INDIANAPOLIS - Robert Ayers likes what he's hearing this weekend.
There's a good reason, because Ayers is spending the weekend at the NFL Scouting Combine, and when it comes to his immediate future, the word around Lucas Oil Stadium hardly could be better for the former University of Tennessee defensive end.
He's one of the most-talked about players at the combine. He's one of the fastest-rising names in the draft class.
And for Ayers (6-feet-3, 272 pounds), those are good words.
"I've been hearing some things since I've been here," Ayers, who will work out at the combine today, said with a smile Sunday.
How good? Consider.
Ayers, who started one season for the Vols and was once considered a middle-of-the-draft selection, is getting mentioned as a potential first-round selection.
Perhaps, early first round.
"Robert Ayers has opened my eyes," NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said. "I think he is the fastest riser in this draft."
Ayers, after redshirting during his freshman season and playing as a reserve the next three years, was named team captain before his senior season, during which he had 15.5 tackles for losses and three sacks. That, coupled with a junior season in which he had 12 tackles for losses and four sacks, earned him invitations to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., in January and this weekend's combine.
It was at the Senior Bowl where Ayers' stock first began to rise significantly.
He impressed scouts with his one-on-one battles with Ole Miss left tackle Michael Oher, then followed that with a 1.5-sack performance and was selected defensive most valuable player.
"There was a little buzz about him late in the year at Tennessee," Mayock said. "At the Senior Bowl, nobody could block him. His explosion and quickness blew me away so I went back and watched some more college tape of him after the Senior Bowl."
Particularly impressive, Mayock said, was Ayers' performance in a loss to Alabama.
"If you put the Alabama game on it might be one of the best tapes I saw all year of an individual player," Mayock said. "I thought he handled (Alabama left tackle and projected first-round selection) Andre Smith. They kicked him inside and the guards couldn't block him. I think he could play the 4-3 end and kick him inside.
"I have him in my top 20 right now out of nowhere and I have him as the 12th-best player in the country right now. I think he is a fast riser."
Ayers said while he started just one year at UT, the idea that he was productive for just one season is a notion he wants to discount.
"If you look at the stats, I led the team in tackles for loss and sacks coming off the bench (as a junior)," Ayers said. "My hard work didn't just start my senior year. I got most improved my junior year, and the fact that I got elected captain my senior year showed I've been working hard. My hard work really just paid off, but I've been working hard since Day One. That's what I'm going to continue to do.
"I guess you could say I'm a late bloomer. I just stayed patient, kept praying and waited until an opportunity came. When an opportunity came, I just tried to take advantage of it."
Ayers said while he hasn't heard specifics about where he might be drafted or by whom, he had "good vibes" in his meetings with teams throughout the weekend.
"I feel like I've been doing a good job with the chalkboard stuff," he said. "They haven't said anything to me in particular. I just have a good vibe coming out of meetings and interacting with coaches."
While Ayers played defensive end with the Vols, he said he will be doing some workouts as a 3-4 linebacker, a position he could play in the NFL.
"A lot of teams are going to work me out that way," he said. "I'm looking forward to it, really."
But Ayers said no matter where he plays, and no matter what he's hearing this weekend, he is approaching the weekend - and his future - with as positive an outlook as possible.
"I feel like it's a blessing," Ayers said. "I try not to listen to those things (about his draft status), but just to be considered to get drafted in any round is a blessing."
Growing up, he watched NFL players like Barry Sanders and Reggie White. Just to be considered to go any round, or free agency, that's a blessing in itself.
"I'm just happy to be here and trying to take advantage of the opportunity."
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
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Comments » 42
GatorHater326 writes:
HMMM shows the talent that used to just sit the bench... hopefully no more of that to come... Congrats Ayers you deserve it.
huntined#565710 writes:
WOW FIRST ROUND???$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Congrats man!!!
JMP_Vols writes:
Love that he's getting all this attention.
He's a stud, and outside of Berry was our best defensive player last year.
He'll be a good pro.
BSweet writes:
To me, this represents Fulmer's biggest weakness as a coach. He could get the players, he just couldn't develop them while they were at UT. Ayers wouldn't be the first Vol to have a mediocre college career only to go on to success in the NFL. It's sad to think of some of the talent we've had that was never coached up. I really hope Kiffin and crew do a better job of maximizing the potential of these kids. That's what it is going to take for us to rise to our former glory.
