March 9-15

Last spring, the Big 12 Conference announced that it would hold one workout for all its football-playing schools at the end of March in Frisco, Texas. The Big 12 Pro Day would be a first-of-its-kind chance to put all schools in one location and showcasing the league’s best pro prospects, NFL Combine-style, on the NFL Network.

The problem is, the planning and communication of the details surrounding this month’s big event have been a bit slow. Coincidentally, “a bit slow” rhymes with the term most of our sources used to describe the coming workout.

When we wrote about the planned pro day last year in this space, the people we spoke to expressed cautious optimism with the caveat that there were a lot of details to work out. With less than two weeks until players test, there’s a growing sense that many of these questions are still unanswered.

Let’s start with what we know, or think we know.

• Schools are responsible for getting the players to Frisco. The conference is responsible for costs/logistics once the players arrive in Frisco (lodging, meals). Presumably, schools from outside Texas will have to arrive Tuesday night, March 26. 
• Oklahoma and Texas will not participate as the Sooners and Longhorns are transitioning out of the conference. 
• Players will work out by position, not by school, akin to NFL Combine groups. 
• Starting at noon Wednesday, members of Group 1 – QBs, wide receivers, tight ends, running backs and defensive backs – will register, weigh/measure, interview with teams, engage with sponsors and attend a dinner.
• Thursday morning, QBs, wide receivers, tight ends and running backs will work out, followed by defensive backs in the afternoon. 
• Friday morning, all Group 1 members will be checked out of the event, as their session will have concluded.
• Friday afternoon, the process will repeat with weigh-ins, meetings, interviews and sponsor exposure to players for Group 2. This group includes specialists, offensive linemen, defensive linemen and linebackers. 
• Saturday, specialists and offensive linemen will work out in the morning, followed by defensive linemen and linebackers Saturday afternoon. Group 2 will check out and officially conclude things Sunday morning. 
• Under the current format, if teams arrive Tuesday, members of each school’s Group 2 will have a lengthy break before taking the field Saturday.
• As of now, the NFL Network has an hour block of programming reserved for the Big 12 Pro Day Friday night from 8-9 p.m. ET, which presumably means drills won’t be broadcast live. Details are sparse with regard to programming Saturday night. Obviously, schedules are subject to change.
• Retired Steelers scout Mark Gorscak will be the starter for 40s, repeating his popular role at the NFL Combine. 

Here are our questions.

• With the Big 12 as geographically diverse as any conference in the nation (with schools in Florida, Ohio, West Virginia and Utah as well as across the Southwest), how will teams decide which scouts to send to the event? We’ve heard that West Coast scouts – who have a familiarity with BYU, but probably none of the other Big 12 schools – will mostly not attend.
• Given that it’s a four-day event, will teams be willing to pull scouts off the road Wednesday through Saturday? Among schools that will hold pro days during that period are LSU, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington, Washington State and many more. Most teams we’ve heard from are sending their primary Big 12 scout, a couple scouting assistants, and one other scout. That’s to say nothing of any key decision-makers that might have attended selected Big 12 workouts.
• Is the number of players per team capped? If all 14 Big 12 teams bring their 15-20 draft-eligible players, that’s close to 300 players in two days. That approaches the number of invitees that work out over four days in Indianapolis. We’ve heard 10 players is as many as any team is allowed to bring. Will there be “cuts?” Will there be P5 starters left without a pro day?
• With spring ball under way, will any coaches attend? “That’s usually the time when we get questions answered on players in this draft class, but more importantly, we get an early look at the next draft class because coaches are more relaxed,” said one scout who handles the Southwest.
• The biggest names in the Big 12 already worked out in Indianapolis. Will viewers tune in to see UDFAs test? 
• Are any non-Big 12 players able to participate? With Kansas and Kansas State locked into Frisco, there are almost 20 sub-FBS teams from the Sunflower State without pro day alternatives if their own schools don’t hold pro days. West Virginia is similar with only Marshall left for Mountain East draft hopefuls. 
• What about players that don’t test due to injury? Can they test at school later on their own?
• Can agents attend? Right now, that’s an issue that hasn’t been addressed, based on our conversations with sources.

Granted, it’s not all bad news. One college director said that while “there will be growing pains,” he is happy to see some level of efficiency come to the pro day model. “There have been times I went to see four players, then the school sends 20 players out and three of the four I came to see don’t even work out,” he said with frustration. What’s more, by collecting 40 times and jump distances from those who barely played, scouts just further the delusion for countless players. Plus, “with the logistics of it, if it’s four days and one of the days is Saturday (when pro days aren’t held), maybe it’s better.”

