The Marshall Thundering Herd finished the year with a winning record but fell to Louisiana 36-21 in the New Orleans Bowl. Regardless, there are a number of prospects who will be leaving Marshall and heading towards the 2022 NFL Draft. Here are the scouting reports for all draft-eligible prospects from Marshall.
Marshall 2022 NFL Draft Scouting Reports
The Marshall scouting reports include some late-round defensive prospects and offensive line projects.
Alex Mollette, IOL
Positives: Tough, small-area blocker who is always looking for someone to hit. Explosive at the point, stays square, and quickly gets his hands into defenders. Fires into blocks and gets good initial movement run blocking. Attacks assignments and gets after opponents. Keeps his head on a swivel and works extremely well with linemates.
Negatives: Tends to get tall, does not always block with proper pad level, and gets pushed back into the pocket. Struggles finishing blocks.
Analysis: Mollette is a tough small-area blocker with experience at guard and center. He lacks size, growth potential, and athleticism, which will hamper his chances for the next level.
Brandon Drayton, S
Positives: Tall, explosive safety who is best defending the run. Breaks down well, effectively uses his hands to protect himself, and works hard to get up the field and make plays. Effectively reads and diagnoses plays, takes proper angles, and squares into tackles. Plays faster than his 40 time, sells out defending the run, and wraps up tackling. Shows solid ball skills with the ability to track the pass in the air and displays good hands for the interception.
Negatives: Stiff pedaling in reverse. Lacks an explosive burst to the ball out of his plant. Marginal production in coverage.
Analysis: Drayton is a long, lanky strong safety type who is best making plays up the field and when facing the action.
Cory McCoy, CB
Positives: Underrated cornerback who was somehow ignored by scouts coming into the season. Fluid transitioning off the line, reads the receiver’s eyes, and does an outstanding job getting his head back around to locate the pass in the air. Tough, resilient, and breaks down well. Works hard to get off blocks and make plays up the field. Athletic, covers a lot of area on the field, and effectively reads and diagnoses plays. Remains disciplined with assignments in zone and gives a lot of effort.
Negatives: Minimally effective backed off the line of scrimmage. Has a thin build and can be overmatched.
Analysis: McCoy was a productive cornerback for McNeese State before transferring to Marshall and having a career season. He possesses terrific ball skills and enough ability to line up in nickel packages at the next level.
Nazeeh Johnson, S
Positives: Instinctive safety who effectively reads and recognizes assignments, shows great awareness, and is very quick to diagnose plays. Keeps the action in front of him, works well with corners, and plays faster than his 40 time. Works to get off blocks and make plays against the run, aggressively flying around the field.
Negatives: Lacks great speed to the flanks. Displays an average burst to the ball out of his plant. Struggles closing to the action.
Analysis: Johnson is a smart, tough safety with average athleticism who would be best in a zone-style system that does not ask him to cover much area.
Shane Simmons, DL
Positives: Penn State transfer who flashed ability the past three seasons. Smooth and displays good change-of-direction skills with the ability to immediately alter his angle of attack. Occasionally stands over tackle, plays with terrific pad level, and works his hands throughout the action. Flashes ability as a pass rusher off the edge.
Negatives: Marginally productive throughout his college career. Slow locating the ball.
Analysis: Simmons was a solid college defender yet shows no outstanding athletic trait for the next level. He’s a fiery defender but lacks upside.
Will Ulmer, OL
Positives: Intelligent college tackle who projects to guard at the next level. Patient in pass protection, stays square, and jolts defenders with good hand punch. Works blocks hard. Explosive, fires out to the second level, and always looks for someone to hit. Blocks with solid fundamentals.
Negatives: Lacks great athleticism and better off in a smaller area. Possesses short arms and lacks upside.
Analysis: Ulmer is a hard-working lineman who gets the most from his ability and comes with nice size. He’s a limited athlete with marginal upside and will struggle to make it out of camp this summer.