February 26th, 2012 at 11:24 AM ^
Wow, good for Junior! His stock DEFINETELY just went up!
February 26th, 2012 at 11:28 AM ^
February 26th, 2012 at 11:28 AM ^
Couple of good tweets about Junior:
Dion Caputi@nfldraftupdate
#Michigan WR Junior Hemingway is a thicker receiver with a nice build. Ran a good gauntlet and made nice grabs away from body on the move.
Dion Caputi@nfldraftupdate
Another smooth gauntlet run for #Michigan WR Junior Hemingway. Toes the line nicely and moving well with a thicker upper body.
February 26th, 2012 at 11:54 AM ^
Good for him. I desperately want to see him get drafted. He's definitely a project wherever he goes, but he can be a big, physical receiver, with some great hands no less, and a lot of teams would kill for that kind of guy.
He won't go before the sixth or seventh round if he does get drafted, but his stock is rising for sure.
February 26th, 2012 at 12:16 PM ^
February 26th, 2012 at 12:27 PM ^
February 26th, 2012 at 1:11 PM ^
February 26th, 2012 at 7:48 PM ^
February 26th, 2012 at 12:47 PM ^
Good for him. I don't put much stock in the combine numbers because they are so artificial (guys run shirtless/muscle tees with track shoes on) or irrelevant (bench-pressing is fine and all, but usually breaking tight coverage has less to do with raw strength and more with quick hands and leg strength). Still, nice to see Hemingway put up some decent numbers. Hi vert was 35.5", which is good (but seems a little low to me).
February 26th, 2012 at 1:00 PM ^
I nominate Hemingway as the most misspelled word or name on this site. Could we get a special auto-correct feature for this?
February 26th, 2012 at 9:56 PM ^
Especially when the OP decides to neg every single thread posted. If he can't learn to spell the names of the players, maybe he shouldn't post about them, or at least Google their name so he looks like he knows what he's talking about.
February 26th, 2012 at 1:11 PM ^
lol even BJ cunningham had a faster 40
February 26th, 2012 at 1:39 PM ^
Hemingway Posey
- Height 6'1" 6'2"
- Arm Length 32 1/2" 31 5/8"
- Weight 225 lbs 211 lbs
- Hands 9 5/8" 9 5/8"
- 40-yard dash 4.53sec 4.50sec
- Bench Press 21 reps 14 reps
- Vert Jump 35 1/2" 36 1/2"
- Broad Jump 124" 123"
FWIW, Posey is projected to go a couple rounds higher than Junior.
February 26th, 2012 at 2:53 PM ^
They have similar measurables, but there is no injury history, route running, catching ability, playmaking ability or leadership attached to those numbers.
It's interesting to see how close they are, but let's leave it at that. Measurements and numbers.
Posey, IMO is the better WR. Hemingway has the better hands and jump ball skills.
I actually think they compliment each other quite well on the collegiate level. Put those two on the outside and give me a speed/change of direction demon in the slot with some good hands and that's a WR corps I wouldn't want to mess with.
In terms of playing style...Posey/Hemingway would be comparable to Manningham/Arrington IMO.
February 26th, 2012 at 6:12 PM ^
I was a bit short in that post. The point was that there is more to it than just combine numbers. On the other hand, if you have two players of similar size and physical ability then how much of this difference could be taught/coached?
I also agree that they complement each other nicely.
February 26th, 2012 at 3:13 PM ^
showed the ability to consistently separate from DBs in which Hemingway lacked. In the NFL, you must be able to show the ability to separate from DBs or you won't last long in the NFL. That's the difference between the two.
February 26th, 2012 at 6:16 PM ^
but Posey didn't really play much last year to be so sure. He definitely looked good against U of M...
February 26th, 2012 at 6:37 PM ^
Hemingway's stock will really soar after he does the Kilimanjaro hurdle test.
February 27th, 2012 at 6:32 PM ^
3 Cone drill: Hemingway, 6.59s (1st of WR's), Posey 7.03s
20 yd shuttle: Hemi, 3.98s (T-1st of WR's), Posey 4.15s
60 yd shuttle: Hemi, 11.16s (T-2nd of WR's by .08s), Posey N/A
That said, Posey is still probably the more NFL ready receiver, but physically young Hemi's got him beat by quite a bit.
February 26th, 2012 at 1:55 PM ^
Didnt Jerry Rice run a 4.6 at his combine? and then 22 years and many yards and TDs later, he retired.
I think Junior will be an effective NFL receiver. Honestly, he has more skills than Jason Avant and Avant has had a solid career with the Eagles. If Junior can stay healthy, he can make a roster.
February 26th, 2012 at 2:36 PM ^
I think you are seriously undervaluing Avant's hands. Dude has velcro. He was never a deep receiver, but he made some absolutely unreal catches on badly thrown balls while he was at Michigan. He's a very solid possession receiver.