Fair enough. We’ve heard the league will send out a memo on Monday, and hopefully, many questions will be answered then. Though we don’t see this as a net positive for players or agents, maybe it’s good for the game’s health in the long run. Fingers crossed that the even goes off mostly smoothly and that no players get left behind. 

Here’s a look at what else took place in the college and football business this week. 

This week in football: Here are a couple other things that made news this week.

• Disturbing news: Former Titans pro scout Blaise Taylor has been arrested in connection with the poisoning death of his girlfriend, Jade Benning, and their unborn child, per this story. Taylor was removed from Tennessee’s website last spring, and we were unable to uncover any information related to his departure from the team. Taylor had taken a position as a senior defensive analyst at Utah State but has been removed from the USU website as of today. Taylor’s father, Trooper, is associate head coach at Texas A&M and has coached for more than three decades on the college level.

• In and out: It was a big story when the Steelers signed former Broncos QB Russell Wilson, setting up a competition with incumbent starter Kenny Pickett, the only first-round passer in the 2022 draft. It got even crazier when the Steelers shipped Pickett to Philadelphia today at Pickett’s request. Of the first six quarterbacks taken in 2022, three have been traded this offseason, one is in the UFL and one enters camp as a third-stringer. Only New England’s Bailey Zappe enters camp, at least for now, as the presumed starter. When it comes to signal-callers, the old joke that NFL stands for “not for long” is more applicable than ever.

• Changing uniforms: Other big names with new addresses after this week are Kirk Cousins (Atlanta), Derrick Henry (Baltimore), Danielle Hunter (Houston), Brian Burns (NY Giants), Christian Wilkins (Las Vegas), Saquon Barkley (Philadelphia), Calvin Ridley (Tennessee), Bryce Huff (Philadelphia) and many more. 

• Saying goodbye: We also saw a three-time DPOY, Los Angeles’ Aaron Donald, and a six-time Pro Bowler, Philadelphia’s Fletcher Cox, wind up their respective careers. Each will one day be in Canton. We also saw Giants TE Darren Waller, who made his share of plays during a lengthy career, ride into the sunset.

Catching Up: Kevin Mashack, who will be 39 in June, spent three years in the Jaguars front office. We caught up with him this week.

• Where are you living and what are you doing now?: “I’m actually back in Nashville now as Director of Recruiting at Tennessee State University. I went to Tennessee State, so I went to college here and my wife was born and raised in Nashville. No matter where I’ve worked, we’ve always . . . wanted to come back here and make this home.” 

• Do you miss the job? What do you miss most?:  “I think especially with college football the way it is now, what’s missed is (about scouting in the pros), you’re evaluating for an end result that’s not monetary. Recruiting is always fun, trying to talk someone into coming to your school, whether it’s the degree they like or whatever. It was always a challenge and was fun, and in some cases, still is, but now (in college football), it’s about who’s the highest bidder. That part of it is what you miss about (the NFL). Then when you’re evaluating in the NFL, pretty much, a guy when he finishes in college, he is what he is. (In college), you’re still kinda guessing when it’s a 16- to 17-year-old, what he’s gonna be. I guess those are the two things I miss about it and why.” 

• Do you keep in touch with any of your former colleagues?: “Absolutely. I was just actually in Indianapolis. I usually go to the combine every year, and I was there last weekend. I go just for that reason (to see old friends). I still go and see all those guys I used to work with, or who used to come through when I was a pro liaison. We still have great relationships. When they come to Nashville for pro days, we still get together. That’s all scouting is. It’s about relationships. That’s the only way you can get info at these schools. They gotta know you and trust you.” 

• Do you go to any live games (HS/college/pro)?: “High school games, being in personnel now, no, because we’re not really allowed to go out and see high school games. I’ve got a cousin who played here at Tennessee State, then he was with the Ravens a few years, and now he’s in the UFL, and I try to (attend) one of his games every year. He was in one of the spring leagues last year, and I tried to catch one of his games then. But that’s about it. I don’t get to get out to many live events.” 

