Supplemental draft scouting reports: Bright Ugwoegbu, Martayveus Carter

By Dane Brugler, NFLDraftScout.com

The NFL supplemental draft, which will be held Wednesday, will be more noteworthy than most, featuring three draftable defensive backs.

We've scouted Western Michigan cornerback Sam Beal as a third-round talent, with Mississippi State safety Brandon Bryant and Virginia Tech cornerback Adonis Alexander also likely worthy of a selection. Two others joined the fray late; here is a breakdown on Oregon State linebacker Bright Ugwoegbu and Grand Valley State running back Martayveus Carter:

Bright Ugwoegbu, OLB, Oregon State

6-1, 205, 4.95

Katy, Texas (Seven Lakes)

9/30/1995 (Age 22)

Supplemental Draft Projection: Undrafted Free Agent

Scouting Report

Ugwoegbu was a do-everything linebacker for Oregon State, spending most snaps rushing off the edge or lining up across from slot receivers. He was listed as a linebacker on the roster, but he has safety size and was utilized as more of a nickel defender in the Beavers' scheme.

An alert player, Ugwoegbu has a knack for finding daylight in a crowd and wiggling through slivers of daylight to the ball-carrier. He is a balanced tackler with few misses on his game tape -- if he is in the vicinity, he is helping get the ball-carrier on the ground. As a pass rusher, Ugwoegbu has the determination to scratch and crawl to the pocket, with his best rushes coming on loops or inside moves.

Ugwoegbu is under-powered for trench play and struggles to take on blockers, usually ending up wherever the blocker wants. He doesn't offer much creativity as a pass rusher and didn't routinely win the edge on film (he had no shot of capturing the edge vs. Washington left tackle Trey Adams). Ugwoegbu has experience spot-dropping, but his cover instincts are undeveloped and he lacks the fluidity in reverse to hold up away from the line of scrimmage.

Summary

As a NFL prospect, Ugwoegbu isn't a reject, but where do you play him? His ball pursuit and hustle stand out on film and that will give him an opportunity to make a pro roster on special teams. However, I don't expect him to be drafted and his lackluster workout times (4.95 40-yard dash, 7.38 three-cone drill, 4.70 short shuttle) don't help his cause.

Background

Born in London, Ugwoegbu (oog-way-boo) grew up in Nigeria, where his father was a political diplomat. At the age of 9, he moved to the United States, along with his mother and siblings, making a home for themselves in Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Ugwoegbu played football, basketball and track in high school and earned a scholarship to Oregon State to play football.

After redshirting in 2014, Ugwoegbu was a part-time starter at linebacker in 2015, posting 17 tackles, including two for loss. He became the full-time starter as a sophomore in 2016 and, despite missing most of the final four games due to a foot injury, led the team in tackles for loss (11.0) and sacks (5.5).

Ugwoegbu started 11 games as a junior in 2017 and finished with 55 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries.

Ugwoegbu, who has dealt with plenty of adversity in his life, including the assassination of his father (Bright Sr.) by political adversaries, is described by one former coach as a "well-intentioned young man, who still has growing up to do." Ugwoegbu, who speaks three languages (English, German and Spanish), returned to Corvallis for his senior season but was suspended during spring practice and elected to enter the 2018 Supplemental Draft.

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Martayveus Carter, RB, Grand Valley State

5-11, 202, 4.60

East Chicago, Ind. (East Chicago Central)

Supplemental Draft Projection: Undrafted Free Agent

Scouting Report

Carter does a nice job following his blockers to daylight, using quick feet to make lateral cuts away from defenders. His best runs on film came between the numbers and the hashes, getting wide outside the tackle, allowing pursuit to over-pursue and then cutting north.

I have concerns about his vision at the line of scrimmage, but not at the second level -- he is terrific in the open field, setting up moves and creating big plays.

For an average-sized back, Carter runs taller than expected and needs to use better pad level to attack contact. He shows minimal power between the tackles and can be too easily slowed by contact. Carter has short-area juice and hits his top speed quickly, but those jets stall out, lacking the wheels to run away from NFL linebackers.

Another concerning issue was his tendency to hold the ball loose and in the wrong hand -- in the game tapes watched, he had a fumble into the end zone vs. Michigan Tech, resulting in a turnover. Carter has experience as a receiver with 35 career catches, but most of those came on swing screens and he wasn't asked to run many routes.

Summary

Carter, who will not hold a pro day prior to the Supplemental Draft, was highly productive at the Division-II level, and his short-area quickness and open-field awareness are worthy of the next level. However, his lack of run power and anticipation as an inside runner are concerns. His athleticism was enough to escape trouble vs. Division-II defensive speed, but that won't be the case vs. NFL speed. Carter will likely go undrafted and will need to prove he has the accountability and speed to earn an opportunity with a NFL club.

Background

Martayvus "Marty" Carter was a standout high school player on both sides of the ball. At running back, he rushed for 1,164 yards as a senior in 2013 to finish with 3,467 career rushing yards (second-most in school history) and 53 touchdowns (most in school history). Carter also set several records as a linebacker with 158 tackles as a senior to give him 505 career stops, setting the East Chicago record.

Carter was hoping to follow in the footsteps of former East Chicago Central grad Kawann Short and play football at Purdue, but that offer never arrived and he was content signing with MAC power Northern Illinois. However, Carter says "life situations" interfered with that path and he never signed his letter of intent with the program.

Division-II Grand Valley State entered the picture and signed him, which was a "second chance," according to Carter.

After redshirting in 2014, Carter was a productive back-up in 2015 with 889 yards and seven scores on 135 carries. His breakout season came in 2016 as a sophomore with a school-record 1,908 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns, also setting the school single-game mark with 298 rushing yards on 20 carries. Carter was named the Division-II Offensive Player of the Year with numerous All-American honors.

Carter had trouble staying on the field as a junior (only five games of 15-plus carries), but he was productive when given the ball, leading the team with 931 rushing yards and the conference with 7.6 yards per carry. He bypassed a chance at leaving school early for the NFL Draft but was ruled ineligible during the spring, leaving the Supplemental Draft as his best option.

In three seasons, Carter became the school's career leading rusher (3,728 yards and 36 touchdowns).