As for Hemimgway's speed, I'm not sure that's it fair to say he looked slow while playing for us. Remember, he had a rather inaccurate QB throwing to him. Very rarely was there a situation where he could just take off and catch a ball in-stride that was delivered perfectly to him. A lot of his catches involved coming back for the ball or adjusting in some way, which doesn't really allow you to run full speed.
February 26th, 2012 at 2:58 PM ^
Look up "dropping passes" in the dictionary. Then scan down to the antonym - it'll read "Jason Avant."
Avant also had a better WR skill set than Hemingway. However, what Hemingway can do is box out ANYone and go get ANYthing. And he does that well. He's also a solid blocker.
IMO Hemingway will make a roster, he'll be somewhere between Avant and Marquise Walker in the eyes of scouts.
The thing I really like about Hemingway is his frame...I think he can play a little H-Back and you can split him out like a Dustin Keller to get him on a LB.
I don't know if he's an every down WR, but he's got a role...I'd certainly want him because I think he can play that role VERY well. Touchdowns and First Downs.
Career wise, I think he'll be like Adrian Arrington who is with the Saints and does see the field.
February 26th, 2012 at 3:00 PM ^
February 26th, 2012 at 3:12 PM ^
February 26th, 2012 at 3:14 PM ^
Junior ran the fastest cone drill, 20 yard shuttle and 2nd fastest 60 shuttle today.
He just moved up from undrafted to 4th round (3rd, if he is lucky).
February 26th, 2012 at 3:21 PM ^
His times were better than Keshawn Martin in all of those too, except for the 60 in which they tied. That's surprising to me because I would think Martin should be quicker on the shorter stuff. Junior seems to have put in a lot of preparation, so hopefully it pays off for him.
February 26th, 2012 at 3:26 PM ^
My guess is that few NFL teams would ever pick Keshawn over Junior, whether Junior outperformed him at the combine or not. This is just icing on the cake. Junior has proven is he is a big play type of performer. He will make the most of his chance with any NFL team and we will see him playing plenty on Sundays.
February 26th, 2012 at 3:40 PM ^
People seem to dog Roundtree for the dropsies, but JR Hemingway is the most bizarre case of a guy who had that amazing jump ball ability, strong hands, big plays, etc, but his routine drops make no sense. He's always seemed like a 50/50 guy. Never know what you're going to get, so you might as well chuck it up and see what you come down with.
That said, someone will grab him in the NFL. I could see him making an impact, albeit not really in a #1 type of role.
Good luck, JR.
February 26th, 2012 at 6:46 PM ^
that was all him or did timing issues with the QBs have more to do with it?
February 27th, 2012 at 5:20 AM ^
As a receiver coach, I tell my guys if they get 2 hands on a ball, it has to be a catch. Sure, you'd love the timing to be right on the money, but you have to make plays when given the opportunity. Most of Junior's drops, that I've seen, are just mindboggling, especially when you see the great downfield, high-pointed catches he makes.
Maybe it's focus issues, maybe it's trying to make a play before securing the ball... whatever it is, that's not on the QB.
February 26th, 2012 at 3:41 PM ^
Wouldn't it be cool if they modified the combine to incorporate some of the measurements they do in the Sports Science show? They seem to be more indicative to how someone's skills will translate onto the field.
February 26th, 2012 at 3:57 PM ^
Going over the numbers, it looks like Hemmingway was faster than Cunningham and McNutt.
February 26th, 2012 at 4:49 PM ^
should move up with those numbers.GO BLUE!!!
February 26th, 2012 at 6:52 PM ^
Sounds like he really put in the work to prepare. Good for him; he's a great kid who deserves the highest levels of success.
February 26th, 2012 at 7:48 PM ^
February 27th, 2012 at 12:18 AM ^
Great for Junior, you have to feel good for the guy especially after the speech he gave when he won the MVP for the Sugar Bowl. I think it's fitting that Jr wore the number of the first Michigan legend Desmond Howard. Junior may not have won a Heisman, but he did great things for the team. He deserves all the successes he will have in the NFL.
February 27th, 2012 at 9:20 AM ^
Hemingway is a big and explosive senior who has started regularly for three years, catching balls from Denard Robinson at Michigan. Hemingway is a big-framed guy who is an athlete and will do everything in his control to go up and make plays on the ball. He is thick and an effective run blocker; reliable in all facets of his game.LinkANALYSIS STRENGTHS Hemingway is a talented receiver who might have been hindered throughout his career by not playing with a natural quarterback in Denard Robinson. Playing with him, Hemingway has developed a good field awareness and will be as ready as any rookie to make plays that happen during broken-down opportunities when the quarterback is scrambling. He knows how to exploit defenses and find open holes in the zone, which he did a lot at Michigan. He is reliable to catch the ball in a crowd and is also a threat deep. A very good athlete when the ball is in the air. WEAKNESSES Hemingway is a slow mover off the line and can get jammed up at times. He is a decent route runner but hasn't run many pro-style routes while working in Michigan's offense. He is not a very quick-twitched player and lacks speed variance and explosion in his routes.