JMP_Vols writes:
Love the combine stuff....
What in the world has happened to Andre Smith???
Percy ran, but didn't go through the passing tree. Odd.
volbald writes:
Ayers is the 12th best in the country? And Fulmer and Chavez didn't start playing Ayers until his senior year? With Eric Berry in the secondary no wonder UT had the 4th best defense in the country in spite of the fact it took our offense 15 minues to gain 5 yards. What a joke Fulmer and his offensive staff have been - except when Cutcliff was there. Fulmer still talks like he was entitled to coach until he wanted to retire. If Kiffin can coach as strong as he talks, we should see some immediate improvement when the season starts.
volwalker#243749 writes:
BSweet: while I wouldn't exactly call it "success in the NFL", one of the more remarkable Vol NFL stories is QB Pat Ryan. He was a backup QB during a time when the Vols were mediocre as a team. He was drafted in the 11th round by the Jets in '78. To his credit, although he only started 19 games as a pro, he played in the NFL for 13 years (12 with the Jets, mainly as their backup QB).
Ironcity writes:
I have to say I watched Ayers through the years and he stunk until this year.
Not sure what he did to make himself better, but Congrats to Ayers for getting it done. I won't blame Fulmer for not playing him earlier. I do remember him getting into quite a bit of trouble either his Freshman or Soph. year. I remember thinking their was no way he would ever make it four years. Not sure what he did, but I believe he had multiple issues.
FWBVol writes:
I'm not saying it's you, but this attitude is so classic. There were a lot of people upset when Fulmer brought Cutcliffe back because we were still running the same offense as we had since Majors arrived in 1977 (UT ran the wishbone in 1976). So Fulmer goes outside "the Vol Family," and hires Clawson. When the offense didn't click immediately people wanted Fulmer's head and got it.
I support Lane Kiffin as the UT football coach, but I'm tired of people ripping Fulmer all the time. That's your right and I'll stand by it, but I'm still tired of it.
I hope Kiffin coaches long enough at Tennessee to win more football games than Phillip Fulmer, because if he does that means the Vols will be in the hunt every year. And while I believe Kiffin will win at UT, he hasn't won a game yet. He hasn't beaten Western Kentucky, Vanderbilt or Kentucky...not to mention he hasn't beaten Florida, Georgia or Bama either.
ravensearay writes:
Hmmmmmmmm. No mention of how Inky Johnson helped get his head screwed on straight. No matter.....Good to see him getting recognized.
jsm67vol writes:
I like Kiffins attitude that the best p;ayers will start but this doesn't automatically mean we'll be great. When you start young players, expect some of the stupid mistakes that the young guys make. My hope is that the athleticism may be able to make up for some of those mistakes. There are going to be some ugly moments early in the 09 season IMO and we need to be ready for that as fans. This is still a process that will take time.I think most of us just want to see the intensity back.
HtownVol writes:
I would love to see my Buffalo Bills grab Robert with the 11th pick. They erally need some help on the D- Line or at LB. I did notice that Robert was becoming our 2nd best Defensive player as the year went on. He gave his all on every play. And I agree with most on here that Fulmer did play his players and not the ones who deserved to play. I just want to see Kiffin turn out Offense around. Get the QBs to play smart, the line to block and the WRs to run hard good routes and catch. Im sure that our D will be just fine.
lomas98 writes:
Classic example of everyone blaming coaches for everything. Ayers will be the first to admit that he was immature his first 3 years on campus and just didn't get it. He was dominant his whole senior year but was overshadowed by Berry. Like the scout in the article says, Ayers had one of the best performances against Bama but nobody remembers because of the outcome. For 3 years even the media was wondering when Ayers would grow up and play up to his potential. This was not the previous coaching staffs fault.
bkgunter writes:
Not an example of that at all. The guy says himself that he was a late bloomer AND significant contributor for two seasons. LET YOUR CPF BIGOTRY GO ! He's gone.
NoChildLeftaDime writes:
Just a minor note - I do not remember UT ever running a wishbone except maybe a few times in short yardage. (It's been a long time, and I could be wrong. Anyone else remember?) I remember them running the option out of the Veer under Bill Battle for a short period - probably in '76. Talk about a predictable scheme - those were the days: belly play, belly play, pass to Seivers.
leedsvol2007 writes:
I would first like to congratulate Robert Ayers he worked hard had a great year and shows that he was underrated.
