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2025 DJ Pickett 5* Safety from Zephyrhills

calinative umstudent said:
In this years draft Jalyx Hunt was a guy that moved from Safety to EDGE in college. Spent 3 years at safety, then his final 2 as starting DE. Was the same weight as James Williams when he was playing Safety. Then put on like 10+ lbs as playing weight, then another like 10 for the combine which is where teams will want him at min... He's a little more explosive than JW too. Vert jump I wouldn't be too concerned about though JW getting only 30" is weird, would have thought he would have done better. But for EDGE 3cone, Broad jump, and length are key. And JW got the length, and the broad jump is solid. idk about the 3cone and whether he'd be able to bend well with another 10-20lbs of weight, but I can see how this would work. @Brooklyndee Was he ever asked to move to EDGE by this staff, or was that always a conversation about LB? I can see how this would have worked better for him, cause as rellyrell says, he kinda was in too undefined of a hybrid lb/s...
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and to compare him to a former Cane S transitioned to EDGE in HS.... Only thing is Rousseau was waaay too tall to stay at Safety, whereas JW was just inside that range. Had he been 1 full inch taller he probably would have been forced to move to EDGE before he even finished HS....

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I know edge was discussed with him all the way back to Mandy days. I know for fact first year in the dc attempted to force a switch and that's when the talk of him to the turds came along. We pulled back because we had no one else in place to take over. Last year was the first where it was forced (because zo showed him what teams were saying) but unfortunately while he had a better year,he still had far too many flaws to his game.
 
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Rellyrell said:
Brethren, @Memnon was correct. He didn’t wow scouts at the combine, & I can tell u unequivocally while an intriguing prospect, even at the Sr Bowl his IQ & physicality was questioned.

He’s the worst type of tweener where he’s not rangy enough to play S at the next level, but not physical enough to play LB at the next level either. Hopefully @gogeta4 remember our back & forth exchange about him when I said he’s Taylor Mays reincarnated as far as stiffness (pause). I was totally wrong, b/c Mays was 10x the player in college than Williams was, & it’s not close.

Though scouts had some ?’s about Mays’ projection at the next level, they still took a chance on him b/c of this:

1. In college he was a 4x All American, including a 3x 1st Team All American from his Sophomore-Senior years.

2. He put on a combine show.

Mays’ combine numbers:
6’2 2/3
230 lbs
4.31 40 yrd dash
1.45 10 yrd split
2.46 20 yrd split
41” vertical
10’4 broad jump
24 reps on bench

Compare that JW20 who not only never made an All American team or an All ACC team, but scouts weren’t wowed by his testing numbers:

JW20 combine results:
6’4
231 lbs
4.65 40 yrd dash
1.59 10 yrd split
30” vertical
9’9 broad jump
N/A on bench

James Williams’ hope is to play in a system similar to what Pete Carroll ran w/ Kam Chancellor. Kam’s testing numbers were similar to his at the combine. Kam’s numbers were slightly better; however, the difference is Kam also played at an All ACC level while at VT. The other difference is Kam tested well on the bench for a DB like Mays showing his wiry strength. Williams should’ve tested on the bench, but I believe there’s a reason he didn’t, b/c it would’ve exposed him further.

If Williams don’t clean up his IQ & physicality I can see him out of the league immediately. He got drafted, so hopefully he’ll take this as an opportunity to challenge to get better & earn his spot.
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Facts. Out of all the safety hybrids I can list he’s the worst one. Including Mays, Isiah Simmons, Jeremy Cash, Hamsah Nasirildeen. Was there anyone else JW was better than? It was disappointing. I blame our development skills but that’s a whole other can of worms
 
Dwinstitles said:
I think he meant Jayron the Dallas Cowboy who was once a Miami verbal I believe, or I may be mistaken.
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Sorry for the spelling, but no the Kearse of late 90’s.
Football players always tend to be stronger than all the other sports, but I was always able to hold my own.
Freshman year they put me in his training group, and I’ve never felt so small and weak, dude literally was a freak
 
Brooklyndee said:
Now that the 7th round came and went how did that bookmark work out? James was a victim of his own ego. He's a great kid. Thank God now he's learned his versatility is his biggest asset. Cost him many millions on the front end. But he's finally learned. Hopefully now he'll make that work for him.
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That’s ok. U live & u learn. He’ll make a team & get paid on his second contract. But the hood thing about it is when u get drafted that late u don’t have to sign a four year contract. So he’ll be up for his 2nd contract b4 u know it
 
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One of my early posts on Williams when he was a senior in HS. He got better, but I never saw him as the 5-star he was billed. Tons of potential, but flawed and without a real position:

www.canesinsight.com

STA v. American Heritage thoughts

St. Thomas Aquinas beat American Heritage 33-22 on ESPN2. It was a close game throughout but STA (three defensive TDs) pulled away at the end. There were a bunch of P5 players on the field, including at least three legitimate 5* talents. Some quick thoughts: - James Williams could have played...
www.canesinsight.com www.canesinsight.com
 
