Brennan AngelWhile he served as Arizona’s defensive coordinator from 1997-2000, Cal Poly football head coach Rich Ellerson mentored cornerback Chris McAlister.
McAlister went on to become the 10th overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft to the Baltimore Ravens, whom he has since represented in two Pro Bowls.
When asked April 10 to compare McAlister with Cal Poly corner and current NFL Draft prospect Courtney Brown, Ellerson said Brown actually has better speed.
“If it was a race,” Ellerson said, “Courtney vs. Chris, Courtney wins. Chris was a really accomplished football player. Courtney’s gotten better every year. I think Courtney was maybe a better player as a junior than Chris was.”
As a junior, Brown intercepted a Division I-AA school-record seven passes. But the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Brown’s draft stock really soared when he ran a 4.32-second 40-yard dash March 6 at San Jose State’s Pro Day.
Brown is not only being compared to the 6-1, 206-pound McAlister by Ellerson. According to NFLDraftScout.com, which directly compares the two players, “Brown has exceptional quickness and is a big cornerback with natural hands for the interception.”
Ellerson said the speed both players exhibit for their size is impressive.
“What they share is their stature,” Ellerson said. “They’re both big guys. The thing I remember to this day, when (McAlister) ran his 40, 15 scouts, they all stepped back and said, ‘cha-ching.'”
Ellerson, though, said one challenge Brown might face as compared to McAlister is the range of game film available for scouts, pointing out that McAlister would match up week in, week out against receivers from Pac-10 schools.
Cal Poly played two Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) teams this season, losing 17-7 at eventual New Mexico Bowl champion San Jose State before winning 16-14 at San Diego State (3-9).
Ellerson said one of the obstacles corners such as Brown and McAlister sometimes face coming out of college is that they were not thrown at by opposing teams on a consistent enough basis to show off their play-making abilities.
That was certainly the case for Brown last season, in which quarterbacks would visibly look off receivers before checking down and hitting a receiver out of the backfield and offensive coordinators would stuff their game plans full of intermediate routes.
“We worked to create matchups to get (Brown) involved,” Ellerson said. “When you’re really good at that position, it’s hard to be productive because people stay away from you. Not as many balls went his way as when he was a junior.”
There were only two quarters in 2006 in which Cal Poly’s secondary was decidedly outplayed – the fourth against South Dakota State and the first against San Diego State.
In the end, the Mustangs were second among 121 I-AA teams in fewest passing yards allowed per game (133).
And while 40 times and game speed are not the same thing, Ellerson said he was not surprised to learn of Brown running a 4.32 40 after watching him in practice the last five years.
“Corner in particular, it’s like a track meet,” Ellerson said. “When (college) football’s over, you’re done training for football. It’s a track meet. The bottom line is, you’ve got to be able to have that time and jump. (With) Courtney, we’re not surprised he was able to set himself apart in that regard.
“The film that he has doesn’t contradict that. There’s just not a lot of good tape. You have to watch 30, 40 snaps to see one snap that would give you insight into what kind of player he is.”
It is much easier to find game film of Cal Poly’s other high-profile draft prospect, 6-1, 235-pound linebacker Kyle Shotwell.
The Buck Buchanan Award winner piled up 280 tackles and 12 sacks in his final two seasons. He played middle linebacker in each of those years, but was a productive outside linebacker in the whip position as a sophomore, when he had 88 tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions.
After running a 4.52 40 despite a hamstring injury at Cal Poly’s Pro Day on March 26, Shotwell got an extended look from a scout from one NFC team who told the Mustang Daily: “I thought (Shotwell) did a great job. . He’s athletic. He’s ready to play in the NFL.”
Ellerson emphasized the importance of Shotwell’s Pro Day performance.
“It’s an upfield battle for him from a size standpoint,” Ellerson said. “It was really important for him to get a 40 time and those other measures to go along with the productivity he had.”
So, the question everyone wants to know – where will Brown and Shotwell be drafted?
Nobody will know until either April 28 or 29.
“I expect (both) those guys to get drafted,” Ellerson said.
Fox Sports predicts Brown being tabbed in the fourth round and Shotwell in the seventh.
Both players could be hurt by not being invited to February’s NFL Scouting Combine. Only 14 players in the last nine drafts have been chosen on the first day after not going to the combine, although there are home runs every year on the second day – greatest among them Tom Brady in the sixth round in 2000.
Ellerson said one player people might be overlooking as a late draft choice is Chris White, who played nose tackle at Cal Poly last season but projects as a defensive end at the next level. Free safety Kenny Chicoine will also have a chance to reach an NFL training camp, Ellerson said.
“You’d rather be a free agent than drafted late,” Ellerson said. “There’s still something about being drafted late. One of those NFL teams feels strong enough to pick you as one of their six or seven picks. You can’t not be seduced by that honor. At the same time, your chances of making the club.you make sure (as an undrafted free agent) you go a place where there’s a need and you know who they’ve drafted at that point. You make a more calculated free-agent (choice) than a draft choice.”