As for the Wishbone I don't recall us ever running it. Randy Wallace was the starting quarterback the last year Battle was there and while we did run a little option it was basically a run first throw 2nd college offense of the day.
If you look at SoCal's offense it is a tailback/pro-style quarterback offense predicated on big powerful offense line and talent at the wideouts. They try to be balanced.
That's what Cutcliffe ran. There may be a few new wrinkles and we may not see as many flanker screens but other than that its basically the offense we ran for years.
When you have the personnel it works.
GoVols!
Moaninglikeheck writes:
Dang FOOLmer, always playing those danged seniors. FOOLmer didn't see talent right before his eyes. I just know he sat in his office during the off-season figuring out how to keep the best players on the bench to make room for the seniors. I don't think FOOLmer cared about winning or being the best, he just cared about letting a senior play no matter how bad they were. I bet FOOLmer had little parties with his seniors and didn't invite the underclassmen. What a shmuck FOOLmer was. It's a good thing all the seniors were good in 98 or FOOLmer coudn't have gone undefeated. Just think if he'd let the underclassmen play in 98, FOOLmer might have won the Superbowl too!!! Hey, I know that the Superbowl is an NFL game but I doubt FOOLmer knows.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I don't know, 13 years in a job with arguably the most money for the least work in the whole country sounds a lot like "success" to me(;-P)!
Moaninglikeheck writes:
Hey, I used the slur FOOLmer eight times in that post. Somebody top that!!!
beartn#223846 writes:
<<To me, this represents Fulmer's biggest weakness as a coach. He could get the players, he just couldn't develop them while they were at UT.>>
The reason Ayers didn't start was that he was very inconsistent until the second half of his Junior year. He was a good natural pass rusher, but was weak against the run early in his career. I do think that Fulmer often didn't get some players in as early as needed (though Manning, Casey Clausen, Ainge, Berry, Munoz, are some of many freshmen that started in their first season, a fact that many people forget when saying that Fulmer never played Freshmen), but I don't think Ayers played like a starter until the end of his Junior year. Hope he does well. It's better to peak late than to peak early.
messinaround writes:
If you look at the current and past NFL rosters of Tennessee players you will find that most were just average players in college and wonder how they made it to the pros. If it had not been for injuries some like Travis Henry would have never played in college must less pros.
orngbluded writes:
well said i totally agree,the best player where not always on the field the upper classmen were on the field instead.I hope this coaching staff doesnt wait till a player is a junoir or senoir to start.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
While I agree that much of the Fulmer-bashing has been and is over the top, surely you would agree that UT has forever doled out playing time based more on seniority than sheer talent. I would even agree that there is legitimately more to making a team than sheer talent, and Ayers' early off-field problems may have played a role, but the seniority system has a lot of negative effects as well. For example, a younger player who knows he won't play unless or until one, two, or three guys ahead of him in seniority might reasonably say to himself, "Why should I bust my butt every day to get better if I'm not going to get playing time for another three years?" That makes for less-competitive practices, makes it harder for younger players to buy into the program, and gives the older guys a sense of entitlement, a term many of us used to describe ex-CPF's mindset for years before he was let go. For all the important old-school values the seniority system promotes--delayed gratification, valuing the process leading to success as much as the success itself, submerging the ego for the good of the group, and all the rest--the younger generation does not identify as readily with those values as some of us older guys did and do. Clearly there are valid arguments to be made on both sides of the issue, but we KNOW what happens in today's competitive world to systems and organizations that lose their urgency in putting their best performers on the field regardless of experience. Of course, not every teenager who thinks of himself as the "next big thing" really IS, but some ARE, and we may well have lost out on some of them because of our seniority system.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
This was an NFL training camp story, not a biography. Didn't say anything about his parents or coaches, either.
jack_2222#231746 writes:
When Ayres got to Tennessee, he was a spoiled lazy underachiever. To say Fulmer never got anything out of him is ridiculous. Ayres is the player he is today- and was his last 2 years becaus of Fulmer and Chavez and Steve Caldwell.
