100 in 100: Donovan Warren (81 of 100)

by Drew Kerr on Apr 2, 2010 2:00 PM PDT in 100 in 100 (2010)

19 DAYS UNTIL THE DRAFT...

Donovan Warren played cornerback for the Michigan Wolverines and started all three years that he has been there. He decided just after the season ended this year that he would forgo his senior year and declare himself eligible for the NFL Draft this year. Warren is considered by a lot of the experts to be one of the better corners coming out. There is a lot of upside with this kid.

All Warren has been doing since his freshman year is make play after play after play. He has decent size and contested some of the larger receivers for a majority of the year. In '07 and '08 Warren recorded almost identical stats, but in '09 stepped his game up a bit. That is exactly what scouts look for in a prospect; progress each and every year. There are other tangibles of course, but if a player is showing that they get better and better and are able to adapt to the game, then something like that can only work in a players favor.

Warren will be an interesting prospect to follow at the next level. The way he played in college reminds me a lot of how Darrelle Revis did. Not many people speculated that Revis would be as good as he was even though he was a first round selection; he had some kinks he had to work out initially. Warren has the potential to become that good. It's really an injustice that he is not rated higher. Some players just get more hype than they deserve (i.e. Joe Haden), and that sometimes leads to other guys with upside to unfairly slide. But like Singletary has said, "It's not about where one get's drafted, but what they do after they get drafted".

Below, we'll look at Warren's stats and highlights. After that, I'll provide a projection of where I think Warren will be selected.

Here is a video for you all that have not seen Warren in action. And for those of you who have, enjoy them for a second or third time.

AWARDS AND HONORS:

2007 Freshman All-American
2007 Big-Ten Freshman of the Year
2009 All Big-Ten First Team

CAREER STATS:

Stats Overview	Tackles						Misc		Interceptions
YEAR	TOT	SOLO	AST	SACK	STF	STFY	FF	BK	INT	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	PD
2007	53	36	17	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0.0	0	0	0
2008	53	37	16	0	0	0	1	0	1	15	15.0	15	0	0
2009	66	43	23	0	0	0	0	0	4	42	10.5	40	1	0

2009 Regular Season Game Log			Tackles						Misc		Interceptions
DATE	OPP	RESULT	TOT	SOLO	AST	SACK	STF	STFY	FF	BK	INT	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	PD
9/5	Western Michigan	W 31-7	7	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	1
9/12	Notre Dame	W 38-34	6	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	3
9/19	Eastern Michigan	W 45-17	6	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
9/26	Indiana	W 36-33	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.0	0	0	0
10/3	@Michigan State	L 26-20	7	3	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	2.0	2	0	0
10/10	@Iowa	L 30-28	5	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	40	40.0	40	1	3
10/17	Delaware State	W 63-6	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
10/24	Penn State	L 35-10	7	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
10/31	@Illinois	L 38-13	6	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
11/7	Purdue	L 38-36	6	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.0	0	0	0
11/14	@Wisconsin	L 45-24	5	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
11/21	Ohio State	L 21-10	7	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0

SUMMARY AND PROJECTION:

One thing that Warren has going for him is his versatility. He has time at both cornerback and safety. Warren is very well-rounded; he's a guy that i snot afraid to stick his head in to a mess and make sure the ball carrier gets to the ground. His coverage skills are exceptional and he is not afraid to make a play on the ball. Warren is aggressive in all facets of his game. There are not too many flaws here. Someone is going to get extremely lucky to land this guy. Warren measured at just over 5'11" and weighed 193 at the combine.

Possibilities -- 2nd Round: Picks 33-64.

For more 100 in 100 articles, click below:

http://www.ninersnation.com/section/100-in-100-2010

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Comments

2nd round?

That’s generous…a lot of places have him as a 3rd or 4th rounder. I don’t know why he’s been knocked down, but he has been.

