The Houston Texans have been taking a look at draft prospects since the beginning of the year. You finally have the opportunity to speak to players who have held you in high esteem during the last college football season.
Assistant director of player staff and college scouting director James Liipfert took time out to talk about how Texans handle job interview prospects.
“There are definitely some good laughs in these combine interviews,” said Lüpfert. “When we talk to these guys I would say it’s very talkative. We’re just trying to get to know them. I wouldn’t say we’re the team to slam the door and put the heat lamp on them. I wouldn’t say that’s our style.”
Here’s more from Lüpfert on how Texans approach their draft interview.
All-Star Games, NFL Combine is your first chance to speak to prospects
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
“I love the application process,” said Lüpfert. “I love the spring process. Ultimately, you design football players, but you put people in NRG Stadium for the next X years. You have to get this part of the equation right. 98% of these players can’t talk to them in the fall, or not having communication with them is frowned upon, so we don’t. You cannot speak to an LSU or Texas A&M player.
“This Combine, Senior Bowl, or All-Star game could be the first time, and maybe there’s some narrative about a player, or that guy doesn’t have a personality, or people don’t speak particularly highly of him, and then you score you the player and you really like him or he is different than what was described to you.”
Understand how college coaching turnover affects prospects’ perceptions
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
“I would say very rare with coaches in the college football world with so much coach turnover – I was actually lucky,” said Lüpfert. “I held the same coaching position at Georgia Tech for five seasons. That never happens again. Well, there are so many – we had a player here yesterday who had four coaching positions in four years. That’s a lot of opinions you can gather about a player. When you get to know these guys, what is unique about them is, “What adversities have you been through?” You try to get examples from them, or things that happened in their life, how they dealt with it, and just a little preview of it to get what actions they take when things in life are not going the way they want them to. I think that’s life in a nutshell.”
Enjoy the interview
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
“I like getting to know them, how they deal with things,” said Lüpfert. “I love getting to know these guys personally because when a player walks into our building and you walk around and get a nod, it’s like, ‘Hey man, I love this guy. I’m so glad we moved this guy in. It makes me feel good and I’m passing that message on to my scouts.”
Rely on the scouts
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
“Ultimately, it starts with the five district scouts that we have and the two federal scouts,” said Lüpfert. “They provide us with the basic information and much of the time steering the boat to get to know the player. I’m pretty excited about the process of interviewing and getting to know players. I love it. It’s fun to bring good people into the house.”
Source : sports.yahoo.com