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When Eric Fisher wowed ‘em at the Senior Bowl in late January, it became clear that the Central Michigan product was out of reach for the Rams in the NFL draft.
A month later at the NFL Scouting Combine, it was adios to Oklahoma’s Lane Johnson after Johnson put on one of the best workouts on record for an offensive tackle.
Luke Joeckel? No chance. From the moment he turned pro, the Texas A&M behemoth was a potential No. 1 overall pick.
So if the Rams are seeking an offensive tackle with one of their two first-round picks, they may have to look across the Atlantic so to speak for help.
Namely, Menelik Watson, a native of Manchester, England, and a late comer to the sport of American football. A former Rams lineman with European roots, Tom Nutten, has helped get Watson ready for the NFL during the pre-draft process.
The underrated Nutten was a starting guard on both Rams Super Bowl teams in St. Louis. Former Rams line coach Jim Hanifan still raves about the job Nutten did on Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp of Tampa Bay in the 1999 season’s NFC championship.
“I think I was a decent athlete, certainly average of strength and size,” Nutten said. “But I relied a lot on my technique, and that’s one of the things I certainly like to pass on – that even if you have everything, technique will get you from a good player to a great player.”
Nutten tried to pass on some of that technique to Menelik as a coach at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. It’s the fourth year Nutten, who lives in the area, has coached the 10-12 week sessions at IMG leading up to the Combine. In his first year there, Nutten worked with Indiana University offensive tackle Rodger Saffold, who went to the Rams as a second-round pick in 2010.
“Coach Nutten’s given me the expression: ‘Put tools in the tool belt,’ ” Watson said. “Arm myself with as much technique as I can have. So when presented with a situation, I can reach in the tool belt and use a new technique to (help) my situation on the field.”
So far, Watson has been a quick study. He came to America in 2009 on a basketball scholarship to Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. But things didn’t go well, and with a daughter to support, Watson made a radical switch over to football in 2011, heading cross-country to Saddleback Junior College in Mission Viejo, Calif.
He had never played American football before. Didn’t even know how to put his pads on. After one year at Saddleback, a junior college where his teammate was Kyle Long – the younger brother of Rams defensive end Chris Long – Watson transferred to Florida State and made 12 starts last season. He showed enough athleticism and raw talent that despite his lack of football experience, he’s projected as a late first-round or early second-round pick in next week’s draft.
Watson is one of five known offensive linemen to make a pre-draft visit to Rams Park, joining guard/tackle Kyle Long who transferred to Oregon from Saddleback, tackle D.J. Fluker of Alabama, guard Larry Warford of Kentucky, and tackle Oday Aboushi of Virginia.
“Just the European background alone of course, I certainly see a lot of myself in (Watson),’’ said Nutten, who grew up in Germany. “And just the whole story. His background of only having played for – two years? Two seasons of football I think is a phenomenal story.
“That kind of proves my theory of if you’re a great athlete, they’ll be a spot for you on the football team. I think he was fortunate that when he did start playing, he had pretty good coaches where he was at and that he was being taught proper technique.
“At the same time there’s certainly a lot of things that he can improve on and will improve on just with time that he’ll put in.”
During Watson’s training with Nutten at IMG, Nutten saw a hunger in Watson as well as glimpses of special talent. When Watson hit the blocking dummies in drills, Nutten said he could feel the difference.
Tempering his remarks because none of the IMG work was done in pads, Nutten nonetheless said he could see Watson earning a starting job as a rookie even with his inexperience.
“Absolutely,” Nutten said. “I think it’s realistic. Now for me to sit here having trained somebody in shorts and T-shirt and say, ‘Yes, he’s gonna be great.’ I couldn’t tell you.
“(But) I think from what I’ve seen, whether it’s on film or from what I’ve seen on the field myself in him, I think there’s certainly a great possibility. It’s gonna help if he gets into a program that still teaches a lot of technique because he’s not gonna be the kind of guy (that’s a finished product).”
Nutten also said he thought Watson could easily play guard in the NFL. That’s important to hear because if Saffold stays with the Rams in 2013, and the Rams take Watson, Watson potentially could be plugged into the left guard spot.
“I can see him as a guard,” Nutten said. “Just being thick enough and quick enough to be on the inside. And on the flip side, being rangy and long enough to play tackle. I think he can do both.”
Watson, 6-5, 310, spent time with Nutten at IMG watching film of one of Nutten’s former Rams teammates – left tackle Orlando Pace.
“It’s more like the old guys, like pioneers,” Watson said. “Because that’s what I want to be. One day I want to be a pioneer. I want to be someone who all the kids look up to and say they want to watch film of me and see what I did. That’s the goal I’m aiming for.”
