Pro scouts casting eyes on DSU Hornets

Photo: WR Shaheer McBride

By KRISTIAN POPE, The News Journal

Reeves among seniors drawing interest

DOVER -- NFL scouts have increasingly made Delaware State's Alumni Stadium a stop on their road to the 2008 draft.

Why the recent attention?

"It's a great testament to where the program is and where it's going," senior linebacker Russell Reeves said.

Reeves and fellow seniors Shaheer McBride (receiver), Kelly Rouse (defensive lineman) and Jeremy Breath (guard) are getting the most attention from scouts.

The scouting has even caught the attention of Bethune-Cookman coach Alvin Wyatt, whose team plays DSU tonight in a game to be shown live on ESPNU. Kickoff is at 7:30.

"They are huge," Wyatt said of the Hornets. "I think they have the most NFL prospects in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference this season."

Already, representatives from the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots have visited Dover. More are expected.

"There's a reason they come and look," DSU coach Al Lavan said. "There are more scouts this year than in previous years."

NFL teams do not talk publicly about college players. And the subject has even become hush-hush for the Hornets after Lavan asked McBride, perhaps the best of the group, to refrain from talking about his draft prospects until the season is complete.

"Coach talked with us and we decided not to talk about it until after the season is over," McBride said. "It's hard when friends keep asking. My family has asked a couple of times, too."

But McBride and the others can't help but think tonight's game -- the first DSU home game shown by an ESPN channel -- is a chance to show off before a national audience.

"You can't overlook the fact that this game is on television," McBride said. "It's going to be pretty exciting playing."

NFLdraftscout.com ranks the 6-foot-3 McBride fifth among Division I-AA senior receivers. In the preseason, the site projected McBride as a seventh-round pick or possible free agent.

Reeves ranked fourth among Division I-AA inside linebackers. Breath ranked 18th among offensive guards on the site. Rouse is unranked, but has received interest from scouts.

Delaware's Omar Cuff is rated first among Division I-AA running backs, Joe Flacco is ranked No. 2 among quarterbacks, and Rich Beverly is rated 12th among guards.

Wide receiver Darnerien McCants was the last Hornet to be taken in the NFL draft, in the fifth round in 2001. John Taylor, perhaps the most famous DSU graduate, was a third-round pick in 1986. Eagles center Jamaal Jackson signed as an undrafted free agent in 2003.

Lavan was not yet at DSU when this crop of NFL prospects was recruited. But he said he and his staff have worked to make certain players more marketable for scouts.

"Whether the coaches make them better over a period of time, whether the skills they have, our program has to make them better," Lavan said. "The talent level has improved. Now, those guys are maturing and improving. They are our better players."

Two years ago, the Hornets thought they had three future pros in linebackers Kenny Kern and Sam Smith and punter Erik Contos. Kern and Smith signed free-agent deals, but did not latch on in the NFL.

The current Hornets hope for more, but are focused on the work to be done at DSU.

"I'm not really trying to think about it," McBride said of his pro prospects. "I'm trying to stay focused on our last seven games. This game will be a challenge, though. Since it's on TV and people are watching, you have to bring your best game."