The Ivy League is known for its football, but usually players from the Ancient Eight are not the most popular selections for the pros. This year, however, Penn defensive back Duvol Thompson and Harvard quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick have been stirring up some interest among NFL teams.
Both Ivy standouts have a legitimate shot of getting to play on an NFL team this season. Although Thompson may not be one of the 255 players drafted, there are many teams who will want to pick him up as an undrafted free agent. Fitzpatrick, on the other hand, is considered a lock to be selected this weekend in the NFL Draft. Few quarterbacks get picked each year, but Fitzpatrick is too good to be passed up.
Either way, both are sure to be in an NFL minicamp come this summer.
In 2004 Thompson was a dominant corner in the Ivy League, earning him a second straight first-team All-Ivy bid. Thompson, a shut-down corner, was one of two Ivy Leaguers (the other being Fitzpatrick) selected to play in the Hula Bowl for exceptional seniors this January.
Thompson had solid numbers last season, recording 29 tackles, six pass deflections, a fumble recovery and an interception.
Thompson's stats do not jump off the page, but he clearly is good enough to make an NFL roster.
"He's an athletic kid, he's a tough tackler and he has cover ability," San Francisco 49ers Regional Scout Todd Brunner said. "He doesn't have great speed, but has OK speed."
Thompson has established himself as a pro prospect through his intelligence, his explosiveness and his overall athletic ability. He is also versatile. Not only can he play cornerback, but he could easily be converted to a safety. He is also an experienced special-teamer.
"Most teams see me as an intelligent player," Thompson said. "Also, not only can I play corner, but I could play safety as well if things don't work out at the corner position. What they see my strengths are is that I'm a physical corner -- one that's able to get up into people's face and play press, and also be able to play special teams and things like that."
While it was not a major part of his game at Penn, Thompson knows his ability to stay on board with a pro team could depend on his special teams, in which Thompson is well versed. Last year for the Quakers he returned kicks (10 for 235 yards), ran down kickoff and punt returners and was on the punt block team.
"If you play the position that's great, but for [an NFL team] to keep you, you want to be able to do special teams as well," Thompson said. "I have to be able do both."
Some minor knocks on the 5-foot-10, 190-pound corner have been his mediocre speed and his lack of size. In the NFL, players are bigger and faster, and it can be a rough adjustment for many college players competing at skill positions. Thompson is fairly light and a little bit short for a cornerback, and runs a pedestrian 40-yard dash. However, his skills are more than enough to compensate for his size. Thompson is good enough to be drafted, and hopefully for him, his size and top speed will not be a huge factor.
"He's got enough ability so that he can possibly make up for what there is in lack of speed," Brunner said. "He's not a 4.4 40 guy, he's more of a 4.5 40 guy, but he makes up for it. He's got some athletic ability, some defensive toughness and the right game. So that can outweigh his size."
It is a big question whether or not Thompson will be drafted. If he is selected, it would probably be late in the draft. He has a chance of going in the later part of the second day according to Brunner.
While not getting drafted is very possible, Thompson will not be too nervous on the two days of the draft.
"If I get into the draft, that's great, but if I don't, I'm going to get signed so it's not something I'm going to stress on," Thompson said. "Whatever happens, happens."
The other major Ivy prospect, Harvard's Fitzpatrick, is not trying to figure out whether he will get drafted, but when.
Fitzpatrick is considered one of the best quarterbacks in this year's draft. According to Ourlads Scouting Service's mock draft, Fitzpatrick is projected as a fifth-round pick, the 158th overall, and one of the draft's top 10 quarterbacks.
Fitzpatrick is a smart and accurate passer who, perhaps most importantly, led Harvard to an undefeated mark of 10-0, and an Ivy Championship last season. The last two years, he passed for over 3,700 yards and scored 40 total touchdowns (29 passing, 11 rushing) and only threw 14 interceptions.
"His strength is he's a competitor," Harvard offensive coordinator Dave Cecchini said. "He wants to win and wants to score a touchdown on every play, but sometimes that can be his weakness. Sometimes he needs to throw the ball away and doesn't. Occasionally he gets us in trouble, but luckily he's been better at creating some things than getting us in trouble."
Being from a prestigious school helps his smart reputation.
"I think that's the perception of me right now," Fitzpatrick said in a press conference. "I'm a smart quarterback, and the 'Harvard' tag helps that out a lot"
Fitzpatrick's only flaw is that he is from Harvard, a Division I-AA school. The harshest criticism for either player is that Ivy League's weak competition.
"It's not their call who they play," Brunner said of Thompson as well as Fitzpatrick. "If they can dominate on [the Ivy League] level, then they should have an opportunity to go on to the next level."
Fitzpatrick has seen the effects of coming from a I-AA program.
"The best reaction I get is 'they play football at Harvard?' Fitzpatrick said. "A lot of the coaches are good about it, they respect the school and respect the program."
There are many other Ivy seniors entering the draft this year as well as Thompson and Fitzpatrick, but few of them have a shot of getting drafted. Rory Hennessey, an offensive guard from Yale, has some potential. The fact that he is 6-4 and weighs 285 pounds should make him at least the right size for an NFL player.
