There are even more dire issues that haven't been brought to the public's attention yet

[Guy Chamberlin]

I dunno if I buy the premise that people are now claiming Randy Gregory was never that great to begin with.

RG came back for a Junior year already touted as a Top Five, maybe even Top Three draft pick.

He was dogged by injuries, poor schemes and huge expectations, and was still a Top Ten draft pick. His tweener size for the NFL was always an issue, but everyone agreed he'd get drafted high regardless and someone would figure out how to use his talents.

Suddenly you have some off-field issues that make you look back on his less than consistent play, including taking himself out of games when he looked winded, and that dials up the second guessing. But as this guy says, those questions marks might make RG drop, but that will also make him a bargain for the right team, and force RG to focus on the things he can control, which he'll need to do to reestablish his creds. Weirdly enough, it might take a tick of pressure off Randy Gregory and maybe that's what he needs.

 

[The Dude]

There is no way anybody on defense should be judged harshly from the last few years as far as run stopping. There were major issues in the scheme as far as stopping the run and the players are forced to play that scheme. Could have some done better? Sure, but, I blame the scheme much more than I blame any player.

I heard an analyst on Mike & Mike a few weeks ago say that RG would be excellent as a middle linebacker. HIs reason was his size and speed. As a d-linemen, he's going to lose his competitive advantage against quite a few o-tackles and double team him and run the ball right at him. The guys comment was that as an middle backer, he could use his speed laterally, cover guys in the flat, and he wouldn't have to worry about constantly bulking up because his frame doesn't seem to want to carry 280lbs. I think this made a lot of sense because his speed is what separates him from the pack in college, but in the pros you need a combination of speed and size where with RG it's the size he's lacking.
I thought it was an interesting comment. Not sure how it would work in application, but interesting.

I've thought of this too. Every time I saw Rolando McLain last year, I just pictured RG out there playing MLB.

 

[NUance]

Gregory's draft status has analysts chattering

18 hours ago • By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star

Even after the news came out that Randy Gregory had failed a drug test at the combine, his name has been a fixture on most every mock draft as going somewhere in the first round. Sports Illustrated recently had the former Husker rush end being picked at No. 13 by New Orleans. The Associated Press guessed the same. Guesses. A lot of guesses this week before the draft kicks off Thursday in Chicago.

There's also some buzz here late in the game from some reporters wondering if Gregory is a first-round pick. Pete Prisco, senior columnist for CBS Sports, tweeted late Monday afternoon: "Could Randy Gregory slide out of the first round? Some talk of that now."
LINK

Looks like our top ten pick to break the B1G drought went up in a puff of smoke.

 

[Mavric]

The only one I've seen with him near the end of the first round is SI's Peter King from this morning. Most still have him as a 10-15 pick with a few still saying he'll go around #8.

Would have been nice to get in the Top 10 but I think it's probably more 13-16 at this point.

 

[Bigred_inSD]

With Shane Ray needing possible surgery and now hid marijuana bust, he could be the guy who was a top 10 lock to fall all the way to round 2

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Raiders have always like Gregory. Skip to the part where Cosell explains why he's better than Jadaveon Clowney:

 

[QMany]

"My favorite thing about him is his motor. He is a high-effort guy."

 

[lo country]

"My favorite thing about him is his motor. He is a high-effort guy."

Here's a question. Since Bo's time here, we have had guys who excelled. Such, Haag, Gomes, Fonzie, David and Gregory. On average, a guy or 2 per year. Did they succeed in part because of Bo's system or were they "high effort" guys. I remember in David's first game (like 15 tackles IIRC) Bo said he did good, but didn't play in the system.

I look back at the great NU teams of the past and they seemed to be filled with "high effort" guys or guys with motors. If we could get a few more guys who play with abandon, this might make the difference. In Bankers scheme, at least the D, will be allowed to play with more aggression (motor effort?) I hope it translates to wins.

 

[Red Five]

Deadspin on Randy's reported issues, but no one will say what they are.

By every account Nebraska pass rusher Randy Gregory is an NFL talent, and based on football skills alone, deserves to go early in tomorrow’s first round. But reports citing multiple scouts and team executives indicate he’s rapidly sliding down draft boards, with some teams prepared to pass on him altogether. The strange part is that no one will say exactly why.

Gregory has failed a few tests for marijuana, most recently at the combine. He’s also slightly undersized to play defensive end, which is where he likely projects (he did play a lot of linebacker in college). But apparently, there’s more than that.

Today comes a very odd report from NFL.com on Gregory, and on teams worries about what they might get from him. Pay very close attention to the wording throughout, because it’s maddeningly nonspecific and just begging you to read between the lines.

What is this “off-the-field stuff” that could torpedo Gregory’s NFL career? Why do scouts and the NFL.com reporters repeatedly go out of their way to emphasize that these problems are “no fault of his own?” Mike Florio’s baffled, and damned if this report—and others referring to Gregory’s “other issues”—isn’t specifically obfuscating the actual issue at hand.

The caution may stem from potential medical privacy issues, as well as workplace discrimination laws. There are rumors, confined to social media and message boards, that Gregory may suffer from depression and/or anxiety. (He himself has said he first started smoking marijuana to deal with anxiety, though it’s not clear if he was using the term in its clinical sense.)

It’s not clear whether the teams are reacting to the rumors, or whether they’re acting on information that’s behind the rumors, but it would absolutely explain this weird pre-draft farrago. As much as the players have collectively bargained away medical privacy, no team or reporter would want to speak publicly about a kid’s mental health status—or admit that they’d deny him employment because of it. At the same time, it would be a very real concern for teams gambling a first-round pick. Just ask the Houston Rockets, who took Royce White 16th overall, knowing his struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety disorder, and never got a single game from him.

If there’s truth to this, it’s telling that the NFL doesn’t have the vocabulary to differentiate mental health from “mental toughness.” It’s a cold business, and anything that gets in the way of an athlete’s ability to stay on the field will necessarily take precedence.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

If Gregory was indeed using marijuana to cope with anxiety issues, then it's probably something related to the source of his anxiety.

Which could be lots of stuff.

The NFL doesn't need anything definitive, just that Randy Gregory has issues.

This guy nailed it.

 

[Mavric]

[No message]

 

[Husker no ka oi]

He's got issues, I'm afraid some deep issues. He may end getting black balled at this point. Show to a job interview high and then blow of meetings with teams. He may end up in the 4th round.