This weekend, Cowboys scouts will attend at least the following two college games:
- No. 14 Oklahoma @ Baylor, Saturday, 8:00 pm (ET)
- USC @ Oregon State, Saturday, 8:00 pm (ET)
Chris Steuber regularly tweets which NFL Scouts visit which college games and he confirms that Cowboys scouts will attend at least these two games. Hat tip to BTB-member Rena for the fanshot.
This marks the third time the Cowboys scouts have visited an Oregon State game, the second time they've watched Baylor and Oklahoma games and the first time they've been to a USC game. I have no idea whether visiting a team three times is a lot in scouting circles or not, but it sure sounds like it. So either the Cowboys have a keen interest in Pac-10 teams who played Oregon State, or there may be a Beavers player who has piqued their interest.
That player might be DT Stephen Paea, a former rugby player. At 6'1" and 312 pounds he may be a bit undersized, but he is exceptionally strong and is a disruptive force in opponents backfields. He's fast, can penetrate, and has recorded five sacks despite being double-teamed all season. CBSSports has him as the top-ranked DT with a 1st-2nd round grade.
Oklahoma has an intriguing safety prospect in Quinton Carter, projected as one of the top three safeties in the draft and possibly a second round prospect for the Cowboys. He's gotten some good press lately, but the fact that he is a team captain and is perceived to be an exceptional leader on the field and in the locker room should have the Cowboys watching this guy closely. Unfortunately, there are some questions about his speed, so the scouts had better pay close attention.
Baylor's Danny Watkins is a left tackle who's seen his draft stock rise dramatically behind Baylor's 7-4 record. A former fire fighter in Canada, he is described as a gregarious leader. For what it's worth, he was drafted fourth overall in the 2010 CFL draft but opted to play out his final year at Baylor. Watkins is slated as a 2nd-3rd round pick.
USC features a trio of potential third round picks in CB Shareece Wright, FB Stanley Havili and C Kristofer O'Dowd. Havili is the top ranked fullback in this draft, and if you liked John Conner last year and what he's done for the Jets this year, you'll love Havili. O'Dowd is probably the second best center in the draft after Penn State's Stefen Wisniewski (whom the Cowboys have also looked at already).
Who else would be on your watch-list from these four teams?