"Lord, beer me strength."

by TexansDC on Apr 2, 2010 2:19 PM PDT reply actions

I’ve seen even later than that. But I think it’s because scouts think his skills are a bit on the raw side. It looks like he does better at press coverage than zone, so it could be said he has very good potential, but will just need to work on his overall game to truly make it at the next level. He was covering a potential 1st rounder in the video, Golden Tate, and did a pretty good job. So whatever round he goes in, I see him has having a pretty bright future.

Oh, he did do some PR duties at Michigan too.

by Mangoman on Apr 2, 2010 2:34 PM PDT up reply actions

Oh yeah...

He’s going to be a steal.

This is why I would rather see the Niners take him in round 3 as opposed to Haden in round 1.

"Lord, beer me strength."

by TexansDC on Apr 2, 2010 3:13 PM PDT up reply actions

vs Tate

not a good job at all. Gotta disagree with you on that. I don’t have anything other than the hilights to judge him on, but he was certainly out played by tate.

Tate beat him on a poorly run out-route, beat him deep twice, and bested him on the TD.

from this vid, it looks like he’s only good for tackling.

by t p on Apr 2, 2010 4:39 PM PDT up reply actions

Certianly outplayed

Sorry I just don’t see it. There are at least four highlights with him covering Tate (the TD he gave up was to Michael Floyd.) Three were basically up patterns, and even though there was a marginal question on one being PI and one where it could be argued that the pass was catchable, he got a hand in on all of them. I’ll give you the out pattern, and that is one thing scouts say about him. He needs to be a little more physical within the first five yards to try to throw receivers off their routes. He also has a bit of problem with his back pedal that gets him turned around and allows receivers to beat him even with a cushion. So yes, he’ll be a bit of a project. Basically what I’ve already said about him.

by Mangoman on Apr 2, 2010 5:09 PM PDT up reply actions

He hooked Tate's arm downfield TWICE

I’m not saying that Revis doesn’t do the same… but in the NFL you must choose your spots because defensive pass interference calls aren’t just 15 yards and a 1st down.

Tate dropped one that was right in the bread basket. There’s no doubt that should have been caught.

1.Brandon Graham 1.Charles Brown 2. Syd Thompson 3.Torell Troup 4.Robert Johnson 5.Andrew Quarless 6.Mike Kafka 6.Chris Scott 7.Preston Parker

by supraman on Apr 2, 2010 5:19 PM PDT up reply actions

Just say "No" Baalke

1.Brandon Graham 1.Charles Brown 2. Syd Thompson 3.Torell Troup 4.Robert Johnson 5.Andrew Quarless 6.Mike Kafka 6.Chris Scott 7.Preston Parker

by supraman on Apr 2, 2010 3:01 PM PDT reply actions

Penn State bias

by Drew Kerr on Apr 2, 2010 3:49 PM PDT up reply actions

Must be the reason why Brandon Graham is one of my favorite prospects this year

Must be the reason why I was hoping the 49ers would take Mario Manningham and Chad Henne in 2008

Warren is 6th round material. He has no instincts nor ability in pass coverage, and he doesn’t have the speed to keep up with receivers at the next level, all he has going for him is size.

I remember watching Warren early last college season, telling myself, “If this guy #33 [Boubacar Cissoko] didn’t suck so much, Warren would be getting picked on all the time.” Cissoko was suspended by R-Rod mid last season, so I was finally able to see if teams would pick on Warren. Iowa did it just about the entire game. Warren gave up 4 passes that were thrown 20+ yards downfield. Everyone was in on the fun, from RBs to TEs to WRs all craving up Warren.

1.Brandon Graham 1.Charles Brown 2. Syd Thompson 3.Torell Troup 4.Robert Johnson 5.Andrew Quarless 6.Mike Kafka 6.Chris Scott 7.Preston Parker

by supraman on Apr 2, 2010 4:28 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm not going to even respond

You obviously dont have a clue as to what you’re talking about.