• Are there any players you love to watch and/or feel close to due to your work in the game?:  “Yeah, for me, I’m born and raised in Miami, so I will always watch the Dolphins play, and they just happen to have a good offensive scheme. I like to watch a good offensive scheme instead of any team in particular. I will always root for the Jaguars to win. There are still people in that building I used to work with. I got a big group of really good friends with the Bears, and I will always root for them. The Cardinals are another one, and the Raiders. Those four I have some really close relationships with, our wives kinda know each other, and we’ve been around each other a long time, so I root for all of them to at least make the playoffs.”

Review the latest from other former NFL scouts and executives by accessing our Catching Up archive here. Want to hear from a former scout, or know someone who may be interested in being interviewed? Let us know.

A Different Look at Roster-Building: Though the focus on the Scouting the League podcast is scouting, that’s not the only way to evaluate a roster. With the salary cap a critical part of how a team is built, and with free agency raging, this week’s guest was former Falcons Director of Football Operations Nick Polk. Polk discussed the many ways the cap chief looks at players specifically, positions generally, and the way the league operates. Co-hosts Rodrik David and Neil Stratton discussed the numbers and how they shape teams with Polk for about an hour, looking at how a team’s decisions are affected by contract math. Make sure to check out this week’s edition here. Next week, former Pittsburgh evaluator Gorscak joins us.

More on the transfer portal: The best way to learn about how NIL dollars are spent is to talk to the people handling the money and making the decisions on players. With that in mind, we reached out to several friends in college football offices across the country to get a sense of how things were done. We got a good sense of the process when it comes to offering a student-athlete, but we also came up with a few more gems worth passing along. We included it all in this week’s post at Succeed in Football.

Agent changes (December to February): Due to our struggles to get our reports up to date, as well as the fact that we’re less than a week from March’s report, we decided to double up on the most recent agents-in-transitions list. We turned up almost 30 players who moved between agencies. As so often happens, defensive backs led the way as 11 safeties or cornerbacks (seven safeties, four corners) went in a different direction. On the other hand, six offensive linemen also made changes at what’s usually a pretty stable position. Make sure to check out all the switches in this week’s report.

Still more 40s: Though we’re rounding second base when it comes to college pro days, team-hosted workouts are still ahead. So far, only four teams are still missing from our schedule of pro days at NFL facilities. While 13 teams passed up the opportunity to bring in local prospects when we started tracking such dates in 2013, only four are confirmed as skipping such workouts this year. Make sure to get the full rundown by checking out our big board. 

Save the date: Next week (Thursday at 9 p.m. ET), we’ll have our second monthly Zoom session for people studying for this summer’s NFLPA exam. Here’s what’s on the docket:

• Free agency: Tenders, ROFR, exclusive rights free agency, restricted rights free agency, unrestricted free agency; transition tag, franchise (non-exclusive with terms), franchise (exclusive with terms). This will be an extension of last month’s discussion.
• Eligibility (accrued, credited for benefits, credited for salary) 
• Split contracts 
• Determining if a player has accrued a season, earned credit for benefits, earned credit for salary
• Deadline for payment (if cut on Tuesday, does he get paid?) 
• Termination pay 
• Veteran salary benefit 
• Rookie signing bonus, dates, payments 
• Funding rule

We’ll send out a pay link ($50 plus tax to join us, $35 plus tax for the video only) to everyone using our pre-exam services this week, and a Zoom link to all participants Thursday afternoon. We hope you can join us.

Next week: We’re haflway through the pro day schedule, schools across the country are in spring drills, and the kickoff of the 2024 UFL season is two weeks away. Here’s a look at what we’re working on. 

• Updates are ahead on the NFL local pro day schedule, our college pro day grid and potentially the Scouting Changes Grid.
• If you love scouting, you’re in for a treat next week as former Steelers scout Mark Gorscak joins Rodrik David and Neil Stratton on the Scouting the League podcast. Mark is both entertaining and insightful. Prepare to give It a listen. 
• Though player-agent signings are done and we’re still a few weeks from scouts getting hired and fired, this week’s Rep Rumblings will be sure to have plenty of notes and info that are critical to today’s football business professional. 
• Chances are good that we will expand our discussion on the transfer portal with about a month to go until the next window in the Succeed in Football blog. 
• As always, if you’re sitting for this summer’s NFLPA exam, we’re here to help. Our next Zoom session is Thursday. In the meantime, the study guide ($300 plus tax) is here. Link won’t work? Let us know and we’ll send a better one. If you’re ahead of the game and all set for Practice Exam 1, click here.

There’s so much to do and so much to know this time of year. Let’s get through it together.