Former Hurricanes hoping to impress NFL scouts at Shrine Game
Three former Miami Hurricanes — defensive lineman Chad Thomas, offensive lineman KC McDermott and defensive back Dee Delaney — are hoping to make a good impression on NFL scouts this weekend when they play in the East-West Shrine Game on Saturday.
Three days into practice at St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field, all is going well.
Thomas is the hottest commodity of the three so far. The defensive end played in 49 games during his four seasons at UM with 33 starts and finished his collegiate career with 103 total tackles (26 for loss), 11 sacks, eight pass deflections, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He is projected as a potential third- or fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Thomas has impressed with his pass-rushing skills during the first few days of practice. He also spoke with representatives from the San Diego Chargers on Wednesday and the San Francisco 49ers on Monday, according to Pewter Report’s Trevor Sikkema.
Just missed the get-off, but here's Miami DE Chad Thomas winning a pass rush rep vs. Pitt OT Jaryd Jones-Smith.#ShrineGame pic.twitter.com/MQaWz16IBJ
— Chase Goodbread (@ChaseGoodbread) January 16, 2018
.@CanesFootball DE Chad Thomas (right side) gets off the block for the sack. Not many big name edge guys here, but he's standing out so far #ShrineGame pic.twitter.com/pNRoDu5CHw
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 15, 2018
McDermott started the final 34 games of his career, spending time at left tackle, right tackle and left guard. The 6-foot-7, 300-pound offensive lineman is projected to be drafted anywhere from the fifth to seventh round, but has an opportunity to improve his draft stock this week. McDermott has had the opportunity to play guard and tackle during practices this week.
“Just show the scouts more of what I can do and play all positions on the line,” McDermott said Tuesday on 560 WQAM’s Big O Show. “I want to give them an idea of what I can do in live action.”
.@CanesFootball OT KC McDermott (62) getting some reps at guard. Here he is at LG on a stretch. pic.twitter.com/AicJVmE3QS
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 15, 2018
Delaney, a graduate transfer and former FCS All-American at The Citadel, played in 10 games with six starts in his lone season with the Hurricanes. He finished the season with 39 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. Delaney missed three games in the middle of the season with a “right lower extremity” injury.
He intercepted a pass from former Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett during practice on Tuesday.
.@CanesFootball CB Dee Delaney comes up with a pick of J.T. Barrett off a deflection here.#ShrineGame pic.twitter.com/6dAKsXs0BI
— Chase Goodbread (@ChaseGoodbread) January 16, 2018
The game kicks off at 3 p.m. Saturday and will be televised on the NFL Network.
This story was originally published January 17, 2018 at 4:04 PM with the headline "Former Hurricanes hoping to impress NFL scouts at Shrine Game."