In an interview with USA TODAY Sports, former Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux discusses Elon Musk’s buying of Twitter.
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As soon as Kayvon Thibodeaux stepped foot on the Oregon campus, he made sure everyone knew he was much more than just a football player.
While at Oregon, the soon-to-be high first round NFL draft pick was able to create his own cryptocurrency as well as signing an NFT (nonfungible token) deal with Nike.
Thibodeaux will certainly be active in the business world during and after his football career. But even he was confused when asked by USA Today Sports about Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter for the whopping price of $44 billion.
The former Duck compared Musk buying Twitter to buying an NFT and asked Musk to let him hold some of that Twitter stock, but “the check won’t clear for another 15 days.”
Thibodeaux was surely referring to that signing bonus he’s about to receive from the NFL team that is about to select him.
We will see where Thibodeaux gets drafted on Thursday night in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft. Whoever takes him surely knows at this point that they are getting an eclectic star who will be involved with much more than juts sports.
The Oregon Ducks had three players place in the top-10 of the Pac-12 Championships, helping them to a 3rd place finish.
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The Oregon Ducks men’s golf team shot the low round of the day in the third round of the Pac-12 championship on Wednesday at Aldarra Golf Club. They moved up a single spot in the standings and finished in 3rd place at the tournament.
A total of three Ducks finished inside the top-10 on the individual leaderboard, with Yuki Moriyama taking 3rd overall with a 1-under final round of 70, putting him at 6-under for the tournament.
Owen Avrit and Nate Stember finished in a tie for 10th.
As a team, the Ducks shot a low-round 2-under 354 on Wednesday that helped them jump up a spot on the team leaderboard. No. 8 Washington won the title at 2-over 1,422. No. 17 Stanford was second at plus-5, followed by No. 4 Arizona State at plus-10. The Ducks were two strokes back of the Sun Devils, with California (plus-26) and UCLA (plus-34) rounding out the top half of the field.
“Awesome for Yuki,” said head coach Casey Martin. “He had been struggling a bit early in the year but has worked his tail off to get back on track.”
Greyson Leach led Oregon with a 3-under 68 on Wednesday. The freshman had four birdies in the final round and tied for 28th at 8-over 292.
“The guys played great today and shot the low round of the day. I was really pleased with how they competed.”
On Thursday, the NFL Draft takes on the Las Vegas Strip for the first time.
A number of Mountain West football prospects are certain to get that coveted phone call throughout the event’s seven rounds and many more will sign in the aftermath known as undrafted free agency, so Mountain West Wire is here to keep you up to date on everything as it happens.
Check back here often over the next several days for everything you need to know about the athletes who could be selected and signed, as well as where they end up in the NFL.
It’s one thing to be the best at something for a season and another to be the best at it among everyone who’s ever done it as a career.
The Mountain West had a punt god last year, sure, but Colorado State’s Ryan Stonehouse has been booming kicks that flip the field for a good long while now. A graduate of California high school powerhouse Mater Dei, Stonehouse saw the field right away as a true freshman in 2017 and became an instant hit in a conference full of crack specialists. He averaged 45.9 yards per punt that year and nabbed the first of three first-team all-Mountain West nods, the first punter in the conference to do that.
From there, he’d go on to average over 50 yards per punt in 2021 and blow away the FBS career record with 47.8 YPP over five total seasons. Strangely, though, the conversation about his chances to be selected in the NFL Draft has been muted, so the big question is… well, what gives?
Height – 5′ and 9 1/2″ Weight – 193 pounds Arm length – 30″ Hand size – 9 1/2″ Wingspan – 72 3/4″
Highlights
Strengths
The career record grabs the headlines, but Stonehouse made both power and placement a habit: Among 244 punts, 106 (43.4%) went for more than 50 yards and 90 (36.9%) pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line. By contrast, only 32 punts (13.1%) went for a touchback.
And if you were wondering whether the distance he accrued was a product of kicking at elevation, consider that Stonehouse averaged 47.5 yards per punt away from Fort Collins.
Weaknesses
While it may not be a weakness in the traditional sense, one thing that war rooms will probably mull over is that Stonehouse’s technique for getting his kicks away is a unique one, so there may be a decision to make about whether to refine it or overhaul it completely.
Compared to the other punters prospects in this year’s class, Stonehouse is also the only one who measured in at under six feet.
