Toddrick Verdell deserves his own thread

Now that I have watched half a dozen games of him playing, I'm wondering why this guy wasn't drafted!?!

Maybe it was his size, 6-2, 6-3. 225 some lbs ???
Unheralded speed, low to mid 4.60s ???
Unimpressive production numbers???
(38 solos - 6 for loss, 28 assts - 4 for loss, 4 sacks, 1 PD, 2 QBHs, 1 FF, 1 INT)

But he pulled a groin and missed most of the Colorado game, and was hindered the next.

In 3 games (of the 6 I watched), the Seminoles were killing the opponents, Bowden (the HC) let the reserve LBs play quite a bit. Early in the 4th, and even as early as the 3rd qtr in one game.

He's a converted safety.
His first yr at LB, he didn't get much playing time with Lawrence Timmons being the starter, and Geno Hayes (Bucs) the main reserve.
His Jr year, he played behind Hayes.
Also, he sustained some kinda foot injury in the 10th game and missed the next 3 games.

A well-rounded player in both aspect of the defense, running and passing.

Played mainly at WILL, but would often take on the TE or RB out of the backfield, especially in 3rd situation.
Displayed a good backpedal, made good utilization of his flex hips to turn smoothly, and can read plays quite well.

He can shift through trashes with his agility. Use his arms and agility/flexibility to avoid/get off the blockers.
Many of his tackles are not the gimme type, where the play was funneled toward him. Yeape, the guy can go get it on his own.

On the blitz, he can get there a decent number of times, whether up the middle or off the edge, even with blocker on, and fast enough.
Hence his 4 sacks and 2 QBHs.
On one occasion, the QB was in the shotgun, and took a 3-step drop.
On another occasion, Verdell put on a hesitant move and left the blocking RB in the dirt.
Even when he didn't get there, he was close enough to throw up some distraction, letting the QB know of his presence.

Not alot of game tape. The guy was a JUCO. He moved from safety to linebacker and was undersized. However he was the Seminoles #2 tackler last year, and shows great instincts to fly to the ball.

I like Verdell alot, not just because he is a Seminole but because of his athleticism and instincts. He is also pretty good in coverage. Toward the end of the season Verdell was probably our best linebacker.

Remember that this guy had Chuck Amato (former NC State head coach) as his position coach, and Mickey Andrews as a DC so he is well coached. I would expect him to be on the PS.

Going to have one heck of a time battling for a backup spot. If he manages to slip through waivers he can land on the PS.

Maybe he makes the roster if he shows to be good enough. I know everyone thinks Cato will make it, but I'm not so convinced.

Our 'young guys' are Vets now. Mario, Demeco, Owen, Schaub, Travis, Dunta...Even Fred Bennett should know the ropes a little better by now...definitely Andre, the guys on the O-line...Pretty much all the wideouts...

Plus we have Wilson and Ferguson in the backfield, plus Smith who is fresh off a superbowl appearance down in the trenches...

I don't see the need to keep a guy for veteran leadership, (that hasn't been mentioned as a great special teamer) or because they are good on passing downs at this point. Especially if it is determined Diles will be the primary back-up...

I'd rather keep a guy like Thompson, Verdell, or Coley who may also do other things for...plus they are young...

I don't think June is sewn in by any means, and I really think that Verdell or one of the others can take that last spot if they show enough...

Polo said:

Maybe he makes the roster if he shows to be good enough. I know everyone thinks Cato will make it, but I'm not so convinced.

Our 'young guys' are Vets now. Mario, Demeco, Owen, Schaub, Travis, Dunta...Even Fred Bennett should know the ropes a little better by now...definitely Andre, the guys on the O-line...Pretty much all the wideouts...

Plus we have Wilson and Ferguson in the backfield, plus Smith who is fresh off a superbowl appearance down in the trenches...

I don't see the need to keep a guy for veteran leadership, (that hasn't been mentioned as a great special teamer) or because they are good on passing downs at this point. Especially if it is determined Diles will be the primary back-up...

I'd rather keep a guy like Thompson, Verdell, or Coley who may also do other things for...plus they are young...

I don't think June is sewn in by any means, and I really think that Verdell or one of the others can take that last spot if they show enough...

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True! I was about to say that...
If we have an eye toward the future, I would be OK to release June.
He's a pretty decent player, but looks like he has maxed out his potential.
Still, a great backup, and can always start in case of needs.

Preferrably, we put Verdell on PS (but that means he shouldnt show too much in the pre-season, grrr!) so he can benefit from an off-season work out program while acclimating himself with life in the NFL.
The fact that they brought him in even with the WILLs we had showed that they like him.

