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Pitbull
March 25th, 2008, 07:42 AM
Three Men and a Dream
By BRIAN LINDER, T&D Sports Editor | Tuesday, March 25, 2008
http://www.thetandd.com/content/articles/2008/03/25/sports/scsu/13021102.jpg

Eights weeks.

Eight grueling weeks of learning, preparing and getting ready to make a push toward a dream that has been in his heart and mind since he was a little boy growing up in Hollywood, South Carolina. Over the span of those past 56-or-so days, Cleve McCoy signed with an agent, took a ride to Charlotte, reunited with former backfield mate and former South Carolina State star Deshawn Baker, and sat about the task of making himself into an NFL prospect.

There were plenty of runs through the 40-yard dash for the pair, plenty of "how many times can you rep out 225" going on and plenty of drills. Six days a week, every week, Baker and McCoy trained alongside the likes of former Louisville tailback Eric Shelton, a second-round draft pick out of Louisville by the Carolina Panthers in 2005 and current member of the Washington Redskins. The work is behind them now.

"The boys are back in town," McCoy proclaimed Thursday afternoon.

The boys -- McCoy, Baker and James Lee -- are back in town. They rolled in last week to settle down and prepare for today's Pro Day which is set to get underway at 10 a.m. on the field at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

At 6-6 and 300 pounds, James Lee is a big man.

Big enough to potentially get a shot at playing in the NFL. That was before the University of Georgia's Pro Day. A product of Belle Gladdes High in Florida, Lee originally signed to play with Georgia. But, the University's standardized test system emerged as a hurdle. Lee failed the first test, then failed the second. Three failures and you're kicked out of school, and so, Lee was given a choice -- take the third test and risk being kicked out of school or transfer out. He chose the latter and ended up in Orangeburg.

"That worked out," he said. "I had a great career here. I graduated...everything turned out for the good." :thumbsup:

And the "good" got even better when Lee went back to where his college journey started -- the University of Georgia -- last Tuesday to participate in the Bulldogs' Pro Day.

"I did pretty well," he said. "I broad jumped a 9'2", my vertical was 30.5 inches, I did 25 .jpg (of 225 pounds) on the bench, and I ran 5.07 in the 40. I did real good for my position."

Teams took notice. The Kansas City Chiefs called Lee Thursday night and asked him to come in for a private workout.

"I think, right now, James has probably set himself up for the best possibility of making a team," South Carolina State head coach Oliver 'Buddy' Pough said. "I talked with a couple guys who saw him workout this past Tuesday in Athens...and he just had a tremendous workout. He moved really well, and James expresses himself really well. Anytime he gets an opportunity to get interviewed he is an intelligent sounding guy who can really impress you in that way."

Pough said Lee likely projects best as a guard at the next level.

"Most of the tackles are bigger guys than he is," he said. "But, he is the athletic type of lineman that can run and move really well. You can depend on him not to be out-athleted. He is a guy, that as he gets older, will be more of a great inside guy. Right now, he is just a guy that you can depend on to be there.

"As far as his opportunities...most linemen don't get drafted all that high," Pough continued. "Most go in the late rounds or are free agents. He is hoping he can get drafted. I don't know if he will get drafted. If he doesn't, there will be great opportunities. Everyone has seen as much from him. He will be in a camp."

Baker's odds may be the longest.

He's been close enough to taste the NFL, and yet he's been so far away. Last year, the "Thunder" half of SCSU's "Thunder and Lightning" backfield was flown into Buffalo by the Bills. He was there the same day as former Cal tailback Marshawn Lynch. Lynch impressed the Bills and was taken in the first round by the team. Baker's knee was still torn up and Buffalo passed.

The play is still in the back of his mind. It happened in the East Coast Bowl, an All-Star game for college seniors. His first four carries in that game strengthened his status as a prospect -- he carried four times and was doing well, but the fifth carry may have been his last.

"I was running and the guy grabbed me from behind by the back of my jersey, and my leg just stuck in the ground," Baker said. "I knew right away something was wrong. I had a meniscus tear before...and I just walked straight to the locker room. The only thing I could think about was running for the scouts, and after I hurt my leg I knew I couldn't run."

Scouts told Baker he could be a late-round pick, at least a free agent pickup. He was viewed as, potentially, a third-down back. They liked his power and his blocking ability. They didn't like the torn meniscus, the torn ACL and the cartilage hanging off the bone in his knee. They didn't like the idea that one doctor told him he had arthritis in his knee. Baker was done for the year.

He took five months off from the game, and then went into coaching, directing the backfield for Myers Park High School in North Carolina last year. Myers Park wasn't that good, but Baker said he had one back go for over 1,100 yards and another go for over 800 yards. But, the urge to play never went away.

"I want to play football," he said. "I don't want to coach it."

So, Baker, who shares Agent Robert Walker with McCoy, spent the past eight weeks in Charlotte getting ready for today.

"It might be an uphill battle," he said, "but once I get back into the game of football I don't think it's going to seem like I missed that much."

McCoy is ready to do whatever it takes to make it to the league.

"I can play anything," he said. "I will hold for field goals. Anything. I just want an opportunity to go and play in the NFL."

The former record-setting quarterback at SCSU said he knows in his heart that he can play under center at the next level, and he knows first hand because in a game against Alabama State three seasons ago he outplayed current Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson.

"I look at him, and that is a way of telling myself that, 'Hey, I can do it,'" McCoy said. "That is motivational proof. I am a little different than Tarvaris, but he is my motivation that I can play quarterback at the next level."

Pough has stead-fastly said he believed McCoy could make it as a professional, and he also points to Jackson and the game against Alabama State as evidence.