VolFanNC writes:
I was wondering how far he would rise. One of the things that caught my eye this year was how he did against the run. He seemed like the most consistent pass rusher, but I noticed that he actually was much better against the run this year. Really good to see another TN DL go in the first round.
volroadwarrior writes:
You make an excellent point. I can remember our freshmen secondary, including Eric Berry, getting ripped apart their first few games until they got some experience. Sometimes it takes some risks to get the experience.
burntorangeVOLffle writes:
Some of you people are such blinded fools. Do you honestly think that Ayers was not coached up to this point? That his natural athletic ability is the only thing these NFL scouts are seeing? You are basically saying that he (and countless other players from TN during the Fulmer era) could have made the jump from high school to the NFL because they were just that talented and no coaching was involved.
Give the Fulmer bashing a rest. The man had his faults but developing NFL talent wasn't one of them.
ctownvol writes:
Anybody read this? I'm certainly a supporter of Coach Kiffin, but this is just too daned funny!
http://www.3sib.com/2009/02/16/lane-k...
volcycle writes:
Did you miss the part where he said himself that he was a late bloomer? Get over Fulmer. He's gone.
wildberry14 writes:
only fulmer would have let xavier mitchell start in front of ayers in his junior season.
Down_The_Field writes:
town....this is hilarious.
i too am on the lane train......he's a beast and if he'd take a few shots at peebody and kentucky, id feel better.
go vols!
kevin151 writes:
I just hope Wes Brown does not play. He is terrible.
ICARRIEDGOALPOST writes:
glad to hear the good news, 12th in the country i cant believe it. i wonder how many more like ayers slipped through the cracks because foolmore played the senior instead. i believe those days to be over, that was my biggest gripe with fulmer, if you put in the time and effort in practice fulmer was going to start you if you were an upper classman. im really looking forward to seeing all the talent we have and havent seen yet (chris donald, ben martin, gerald williams, and many more i can't think of rite now) in the orange and white game. even though i went to school at UT i have never went to a spring game. i guess this is just the first time that i have been excited enough about the future, with fulmer you knew what it was going to look like and who you were going to see, this spring will be like being born again and i cant wait. a few friends and i are already make plans to go to the game, its a new day in big orange country and i know that sweet spring mountain air will never have smelled so sweet (i'll see april 18th).
mtnbikrtn writes:
(The following post was put in parentheses for no particular reason by the poster.)
Volumni writes:
Son, get over yourself! There is just too much evidence. Fulmer only had one reputation...that of a recruiter. Once that started to fail him, the shortcomings in terms of coaching up players and teaching them caught up and put him away. Like Fulmer or hate him, he got outcoached each and every Saturday. Cutcliffe kept him from being fired five years earlier, whether he "agreed" with it or not.
murrayvol writes:
Actually he's not gone bk. He has an office with a view.
illinoisvolfan writes:
(We would also like to apologize for the previous apology.)
BSweet writes:
If his work ethic was that bad, why did Fulmer and crew recruit him to begin with? I'm not bashing Fulmer, but better coaching would have had Ayers reaching his potential sooner. Fulmer was a great politician, thus a great recruiter. He was not a great teacher. He did not push his players to their fullest. It was always a "gosh darn, we'll get 'em next time" mentality. Now get upset and call me a Fulmer hater if you want, but I assure you that's not the case. I'm not impugning the man's character. I'm not making personal attacks. I'm calling it the way I see it. In Fulmer's early days when it was a matter of just out-talenting teams, he had great success. As times changed and it came to him needing to develop these kids, his success waned. That speaks volumes.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
My bad; should have said "NFL combine story".
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Ditto! Good one!
Moaninglikeheck writes:
Naval.
Not speaking for Duke, but I personally respect that he attaches his name to his opinions in a public manner. I don't think he means to claim that his opinion is more valid because of it. I think he is essentially protesting the shamelessness that accompanies anonymous internet posting. Frankly, I agree with you that CPF had some serious coaching flaws and I've noticed and complained that some talented players were overlooked when (to be fair) more than capable but maybe less talented upperclassmen were starters. Given that, I am also quite certain that given time Lane Kiffin will prove to have his own flaws and if he lasts as long as Fulmer we'll be hashing them out here as well...in due time.
The real problem is that credit is very seldom given when it is due. It seems to me that given he was fired almost three months ago that people would be "letting go" of the hatred and finding a way to temper the criticism a bit.
I guess that's too much to ask.
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