I'm not sure that Verdell is quite ready for the pros. He has the talent, and I think he can eventually be a quality player but not yet IMO. He has showed that he can improve and still has alot of room do to so. Last year he improved dramatically with the Noles. I'd put him on PS if he doesn't play well enough to make the roster because he definitely has the talent, he just needs a little more time.

so who do you see as our LB's that make the roster. in my mind we have 5 locks in DeMeco Adibi Diles Cushing and Bentley (that's right he's a lock). that leaves us 1 extra spot normally. now in most circumstances i would put June as the 6th with someone like Verdell as a PS kind of guy but seeing what happened to Colvin last year has put a big question mark at this position for me.

Thompson has been on the roster for a couple of years so i assume theres something there that the Texans like although he measures up similar to Cushing in my mind so he might be cut simply because they've replaced him. Coley and Verdell both are light like June is although i'm not familiar with both of them but, from what you've said about Verdell, i'm guessing that both are tweeners like June and so i expect a compition with the three of them for the last spot.

My prediction, June takes it. he's played this position at a probowl caliber level before and he mentors one of the others (the one that makes the practice squad) and then moves on after this season. kind of the second coming of Danny Clark in a lot of ways.

It's speculative at best to predict the roster spots at LB.

Thompson was with us only last year, and I think he has a 2-yr contract that only requires us to pay him less than a mil to retain his service this season. I really would rather not spend time on the business side of football, but still have to acknowledge the fact that sometimes it plays into the process.

Football speaking, I like to spend more time to learn how June's previous employers made utilization of him.
Folks may question his lack of production (numbers) with the Bucs, but it may not necessarily be 'cause he's not a good player.
(I still need to wacth more game tapes) but it seems to me that the Bucs often use him to set the edge, to cover a receiver or to hold up a blocker, and let the other two LBs be the playmakers, or to let the DEs free-wheeling "so-to-speak". And it worked well for them.

It will all depend on how the Texans want their defense to look like.

And we don't know the extent of Diles' injury, whether it will affect his play, which was not spectacular by any mean.

Coley probably still has PS eligibility?

We just don't have enough info.
The good thing for us fans is that the fiercer the competition, the better we know our team is becoming.
I think I would just enjoy the battles, and may the best men win the job and forget about the financial ramification and distraction!

IMO, locks are Demeco, Adibi, and Cushing.
Maybe Bentley.

TexansSeminole said:

I'm not sure that Verdell is quite ready for the pros. He has the talent, and I think he can eventually be a quality player but not yet IMO. He has showed that he can improve and still has alot of room do to so. Last year he improved dramatically with the Noles. I'd put him on PS if he doesn't play well enough to make the roster because he definitely has the talent, he just needs a little more time.

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I think he's ready, and it's just my opinion.
I saw him as the best LB on that squad, not the flashiest one, but the best one.
He quietly went about doing his job.
He was more happy for his teammates than himself after making plays, I like that!

76Texan said:

I think he's ready, and it's just my opinion.
I saw him as the best LB on that squad, not the flashiest one, but the best one.
He quietly went about doing his job.
He was more happy for his teammates than himself after making plays, I like that!

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I hope your right.

We do know that he has been successful in an attacking 4-3 system. That's what the Noles do and have done for many years, attack. The Noles were co-leaders (with Ole Miss) in tackles for loss in the nation at 112 or 8.62 per game. Verdell had 8 of those, and was quite effective at making plays behind the LOS.

The thing that makes me think he needs time is that he hasn't had alot of playing time at LB, and on top of that he is pretty light. He's got height, but his weight will probably be a problem. Give him a year to get bigger and learn what it takes to play in the NFL and I think he can contribute.

76Texan said:

It's speculative at best to predict the roster spots at LB.

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yeah but what the hell else are we gonna do for the next few months?

V3rm0nt3r said:

so who do you see as our LB's that make the roster. in my mind we have 5 locks in DeMeco Adibi Diles Cushing and Bentley (that's right he's a lock). that leaves us 1 extra spot normally.

Thompson has been on the roster for a couple of years so i assume theres something there that the Texans like...

My prediction, June takes it. he's played this position at a probowl caliber level before and he mentors one of the others (the one that makes the practice squad) and then moves on after this season. kind of the second coming of Danny Clark in a lot of ways.

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Your post jogs my memory to something Coach Joe said during his All Access fan chat. He was discussing how it is important for reserve players to contribute on special teams, and mentioned Chaun Thompson. He described a scenario where a roster spot could be determined between Thompson and Cato June based upon special teams play. I had thought that June was pretty much a lock to make the team, but after listening to what Coach Joe said, I'm not so sure.

Edit: Sorry, Toddrick. Didn't mean to bust in on your thread.