"I have always had that in the back of my mind," Pough said. "I look at that guy on TV and say, 'Man, as a sophomore I thought Cleve was a lot better looking guy than this guy is now.' I don't know about arm strength and some of the other intangibles you might consider, but on that day I thought (McCoy) was a better player and that he might have had something."

With that said, McCoy's past eight weeks haven't been spent just throwing passes. In an attempt to make himself more attractive to NFL teams, the 6-2, 213 pounder started running routes and catching passes. Today, he will throw for scouts and then run routes and will likely catch passes from his backup a season ago, Malcolm Long, under watchful eyes.

"That has come along pretty good," McCoy said. "Just being a natural athlete it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I wanted to show them I could do more than one thing."

If things go his way, McCoy said he could run a 40-yard dash somewhere in the low 4.4 second range, a time that would open some eyes.

"My family is excited," he said. "My mom told me to claim it in the name of God and it will happen. You just have to believe and have faith."

McCoy, Baker and Lee will not be alone today.

Athletes from several in-state colleges will come to Oliver C. Dawson. It's their shot to prove they have the physical tools to make it at the next level.

"Before all the Pro Days, I was a late-round pick," Lee said. "But, you know, after these Pro Days that all could turn into individual workouts...and who knows.

"I think my stock is rising."

Baker just has to prove he still has what made him attractive to teams before the injury.

"This is big," he said. "I get a chance to prove myself, prove I can run around a little bit, show my quickness...I'm ready for it to be here and be over with."

For some, like McCoy, today is the biggest day of their lives thus far.

"I have butterflies," he said. "I'm nervous. Not nervous to the point where I'm going to mess up, but nervous from the point that you play all these years and this one day could determine your future.

"(The NFL) has been a goal of mine since I was a young boy," he continued. "You dream about it everyday. It just shows how bad I want it. The decisions in my life have all been dictated by football. It is to the point where it is the main thing in my life, you know?"

Pitbull
March 26th, 2008, 06:51 AM
McCoy impresses at SCSU Pro Day
By BRIAN LINDER, T&D Sports Editor | Wednesday, March 26, 2008


Cleve McCoy threw a few balls and then did what he had been expecting -- moved to wide receiver.

That's not to say the record-setting South Carolina State quarterback's passes were bad, actually, he was told he had good velocity on his ball. But, after McCoy, who measured in at 6-1 and 225 pounds, ran a 4.55 in the 40 and displayed a 35-inch vertical jump at South Carolina State's Pro Day at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Tuesday, he became a very intriguing prospect at slot receiver. So, a Saints scout split McCoy out, gave him a few routes to run, and started slinging passes -- around 20 total -- in his direction. He didn't drop a one.

"I think I did pretty good today...I think I did pretty good today," McCoy said. "I had some good numbers. I worked out as a receiver with the (New Orleans) Saints guy. He said that he liked me, and that I am highly on their chart as a receiver with the times I had. He liked that I would be a big receiver that could potentially do two things (play receiver and quarterback), and I showed that I was an athlete which was a good thing."

McCoy said he was pleased with his 40, but felt that he could do better.

"They were saying that is good speed for my size," he said. "I run in the high 4.4s, but my take off was a little slow. Still, they said there isn't much difference between a 4.4 and a 4.5. So, I'm coming out of today feeling pretty good."

Scouts from three NFL teams -- the Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears and Saints -- showed up to workout the 25 athletes in attendance. McCoy did well, but South Carolina State's James Lee, the MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Year, shined.

Lee tied for the second most bench-press reps of 225 pounds with 26, ran a 5.2 40, and had a 31.5-inch vertical jump. He also turned in one of the days best broad jumps, 9'7".

"I feel like I went out there and made me some money today by increasing three of the six events, the bench, the broad and the vert, from last week in Athens," Lee said. "I talked to the scouts and they said they were impressed. I feel like I put myself in a better predicament."

Lee said he also had a strong workout with the Cleveland Browns Sunday, and that the Browns, Chiefs, Saints and Bears all want him to come in for private workouts.

"Especially with (Lee's) performance at Georgia and then today...that just solidifies his consistency," South Carolina State strength and conditioning coach Thomas Stallworth said. "(DeShawn) Baker's thing was film. He has proven what he can do and things of that nature. What hurts Cleve the most is that there were not that many scouts there. They were not able to see him run in person, but he should draw interest from that."

Baker, the final of SCSU's "big three" at the event, posted a 4.75 40. (I hope that's a typ-o...)

"Running wise, he is a power back," Stallworth said. "He is not a blazing runner, but his explosiveness is in the 10 and 20 yard times and his short shuttle agility drills."

Stallworth said he was confident in the trio's performance on the day and said he felt like all three could make it, at least to a camp, at the next level.

Other notes from Pro Day -- Todd DeLamielleure, son of NFL Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure, showed up at Pro Day. DeLamielleure, who played linebacker at Duke and Hofstra, was drafted to play in the All-American Football League. He was also the subject of a July 2007 story on ESPN.com which featured him chasing his dream of playing professionally. The story also told of DeLamiellure's time as a fire fighter in Charleston and of the friends he lost in the Sofa Super Store Blaze -- one of which was former Summerville assistant coach Louis Mulkey. DeLamielleure posted the best bench press showing at the Pro Day, throwing up 32 .jpg of 225 pounds...Clemson star offensive tackle Barry Richardson, who is expected to be drafted in the upcoming NFL Draft, was on hand to support his brother, SCSU offensive lineman Nate Richardson...Former Clemson kicker Jad Dean chose to attend the SCSU Pro Day over attending a tryout with the Atlanta Falcons. Dean kicked in front of a Saints scout...Seattle Seahawks center Nick Jones was on hand to support Lee, his former teammate at the University of Georgia.