his time running away from linebackers and defensive backs that recorded sub 4.5 forty times at the combine. Venric simply is a hard working "Playmaker". The rare ones you can't always identify, but are fortunate to come across. His ability to dramatically increase his speed while in uniform (Like a Superhero) is no mystery. Psychologist accredit it to both Social Facilitation, as well as Dominant Performance. As a man true to family, Venric performs great feats under immense stress, when before an audience. This is no different from the 80 pound women who lift cars off of their children. The Dominant Performance for everyone is not always to do something well. Some always fold under such circumstances. Venric is just a great young man who will produce and improve any team lucky enough to draft him. It was sure great to watch Fitz and Venric work together during the "Bowl Game Winning Year"! I look forward to watching Venric and the other Wild Cats make their "Mark" on the NFL, as well as the world! Go Cats!!!!
Give credit to Venric Mark for returning to NU to get his NU degree. This just goes to show that injuries can happen so a pro football career might not materialize, but Venric still has his valuable NU degree to fall back on.
Venric has demonstrated an unprecedented ability while participating in the game of football to surpass a record of 4.69 in addition to his zeal to continue this career path and overcome passed obstacles and physical limitations.
Professionals and Officials of the game are wise enough to determine the capability of as extra-ordinary player such as Venric beyond a one time recorded score or health issues now curing.
Coach Fitz and the Northwestern Coaching staff succeeded in helping to development the gift this young man naturally has, such dedication and hard work never goes unnoticed. Venric and the NFL team that joins as one will leave a historical mark within the game of American Football.
Professionals and Officials of the game are wise enough to determine the capability of as extra-ordinary player such as Venric beyond a one time recorded score or health issues now curing.
Coach Fitz and the Northwestern Coaching staff succeeded in helping to development the gift this young man naturally has, such dedication and hard work never goes unnoticed. Venric and the NFL team that joins as one will leave a historical mark within the game of American Football.
Chris Johnson has been far less productive than his 40 time would project...
Did you think he would run for 400 yards a game for a decade or something? He had a 2000 yard season and was offensive player of the year for crying out loud. Sure he fell quickly from that peak, as 2000 yard rushers tend to do, but he got about a thousand extra yards that season because of his other worldly speed. I would bet any team selecting 24th overall would be tickled pink to draft this year's Chris Johnson.
Lets say Dri Archer, Yamon Figurs, Rondel Melendez etc are the real ones whose 40 time does not indicate their future success.
Did you think he would run for 400 yards a game for a decade or something? He had a 2000 yard season and was offensive player of the year for crying out loud. Sure he fell quickly from that peak, as 2000 yard rushers tend to do, but he got about a thousand extra yards that season because of his other worldly speed. I would bet any team selecting 24th overall would be tickled pink to draft this year's Chris Johnson.
Lets say Dri Archer, Yamon Figurs, Rondel Melendez etc are the real ones whose 40 time does not indicate their future success.
Boxing, chest and tennis are great examples of individual sports. Those are where individual stats and achievements dictate overall success. Team sports are group efforts, and so are mostly dictated by wins and losses. NFL GM's and coaches understand that their jobs are to build winning rosters. Chris Johnson was and is a great player. There is no reason to take anything away from him. Numbers and records speak for themselves. Since drafting CJ2K in 2008, the titans have had 2 winning seasons. This was in a division with the rebuilding Texans and Jaguars. In no way do you put the woes of an entire organization on one player. What has always been understood though, is that great players that are great teammates make others around them better. The forty yard dash is simply not an indicator of that type of individual. If so, the Raiders would have won half of the Superbowls for the last two decades. The NFL has evolved into more of a passing league. The role of the runningback has been shifted to more of a support role. A player like Venric brings in production on the field and in the locker room. 100% of Probowl players admit they would sacrifice stats for wins and championships. Few people can name the 22 starters on the Patriot's roster any given year. That is because an individuals production on a winning team can be hard to identify. That is why you jump at a Vernon Gohlston, and you come across a JJ Watt. In his 5'8" 177lb frame, Venric simply has what cannot be measured. The ability, heart and drive to win!
As much as I enjoyed Musso on returns, you have to go back to Steve Tasker to find someone that could "electrify' the way Venric did. That said, I was in sort of a vegetative state (young kids) durng Gissendaner's tenure so I cannot comment on him