@Memnon u were right my brother. JW20 fell like bad stock in the draft. I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong. U were right brother & I apologize 🙏🏾
But u were wrong so far about JoJo. I told u his route running was nice & u said he needed to work on it bc all he ran in HS were Go routes, posts, & screens. U also mentioned his physicality. He’s had no problems with either SO FAR. U wanna come to a truce on that or wait until the season so u can see if u go 2/2 or 1/2🤷🏾‍♂️. But I was defintely wrong about JW20 my brother
 
Confidence1000 said:
That’s ok. U live & u learn. He’ll make a team & get paid on his second contract. But the hood thing about it is when u get drafted that late u don’t have to sign a four year contract. So he’ll be up for his 2nd contract b4 u know it
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Eh. Actually when ur drafted that late it becomes a team option to offer anywhere from a 3 year to a 5 year. However I'd caution you against just assuming he'll make a team this year late alone 3-5 years down the road.
 
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Brooklyndee said:
Eh. Actually when ur drafted that late it becomes a team option to offer anywhere from a 3 year to a 5 year. However I'd caution you against just assuming he'll make a team this year late alone 3-5 years down the road.
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Yeah, trying to make a living on projecting 7th rounders to make teams…..

better have a backup plan in place. Obviously rooting for him but he’s trying to learn a new position and the leash will not be long as a 7th rounder.
 
Confidence1000 said:
@Memnon u were right my brother. JW20 fell like bad stock in the draft. I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong. U were right brother & I apologize 🙏🏾
But u were wrong so far about JoJo. I told u his route running was nice & u said he needed to work on it bc all he ran in HS were Go routes, posts, & screens. U also mentioned his physicality. He’s had no problems with either SO FAR. U wanna come to a truce on that or wait until the season so u can see if u go 2/2 or 1/2🤷🏾‍♂️. But I was defintely wrong about JW20 my brother
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Wait til the season… and have a truce regardless. It’s not that serious and you both contribute here which is appreciated.
 
Confidence1000 said:
@Memnon u were right my brother. JW20 fell like bad stock in the draft. I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong. U were right brother & I apologize 🙏🏾
But u were wrong so far about JoJo. I told u his route running was nice & u said he needed to work on it bc all he ran in HS were Go routes, posts, & screens. U also mentioned his physicality. He’s had no problems with either SO FAR. U wanna come to a truce on that or wait until the season so u can see if u go 2/2 or 1/2🤷🏾‍♂️. But I was defintely wrong about JW20 my brother
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I’m a big fan of JoJo but what exactly has he proven so far?
 
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Damiencane86 said:
Nothing concrete of course but gotta love the early returns from practices/scrimmages
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I’ve been following this stuff way too long to take any of those returns seriously this early. Once again, love JoJo, and this is only speaking on his route running coming to the next level.
 
Confidence1000 said:
@Memnon u were right my brother. JW20 fell like bad stock in the draft. I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong. U were right brother & I apologize 🙏🏾
But u were wrong so far about JoJo. I told u his route running was nice & u said he needed to work on it bc all he ran in HS were Go routes, posts, & screens. U also mentioned his physicality. He’s had no problems with either SO FAR. U wanna come to a truce on that or wait until the season so u can see if u go 2/2 or 1/2🤷🏾‍♂️. But I was defintely wrong about JW20 my brother
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It's really not that big of a deal, you just let your Fandom of JW blind your judgment, it happens to everyone myself included.

As far as JoJo is concerned, maybe you misunderstood me, but I'm not even about to rehash it. The point is, some yall were penciling him in as a day 1 starter & I simply tried to point out that's more than likely not going to happen...

So all I'll say to that is, if you feel like you were right, then you were. Congratulations.
 
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Confidence1000 said:
That’s ok. U live & u learn. He’ll make a team & get paid on his second contract. But the hood thing about it is when u get drafted that late u don’t have to sign a four year contract. So he’ll be up for his 2nd contract b4 u know it
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What makes you think he will get 2nd contract?
 
bobbydigius said:
I’ve been following this stuff way too long to take any of those returns seriously this early. Once again, love JoJo, and this is only speaking on his route running coming to the next level.
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Where did the questions about his route running come from ? It never appeared to be a big weakness in his hs film and Beard as a coach is quite good at helping kids improve in that area. I think JoJo has a good chance to be the # 5 or #6 receiver here this year assuming the top guys stay healthy.
 
Damiencane86 said:
Where did the questions about his route running come from ? It never appeared to be a big weakness in his hs film and Beard as a coach is quite good at helping kids improve in that area. I think JoJo has a good chance to be the # 5 or #6 receiver here this year assuming the top guys stay healthy.
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LCE
 
Confidence1000 said:
@Memnon u were right my brother. JW20 fell like bad stock in the draft. I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong. U were right brother & I apologize 🙏🏾
But u were wrong so far about JoJo. I told u his route running was nice & u said he needed to work on it bc all he ran in HS were Go routes, posts, & screens. U also mentioned his physicality. He’s had no problems with either SO FAR. U wanna come to a truce on that or wait until the season so u can see if u go 2/2 or 1/2🤷🏾‍♂️. But I was defintely wrong about JW20 my brother
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Ain't nothing like admitting you were wrong, but still right in an apology. I'm impressed.
 
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