Daniel Jeremiah Weighs In on Urban Meyer, Jaguars' Staff's College Evaluation Transition

Not many teams will be as versed in the college game as the Jacksonville Jaguars when April's NFL Draft rolls around. New head coach Urban Meyer has been the one figure to come close to rivaling Nick Saban at the collegiate level over the last two decades, while his staff is filled with transplants from the college coaching ranks.

But how much of an advantage does this truly give Meyer and his coaching staff and front office? Does knowing dozens of prospects in this year's draft inside and out mean the team has an advantage or a transition?

NFL Network analyst and former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah weighed in on Meyer and his staff's transition to evaluating for the pro game during a conference call earlier this week, noting the similarity in one famous former college-to-NFL coach's strategy.

"Yeah, look, everybody always goes back to Jimmy Johnson and the success that he had in those drafts with the Dallas Cowboys because he knew those kids having recruited them and having coached a bunch of them and having coached against a bunch of them the value there," Jeremiah said this week.

"I think he's going to definitely know the kids for sure, and I think that can be a help for that whole coaching staff."

Johnson helped build the Cowboys into a new dynasty, winning two Super Bowls after joining Jerry Jones in Dallas following a number of successful years leading the Miami Hurricanes.

Johnson would go on to use his influence and oversee the Cowboys draft a number of Hurricanes during his tenure from 1989-1993. In his first draft, he drafted two Miami players (Rod Carter, Randy Shannon) in the 10th and 11th rounds. In 1990, the Cowboys took Hurricanes defensive tackle Jimmie Jones at No. 64 overall.

In 1991, the Cowboys picked Miami defensive tackle Russell Maryland with the No. 1 overall pick. They later picked Miami guard Mike Sullivan in the sixth round. Jones didn't draft any Hurricanes in 1992, but his first two picks in 1993 (Kevin Williams at No. 46, Darrin Smith at No. 54) were both Miami players.

As coincidence has it, Meyer and Johnson are quite close. Meyer has talked to Johnson about making the same leap from college to the NFL that he made over 30 years ago.

"Jimmy Johnson has been a very good friend over the years and our time at FOX together—he was a guy that I leaned on very heavily during television for the last two years. But then I had a few phone calls with him recently. He will be a resource for me, he will be a guy that I’ll speak to quite frequently," Meyer said at his introductory press conference on Jan. 15.

"And I think there is a perception out there; he told me that you have to be much different when you’re in college, than you have to be in professional football. But he made clear that players want to win. Players, they want to win, they understand their value, their brand—and their lifestyle proves that you win and they want to be around winners. So I’m very enthusiastic after speaking with him. I’ve also spoken to several of my very close friends that are head coaches in the NFL. But Jimmy Johnson was fantastic and he’ll be a guy that I’ll lean on quite frequently.”

But, Jeremiah would go on to explain, this doesn't mean Meyer and his staff should go around specifically taking players who donned the Ohio State helmet, or played for Charlie Strong at USF or Chris Ash at Texas, and so forth.

The Jaguars' familiarity with college prospects will undoubtedly be a useful tool and part of the equation, but Jeremiah explained why it shouldn't be the entire strategy.

"I would say the only thing that you've just got to caution against is maybe what you remember -- not allowing what you remember of a 17-year-old junior in high school to cloud what you saw of a 22-year-old junior in college. That's where you've just got to be careful that you don't stay attached to what you saw of a kid," Jeremiah said.

"We see it all the time in free agency where teams will stay attached to their draft grades, and you're like, man, you just paid this guy a lot of money and you had big grades on him coming out of college, but he hasn't been that player in the NFL. You overpaid him. That to me is just the only challenge is not to be married to any preconceived thoughts you had on these guys as younger kids."

How the Jaguars opt to utilize their knowledge of the college game and several of the prospects throughout this next season and the several after it will be fascinating to watch unfold. Meyer's calling card was the college game, and this won't change with the transition to the NFL.

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