Warren had better stats than Joe Haden and Kyle Wilson.

by Drew Kerr on Apr 2, 2010 8:57 PM PDT up reply actions

I’m not going to even respond

1.Brandon Graham 1.Charles Brown 2. Syd Thompson 3.Torell Troup 4.Robert Johnson 5.Andrew Quarless 6.Mike Kafka 6.Chris Scott 7.Preston Parker

by supraman on Apr 2, 2010 11:38 PM PDT up reply actions

He has never lived up to expectations

He was highly touted as a high school player but he was just mediocre at Michigan.

He’s got some potential but it will take years to develop him.
And there’s a big chance that he doesn’t ever pan out.

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

by SportsChicken on Apr 2, 2010 3:08 PM PDT reply actions

disagree

but when don’t we?

by Drew Kerr on Apr 2, 2010 3:49 PM PDT up reply actions

Disagree on what, exactly?

Because you can’t really say he lived up to expectations.

He was touted as an elite CB coming out of high school.

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

by SportsChicken on Apr 2, 2010 6:57 PM PDT up reply actions

What exactly were “expectations”? He did better than a lot of Corners this year. He had better stats than Joe Haden and Kyle Wilson and broke up a junk load of passes. So I really have no clue as to what you’re talking about.

by Drew Kerr on Apr 2, 2010 8:56 PM PDT up reply actions

He was expected to be "shutdown" corner

He got beat a lot in his early years.
He kind of turned it on this last year but he still got beat plenty.

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

by SportsChicken on Apr 2, 2010 11:11 PM PDT up reply actions

So did every other corner coming out

What’s your point?

My point is that… who cares about “expectations”… the kids a player.

by Drew Kerr on Apr 3, 2010 1:35 AM PDT up reply actions

What?

Not every single corner leaving high school is expected to be a shut down CB.

He just turned into a “player” this past season and he still wasn’t that good.

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

by SportsChicken on Apr 3, 2010 10:42 PM PDT up reply actions

Safety??

Seems like he might be better off as a safety at the next level

by fat gold chain on Apr 2, 2010 5:31 PM PDT reply actions

Might be a good point. He’s played FS and has the speed that would be typical of one. Again, very likely a project at the next level.

by Mangoman on Apr 2, 2010 5:35 PM PDT up reply actions

knew it was too good to be true to see Bibby driving and scoring

1.Brandon Graham 1.Charles Brown 2. Syd Thompson 3.Torell Troup 4.Robert Johnson 5.Andrew Quarless 6.Mike Kafka 6.Chris Scott 7.Preston Parker

by supraman on Apr 2, 2010 5:40 PM PDT reply actions

Wrongggg blog and thread {delete}

1.Brandon Graham 1.Charles Brown 2. Syd Thompson 3.Torell Troup 4.Robert Johnson 5.Andrew Quarless 6.Mike Kafka 6.Chris Scott 7.Preston Parker

by supraman on Apr 2, 2010 5:41 PM PDT up reply actions

single page listing running 100 of 100

Is there a page which lists all players names (and maybe schools) so one doesn’t need to go through all the pages to see your wonderful scouting report on players you initially wrote about?

by shadow dog on Apr 2, 2010 7:25 PM PDT reply actions

Single page

I’ll get one together this weekend.

by David Fucillo on Apr 2, 2010 7:37 PM PDT up reply actions

I see:

a guy who can run, tackle, and hit.

What I don’t see are instincts, ball skills, and breaking ability.

Maybe that was a bad highlight video…but he didn’t look good to me. His best coverages were when he was just running down the field with the receiver…but he rarely broke the pass up consciously.

"If I were to walk down a dark alley in a bad part of town, I'd want Ray Brown with me. And if I were to have a nice dinner at a fine restaurant, I'd want Ray Brown with me." The Late Great McKittrick

by Tre9er on Apr 13, 2010 8:31 AM PDT reply actions