LU’s Redd on the NFL Draft:  more people expect me to be drafted than I do

By Chris Lang
Sports writer
Published: April 25, 2008

Vince Redd doesn’t want to hear about how much his draft stock has skyrocketed during the spring.
He doesn’t want to believe that the Web site Scout.com rates him the 10th best outside linebacker in this weekend’s NFL Draft, two spots behind Virginia Tech standout Xavier Adibi, a third-team All-American. He doesn’t buy that the Web site NFL Draft Scout has Redd projected as Liberty’s first NFL pick since Fred Banks in 1995.
“I’m just waiting,” Redd said. “I think more people are expecting me to get drafted than I do.”
Projecting the draft is an inexact science, especially in the later rounds. The Sporting News’ mock draft has Redd going undrafted. NFL Draft Scout puts Redd in the sixth or seventh round.
But that pick comes with a caveat. Redd could go as high as the early fourth round, the site predicts, or he could sign as a free agent after the draft.
“It’s not a real certain thing,” Redd said.
“They’ll tell you that you could go in the first round and then you’ll go undrafted.”
If Redd is drafted this weekend (Liberty coach Danny Rocco said he thinks Redd will go in the fifth round), he would become the sixth LU player drafted and first in 13 years.
A handful of other Flames are represented on various draft projections, including offensive linemen Stephen Sene, Eddie Pinigis and Marshal Ausberry; linebacker Stevie Ray Lloyd; and wide receiver Wynton Jackson.
Of that group, Sene has the best shot of sneaking into the late rounds Sunday. The left tackle graded out as Liberty’s best offensive lineman last season and participated in the Hula Bowl.
At Liberty’s pro timing day in March, the 6-foot-6 Sene weighed in at 321 pounds and completed 24 reps in the 225-pound bench press test.
Redd’s stock has shot up in recent weeks as more NFL teams have caught wind of the linebackers’ prodigious skills.
Playing as an outside linebacker in LU’s 3-4 scheme, Redd was a disruptive force last fall.
He finished with 13 1/2 tackles for loss and 6 1/2 sacks and was second in Big South defensive player of the year voting behind Gardner-Webb defensive end Brian Johnston, a projected fourth-round pick.
Redd also spent time as a rush end when Liberty showed some 4-3 and 4-4 looks. He’s drawn considerable interest from the Cleveland Browns, St. Louis Rams, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens. He visited Rams headquarters last week.
Redd participated in pro days at Liberty and Richmond, where former Virginia defensive coordinator Mike London is now the head coach.
Redd, who played two seasons at Virginia before transferring to Liberty, ran the 40-yard-dash in 4.56 seconds, had a vertical jump of 39 inches and a broad jump of 9-10.
The number that concerns most NFL scouts, though, is Redd’s weak showing in the 225 test. He completed just 13 reps at the weight in the bench press.
That might not hurt him if Redd plays OLB in the pros. But the lack of strength will be a hindrance should a team want Redd to line up at defensive end, where he would have to power his way past burly offensive tackles.
“I’m so big, I should be doing 20-something reps on the 225,” Redd said. “I’m long and lanky right now.”
The Sports Xchange’s prospect report on Redd calls his unique combination of size and overall athleticism a positive, as well as his long arms and agility.
The negatives?
“Obvious questions about his level of competition. … Raw. … Bit of a ‘tweener who doesn’t play with the same burst in a three-point stance,” The Sports Xchange notes.
The conflicting reports add to the drama of the second day of the draft for Redd, who will watch Sunday at his family’s home in Elizabethton, Tenn.
“All I can do is pray and hope for the best,” he said.