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Congratulations and good luck to CV on his inclusion on the Biletnikoff Award watch list. I will be following his numbers all season as CV strives to become the all time ACC leader in career receptions and career receiving yards:

http://bluedevilnation.net/2012/07/conn ... atch-list/

Receptions needed: 34

Yards needed: 842

Bob Green wrote:Congratulations and good luck to CV on his inclusion on the Biletnikoff Award watch list. I will be following his numbers all season as CV strives to become the all time ACC leader in career receptions and career receiving yards:

http://bluedevilnation.net/2012/07/conn ... atch-list/

Receptions needed: 34

Yards needed: 842

Hopefully he reaches and surpasses those milestones about midway through our 4th game .

lOVE Conner............ part of our MIAMI Connection!!!!!

See my post in the WF thread.
Love, Ima

I know we're several months away, but I'm curious what everyone thinks...

What round, if at all, do you think Conner Vernon goes in the NFL draft?

Does he get an invite to the Combine?

I'm guessing 1st-3rd - um...almost no chance (missed that chance with low numbers vs. FlSt and Clemson); 4th - at best, with lights out bowl game and he runs 4.3 or better at combine (saying he gets an invite); 5th - unlikely, but possible with a great bowl game and great combine workout (he's gotta get 4.5 to have shot at being drafted); 6th - realistic, with the previously mentioned intangibles on combine and bowl game, 7th - realistic, with solid bowl game and no combine invite; Undrafted, but quickly signed - He's a lock here if not drafted.

The draft isn't about getting the best players. The first round is about top talent or statistics and great potential, 2nd is about top talent/stats and some potential, 3rd-4th rounds are all about potential, 5th-7th statistically great players in college or all conference players.

I think most of the gurus will evaluate Conner in the latter group. The lack of big games against top 25 teams will hurt his draft status. His best chance is to get a Combine invite and run sub 4.4. If he does that he'd be almost a lock to be drafted.

The Football Fan wrote:The lack of big games against top 25 teams will hurt his draft status. His best chance is to get a Combine invite and run sub 4.4. If he does that he'd be almost a lock to be drafted.

Vernon will impress teams with his athleticism. He is fast and has a great verticle. He went up high to snag several onside kick attempts during his four years at Duke. The key will be getting an invite to the Combine. I see him getting drafted in the 6th or 7th round. He is going to have to impress on special teams - it scared the hell out of me everytime he went back to return a punt this year, but his hands and solid open field running skills are going to help him stick with a team in the NFL.

What are your thoughts on Renfree?

I think Vernon will be the first Duke player in a long time to be drafted, but I don't even want to guess where. The NFL draft is a complete mystery to me.
I don't think Renfree will get drafted but he will get some invites to someone's camp.

I don't think Renfree has much of a chance to get drafted. While I think he has a chance at making a teams practice squad, he's not a lock for that either. I think my comments will not come off right, so let me put in a bit of a preface...

1. We would not be in position to be playing this bowl game without Renfree.
2. He is accurate and smart
3. He is probably better than some back ups currently on NFL rosters.

That said, to an NFL scout he lacks arm strength to be a gun slinger (today's model being Jay Cutler, Matt Stafford...) and throws too many picks to be a game manager. The NFL person is going to look for a game where this person went against NFL level talent and consistently beat the other team to win a game. That's just not there. There's also really ugly games that NFL level talent shouldn't struggle to beat. There's unfortunately several of those games...Richmond and Army come to mind. He's also been knocked out of a few games. The draft is also a lot about potential. Evaluators are going to look at a QB from Coach Cut as being well coached, but that also means they'll assume they've seen what this guy can do.

Comparisons of note
Thad Lewis - 10,000 career yards - 3330 yds, 20 TDs vs 8 INT, QB Rating 134 all as a senior. Can't sniff the field with average QBs by NFL standards, but at least he's stayed on a roster, which is more than Riley Skinner could say despite really good stats and a better team.
Riley Skinner - 9,762 career yards...3,162, 26 TDs to 12 INT and Passer Rating of 147.8 as a senior. Orange Bowl and ACC champ on Resume. With all that...Undrafted and cut by the Giants the same year. But not just in the ACC.
Ben Chappell - Played for Indiana a few years ago - senior year he had 3,295 yards, 24 TDs to 9 Ints and they were 4-8. Passer rating of 132.5. He was Undrafted and cut by the Redskins last year...before Robert Griffin was there and it was Beck vs. Grossman.

So,
Renfree - 9,107 career yards - 2,755 yds, 18 TDs vs. 8 INTs, QB Rating 136. Keep in mind he missed a game vs. Virginia and for a career, Lewis and Riley had 4 years, but that's why I threw in Chappell. Bottom line is he fits with the above group, which means he likely goes undrafted and may or may not be able to make a team.

I watched as many games as I could, but I didn't see as much as I'd like...Still, I never saw a fade route to the corner of the end zone. I rarely saw back shoulder throws to beat elite CB. Particularly with the fade, it's a super difficult throw, but done perfectly, there's no defense except sacking the qb. You hit or miss. If you don't attempt it, you're acknowledging you know you can't hit on it regularly. For a guy that Coach and others tout as really accurate and can make all the throws...that seems odd. Again though, I watch a 1/3 of games on a game tracker and while the game call from Bob Harris and company is good, it's not the same as seeing the action unfold.

Those are my thoughts.