When Eric Fisher wowed ‘em at the Senior Bowl in late January, it became clear that the Central Michigan product was out of reach for the Rams in the NFL draft.
A month later at the NFL Scouting Combine, it was adios to Oklahoma’s Lane Johnson after Johnson put on one of the best workouts on record for an offensive tackle.
Luke Joeckel? No chance. From the moment he turned pro, the Texas A&M behemoth was a potential No. 1 overall pick.
So if the Rams are seeking an offensive tackle with one of their two first-round picks, they may have to look across the Atlantic so to speak for help.
Namely, Menelik Watson, a native of Manchester, England, and a late comer to the sport of American football. A former Rams lineman with European roots, Tom Nutten, has helped get Watson ready for the NFL during the pre-draft process.
The underrated Nutten was a starting guard on both Rams Super Bowl teams in St. Louis. Former Rams line coach Jim Hanifan still raves about the job Nutten did on Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp of Tampa Bay in the 1999 season’s NFC championship.
“I think I was a decent athlete, certainly average of strength and size,” Nutten said. “But I relied a lot on my technique, and that’s one of the things I certainly like to pass on – that even if you have everything, technique will get you from a good player to a great player.”
Nutten tried to pass on some of that technique to Menelik as a coach at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. It’s the fourth year Nutten, who lives in the area, has coached the 10-12 week sessions at IMG leading up to the Combine. In his first year there, Nutten worked with Indiana University offensive tackle Rodger Saffold, who went to the Rams as a second-round pick in 2010.
“Coach Nutten’s given me the expression: ‘Put tools in the tool belt,’ ” Watson said. “Arm myself with as much technique as I can have. So when presented with a situation, I can reach in the tool belt and use a new technique to (help) my situation on the field.”
So far, Watson has been a quick study. He came to America in 2009 on a basketball scholarship to Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. But things didn’t go well, and with a daughter to support, Watson made a radical switch over to football in 2011, heading cross-country to Saddleback Junior College in Mission Viejo, Calif.
He had never played American football before. Didn’t even know how to put his pads on. After one year at Saddleback, a junior college where his teammate was Kyle Long – the younger brother of Rams defensive end Chris Long – Watson transferred to Florida State and made 12 starts last season. He showed enough athleticism and raw talent that despite his lack of football experience, he’s projected as a late first-round or early second-round pick in next week’s draft.
Watson is one of five known offensive linemen to make a pre-draft visit to Rams Park, joining guard/tackle Kyle Long who transferred to Oregon from Saddleback, tackle D.J. Fluker of Alabama, guard Larry Warford of Kentucky, and tackle Oday Aboushi of Virginia.
“Just the European background alone of course, I certainly see a lot of myself in (Watson),’’ said Nutten, who grew up in Germany. “And just the whole story. His background of only having played for – two years? Two seasons of football I think is a phenomenal story.
“That kind of proves my theory of if you’re a great athlete, they’ll be a spot for you on the football team. I think he was fortunate that when he did start playing, he had pretty good coaches where he was at and that he was being taught proper technique.
“At the same time there’s certainly a lot of things that he can improve on and will improve on just with time that he’ll put in.”
During Watson’s training with Nutten at IMG, Nutten saw a hunger in Watson as well as glimpses of special talent. When Watson hit the blocking dummies in drills, Nutten said he could feel the difference.
Tempering his remarks because none of the IMG work was done in pads, Nutten nonetheless said he could see Watson earning a starting job as a rookie even with his inexperience.
“Absolutely,” Nutten said. “I think it’s realistic. Now for me to sit here having trained somebody in shorts and T-shirt and say, ‘Yes, he’s gonna be great.’ I couldn’t tell you.
“(But) I think from what I’ve seen, whether it’s on film or from what I’ve seen on the field myself in him, I think there’s certainly a great possibility. It’s gonna help if he gets into a program that still teaches a lot of technique because he’s not gonna be the kind of guy (that’s a finished product).”
Nutten also said he thought Watson could easily play guard in the NFL. That’s important to hear because if Saffold stays with the Rams in 2013, and the Rams take Watson, Watson potentially could be plugged into the left guard spot.
“I can see him as a guard,” Nutten said. “Just being thick enough and quick enough to be on the inside. And on the flip side, being rangy and long enough to play tackle. I think he can do both.”
Watson, 6-5, 310, spent time with Nutten at IMG watching film of one of Nutten’s former Rams teammates – left tackle Orlando Pace.
“It’s more like the old guys, like pioneers,” Watson said. “Because that’s what I want to be. One day I want to be a pioneer. I want to be someone who all the kids look up to and say they want to watch film of me and see what I did. That’s the goal I’m aiming for.”