Player Comparison
Andy Lee
Draft Prediction
From here, it seems crazy to me that some draft analysts are talking about Matt Araiza as a potential top-100 pick when Stonehouse did what Araiza accomplished and then some for years. I think he makes the cut as a draft selection, and I think he’s picked in the sixth round on Day 3.
Strength in spades could entice someone to take a chance.
Sometimes, it’s amazing what a change of scenery can do for a person. Such is the case for Colorado State defensive end Scott Patchan, a Tampa native who had the chance to play for the Miami Hurricanes out of high school and… did just okay. In 30 games, he had 8.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.
After transferring to Colorado State, though, Patchan became one of the Mountain West’s most feared edge rushers, earning back-to-back all-conference nods while piling up 17 sacks and 27 TFLs in just 16 games. In a class full of impact defenders, though, will he be among those who are selected in the NFL Draft?
Height – 6′ and 4 3/8″ Weight – 251 pounds 40-yard time – 4.70 seconds 10-yard split time – 1.65 seconds Arm length – 33″ Hand size – 10″ Wingspan – 79″ Vertical jump – 32 1/2″ Broad jump – 9′ and 11″ (or 119″) Shuttle time – N/A 3-cone drill time – N/A Bench press – 29 reps
Highlights
Strengths
If you’re looking for a pass rusher with power, Patchan has that in spades. At Colorado State’s pro day, he put up 29 reps on the bench press, which is as many as UCLA’s Otito Ogbonnia had to lead this year’s defensive line prospects at the NFL Combine. That enables him to attack the backfield without the need for many frills, going right at offensive tackles with what Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline describes as a “terrific hand punch” that complements his resilience and motor.
Scotty's here all night. 😤
The 7th sack of the season for @scott_patchan forces UH into another FG.
Though Patchan is built like some of this year’s top prospects, one key difference is that he doesn’t have quite the same level of twitchiness out the gate: His 1.65 10-yard split is good (67th percentile), but Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux, for instance, has a split of 1.56 seconds. Pauline believes that bulking up may help counter this, but playing with more discipline will help, too: NFL Draft Buzz points out that he sometimes “plays his way out the action” (though if his off-field preparation is any indication, don’t bet against his attention to correction)
Like many other Mountain West prospects, Patchan’s age could also be a factor if the choice come down to him or a younger prospect.
NFL Comparison
Matt Judon
Draft Prediction
Patchan isn’t a flawless prospect, but it’s hard to argue with the results that he put up over the last two seasons and his obvious power is something upon which a NFL team can build. It’ll be a close call as to whether he hears his name or not, given that there are a ton of edge rushers out there this year, but I think he’ll be selected late on Day Three, likely in the seventh round.
Not even the most optimistic Utah State fan could’ve seen Deven Thompkins coming last year.
Thompkins had already played for the Aggies for three seasons before electing to head to the transfer portal back in November 2020, at the very end of a very trying year for the program. After the arrival of new head coach Blake Anderson, however, the Fort Myers, Florida native changed his mind and that proved to be a wise decision: In 2021, Thompkins lit up the Mountain West with 102 catches for 1,704 yards and ten touchdowns, a revitalized weapon in a revitalized offense that would claim a conference championship.
After blowing up into one of college football’s best pass catchers, how much respect will he get from war rooms across the NFL and will he hear his name called at this year’s NFL Draft?
Height – 5′ and 6 7/8″ Weight – 167 pounds 40-yard time – 4.42 seconds 10-yard split time – 1.53 seconds Arm length – 28 3/4″ Hand size – 8 3/4″ Wingspan – 70 1/8″ Vertical jump – 38 1/2″ Broad jump – 11′ (or 132″) Shuttle time – 4.18 seconds 3-cone drill time – 6.98 seconds Bench press – 9 reps
Highlights
Strengths
Make no mistake about it, Thompkins is a fearless competitor with serious athleticism in his frame: His vertical is comparable to that of North Dakota State’s Christian Watson, a NFL Combine darling, while his 10-yard split is in the same neighborhood as that of fellow speedsters Velus Jones Jr. and Tyquan Thornton (his 40-yard time was reportedly clocked as low as 4.35, as well).
That low center of gravity and strong initial burst off the line of scrimmage served him well as a deep threat in 2021. According to Pro Football Focus, Thompkins led the country in deep receptions and yardage off of those catches. He’s also agile enough to create in space off of screens and crossing patterns, as well.
If the measurements didn’t state the obvious, Thompkins is perhaps the small pass-catching prospect in this year’s NFL Draft class, which means there will be obvious challenges to the role he might play in a pro offense and in how he can be effective in that role. The lack of size may keep him from playing much as an outside receiver, though the vast majority of his snaps played in 2021 (844 in all) came out of the slot, anyway. It will also means winning snaps early against defensive backs all but guaranteed to be more physical.
It may also mean that he’ll need to take on other roles more often than he did last year at Utah State, like kick returns (16 in four seasons) and having a hand in gadget plays (15 career rushing attempts). When things break his way, he’ll also need to ensure more consistent use of his hands down the field to bring in deep shots, a tendency of which NFL Draft Buzz noted.
NFL Comparison
Steve Smith
Draft Prediction
It seems crazy to think that Thompkins could go undrafted given that smaller receivers with an obvious fifth gear are more likely than ever to find their way onto the field. I do think he’ll get selected, though it may not be until the sixth or seventh round on Day Three.
Lots of players across the Mountain West Conference decided to stick around for one last ride in college football, but many others beyond those who got the full draft profile treatment are in the mix to make the jump to the National Football League this week.
These “quick hits” will tell you a little bit about the best of the rest from the Mountain West.
Air Force
Wide receiver Brandon Lewis proved he could be just as potent as many of his predecessors, averaging a whopping 29.5 yards per catch in 2021, and he made a very strong final impression in the Falcons’ First Responder Bowl victory over Louisville. However, a relatively modest-for-his-size (5-8 1/2, 182 pounds) 4.51 40-yard time could mean he’ll have to prove his worth on special teams before
Linebacker Lakota Wills was a defensive anchor for three years, including the team’s 11-win campaign in 2019 (36 tackles, six TFLs, two sacks), but after taking a turnback in 2020 and dealing with injuries in 2021, the odds are he’s more of a fringe prospect when compared to others like Jordan Jackson.
Defensive back James Jones IV started nine games for the Falcons back in 2017 but lost ground on the depth chart when other up-and-comers like Tre Bugg III and Zane Kelly came through the program, which explains why he had just eight tackles for Air Force in 2021.
“I think those guys [Thornton and Franklin] are some of his next pupils that are going to follow in the footsteps of some of the guys like Cooper Kupp.”
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Much has been made about the three biggest newcomers to the Oregon Ducks coaching staff: head coach Dan Lanning, offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi.
However, with three new coaches came countless other positional coaches, coordinators, and analysts – many who come to Eugene with extremely impressive resumes.
One of those newcomers is Junior Adams, who has the title of co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach after getting hired in early January away from the University of Washington.
“Junior Adams has tremendous experience on the West Coast both as a player and a coach, as well as knowledge and familiarity working in the Pac-12 Conference,” Lanning said at the time of the hiring. “Coach Adams is a terrific teacher and mentor of young men, and I am excited for our student-athletes to get the opportunity to learn from him.”
Adams worked with multiple high level receivers while at UW (2019-2021) and has experience at Western Kentucky and Boise State as well – although his biggest claim to fame may be as the primary recruiter and positional coach at Eastern Washington, where he brought in future Super Bowl star Cooper Kupp.
Now, Adams is helping to mentor a bevy of young receivers at Oregon, including Dont’e Thornton and Troy Franklin.
“I think I think Coach Junior Adams is one of the best one out coaches in the profession,” Dillingham said. “When you look at his track record of developing wide receivers, and I think those guys [Thornton and Franklin] are some of his next pupils that are going to follow in the footsteps of some of the guys like Cooper Kupp that he’s had in his past. And they’ve just come to work every day. And it’s been that the entire room has just grown so much from top to bottom.”
Oregon may have a very young, mostly inexperienced group of receivers heading into 2022, but they have the right personnel to get the most out of these guys for this upcoming season and beyond.
Sometimes, college football programs develop a knack for sending certain kinds of players to the National Football League. At Wyoming, the name of the game has been defense: Marcus Epps, Andrew Wingard, Logan Wilson, and now Chad Muma.
A native of Lone Tree, Colorado, was actually very close to accepting a scholarship offer at Colorado State before heading north to Laramie, where his father also played in the early 1990s. After cutting his teeth on special teams in 2018, he stepped into a part-time role the following year and made two starts before inheriting a bigger role at linebacker from Wilson and breaking out in 2020, leading Wyoming with 71 tackles and eight tackles for loss.
That would be a taste of things to come. In 2021, Muma finished second among all FBS defenders with 142 total tackles while collecting another eight tackles for loss and three interceptions (including two pick-sixes). That put him in the position where he is now as potentially the first player from the Mountain West to be selected in this year’s NFL Draft.
In a recent conversation on The Athletic Football Show podcast, Robert Mays and Diante Lee discussed how the role of a linebacker has changed in the modern NFL to involve more responsibilities in coverage, which demands more length and athleticism in the middle of the field than ever before. As a prospect, Muma checks many of the boxes that defensive coaches surely have in mind.
To start, he knows how to put himself and his teammates in a position to succeed before the ball is snapped, earning high marks from analysts for his football intelligence and instincts. As Natalie Miller of Draft Wire noted, Muma was responsible for handling the play call on the field in his two years as a starter.
Once the play is live, Muma also has the speed to get himself where he needs to be from sideline to sideline. This is especially true if he gets to play downhill and defend the run or attack quarterbacks: The Athletic’s Dane Brugler calls it “[mashing] the accelerator” while Oliver Hodgkinson of Pro Football Network likens Muma to “[firing] out of a cannon” in pass rushing situations.
It comes as no surprise, then, that he finished 2021 with the second-most run stops in the country (50), according to Draft Wire’s Mark Schofield, and only Wisconsin’s Leo Chenal earned a higher run defense grade among FBS linebackers in 2021 (91.1). Once he closes, Muma does so quickly and with force.
Add to that his experience as a team captain and a special teams contributor, and NFL teams probably won’t want to wait too long to put him on their roster.
Weaknesses
Playing in Wyoming’s 4-2-5 defense makes for a question of whether Muma is more likely to play as an inside or outside linebacker at the pro level. There doesn’t seem to be a consensus on what that answer will be, either: The Draft Network’s Drae Harris believes Muma will be better served playing at the edges of a front seven, while Hodgkinson and NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein see him as a better fit inside.
Whatever role he takes on, two big things that he’ll need to polish are refining his instincts to avoid being fooled by misdirection and play action and reaction time in turning to coverage. One particular wrinkle that could come down to is something which Miller, Tony Pauline and Bleacher Report all point out: Improvement in flipping his hips to more cleanly stay with tight ends and running backs down the field. That will help make up for what is probably below-average length for the linebacker position these days.
NFL Comparison
Bobby Wagner
Draft Prediction
Linebacker doesn’t have the same kind of depth in this year’s class as other positions, so while it’s likely teams will dip into those wells first to satisfy other priorities, expect that he’ll be selected in the middle of the second round.
NFL Draft Profile: San Diego State OL Zachary Thomas Aztec tackle Zachary Thomas looks forward to hearing his name called next weekend. – Contact/Follow @ErwinSports & @MWCwire The elder Thomas has been in uniform for 6 years and wishes to join his …
NFL Draft Profile: San Diego State OL Zachary Thomas
Aztec tackle Zachary Thomas looks forward to hearing his name called next weekend.
The elder Thomas has been in uniform for 6 years and wishes to join his brother in the league.
Zachary Thomas, older brother to fellow Aztec and NFL prospect Cameron Thomas, played 30-minutes away from their coastal digs in Carlsbad. Thomas had no power five offers and chose San Diego State to improve his game and sign with an aggressive run-focused team.
The 2021 and 2020 First-Team All-Mountain West tackle has the physique of a pro lineman. He is almost 24 due to his enrollment in 2016, redshirting his freshman year and opting to use his COVID eligibility for a final senior season.
Measurables
Highlights
Strengths
The Carlsbad kid added more bulk for his super senior season and makes use of his speed at his prototypical size of 6-foot-5, 300-lb. Thomas only allowed only three sacks in 310 opportunities at left tackle and six hurries in 2021.
For his size, the tackle impressed scouts at the NFL combine with a 4.97 40-yard dash. Thomas’ agility helped him throughout his career at San Diego State. He was a strong run blocker in the Aztecs’ scheme and was able to keep his feet moving and adapt to opponents off the line.
Weaknesses
The tackle has issues with his mechanics in pass protection going up against effective rushers. Scouts at NFL Draft Buzz point out that he “leans forward with his upper body and neglects his lower body.” That awkwardness of that technique would get him into sticky situations against NFL vets. He has the talent for the position but would need to develop more techniques to slow down opponents.
NFL Comparison
Matt Pryor
Draft Prediction
Thomas has the frame for the position and can excel in zone-blocking schemes. With his question marks at pass protection, it’ll push his name back as a late-round pick, getting drafted as high as the sixth round.
