LifetimeBillsFan
09-14-2006, 01:18 AM
As noted in an earlier post by mysticsoto, the Bills cut OT Robin Meadow from their practice squad and replaced him with OT Walter Stith also a rookie who was in training camp with the Cleveland Browns. Here's some information about the mountainous Stith, who was an All-MEAC performer at RT last year, but began his career as a--sound familiar?--tight end:
From ESPN.com-
"• Walter Stith entered Western Michigan as a 6-9, 260-pound tight end. He is now a 6-9, 320-pound senior offensive lineman for North Carolina A&T. Western Michigan converted him to an offensive lineman after his sophomore season."
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2574585
From Draft Insiders regarding Stith's performance in the Hula Bowl:
"....OT Walter Stith - North Carolina A & T used his massive wingspan well to force speed rushers to the outside. He played with good positioning and stopped the bull rush consistently. He did not get a strong push at the point of attack...."
http://www.draftinsiders.com/static/content/2006/06FebNewsletter.pdf
From Jeff Walcoff of Cleveland Browns.com on the Browns Most Valuable Network:
"When it comes to sheer size, it’s hard to find a more prototypical NFL tackle than Walter Stith. The prospect, who spent his senior year as the starting right tackle at North Carolina A&T, towers over his new Browns teammates at 6-foot-9, 320 pounds.
It’s enough to make Browns offensive line coach Jeff Davidson salivate....
If Stith truly is a project player who could one day be groomed into an NFL starter, that’s nothing new for him. He played just one year of high school football before his coach helped him get a shot at a scholarship at Western Michigan.
When he first arrived on campus, he was just 231 pounds and was playing tight end. Once he began eating and lifting weights, his frame began to fill quickly.
By the end of his freshman year, he weighed 275. He stayed in Kalamazoo during the summer and weighed 285 by the start of his redshirt freshman year.
At this point, he was getting a bit large to play tight end.
“My high school coach said, ‘You need to play tackle. With your speed, athleticism and footwork, if you keep gaining so much weight you’d be a great tackle,’” Stith said. “So, when (then-Western Michigan) coach Gary Darnell said he wanted to meet with me the first day of camp, I already knew what he wanted to talk about.”
Sure enough, Darnell suggested the move to tackle. Stith made the switch, and by midseason he was seeing playing time at the left tackle spot to rave reviews from coaches.
By the onset of his redshirt sophomore season, he was 300 pounds. He started the first game of the season at left tackle against Michigan State and remained there for the rest of the year.
Meanwhile, he matched up in practice everyday with defensive end Jason Babin, a 2004 first-round pick of the Houston Texans....
He played another season at left tackle for the Broncos before being receiving a DUI charge following his redshirt junior season. Unfortunately, the mistake came during a coaching change at WMU, and Stith left the school.
Almost immediately, he received an opportunity to play his senior season at Division I-AA North Carolina A&T....
Stith is a notable project simply due to his size. The prospect of having a 6-foot-9 tackle would open the eyes of just about any head coach and offensive coordinator in the league. If nothing else, Stith certainly is worth a shot...."
(the full article, with additional comments can be found at: http://browns.mostvaluablenetwork.com/2006/05/ )
Stith sounds like another unusual physical specimen: a former TE like Jason Peters, with long arms and height like Terrance Pennington, and bulk like Aaron Gibson. According to BB.com, Stith has also played some offensive guard and may get a look there on the Bills' PS.
What I find interesting in his bio is how much he has been moved around and how he seems to have been able to learn his new positions: going from a TE to the starting LT at W.Michigan in two years, moving to RT and becoming an All-MEAC selection after one year. It will be interesting to see if he can similarly learn how to be a good player on the NFL level from "Mouse" McNally on the Bills' PS the way that Jason Peters has. Obviously the guy is a "project", his chances of making it are slim, but I thought his similarities to Peters and Pennington were interesting. We'll just have to see what happens with him.
From ESPN.com-
"• Walter Stith entered Western Michigan as a 6-9, 260-pound tight end. He is now a 6-9, 320-pound senior offensive lineman for North Carolina A&T. Western Michigan converted him to an offensive lineman after his sophomore season."
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2574585
From Draft Insiders regarding Stith's performance in the Hula Bowl:
"....OT Walter Stith - North Carolina A & T used his massive wingspan well to force speed rushers to the outside. He played with good positioning and stopped the bull rush consistently. He did not get a strong push at the point of attack...."
http://www.draftinsiders.com/static/content/2006/06FebNewsletter.pdf
From Jeff Walcoff of Cleveland Browns.com on the Browns Most Valuable Network:
"When it comes to sheer size, it’s hard to find a more prototypical NFL tackle than Walter Stith. The prospect, who spent his senior year as the starting right tackle at North Carolina A&T, towers over his new Browns teammates at 6-foot-9, 320 pounds.
It’s enough to make Browns offensive line coach Jeff Davidson salivate....
If Stith truly is a project player who could one day be groomed into an NFL starter, that’s nothing new for him. He played just one year of high school football before his coach helped him get a shot at a scholarship at Western Michigan.
When he first arrived on campus, he was just 231 pounds and was playing tight end. Once he began eating and lifting weights, his frame began to fill quickly.
By the end of his freshman year, he weighed 275. He stayed in Kalamazoo during the summer and weighed 285 by the start of his redshirt freshman year.
At this point, he was getting a bit large to play tight end.
“My high school coach said, ‘You need to play tackle. With your speed, athleticism and footwork, if you keep gaining so much weight you’d be a great tackle,’” Stith said. “So, when (then-Western Michigan) coach Gary Darnell said he wanted to meet with me the first day of camp, I already knew what he wanted to talk about.”
Sure enough, Darnell suggested the move to tackle. Stith made the switch, and by midseason he was seeing playing time at the left tackle spot to rave reviews from coaches.
By the onset of his redshirt sophomore season, he was 300 pounds. He started the first game of the season at left tackle against Michigan State and remained there for the rest of the year.
Meanwhile, he matched up in practice everyday with defensive end Jason Babin, a 2004 first-round pick of the Houston Texans....
He played another season at left tackle for the Broncos before being receiving a DUI charge following his redshirt junior season. Unfortunately, the mistake came during a coaching change at WMU, and Stith left the school.
Almost immediately, he received an opportunity to play his senior season at Division I-AA North Carolina A&T....
Stith is a notable project simply due to his size. The prospect of having a 6-foot-9 tackle would open the eyes of just about any head coach and offensive coordinator in the league. If nothing else, Stith certainly is worth a shot...."
(the full article, with additional comments can be found at: http://browns.mostvaluablenetwork.com/2006/05/ )
Stith sounds like another unusual physical specimen: a former TE like Jason Peters, with long arms and height like Terrance Pennington, and bulk like Aaron Gibson. According to BB.com, Stith has also played some offensive guard and may get a look there on the Bills' PS.
What I find interesting in his bio is how much he has been moved around and how he seems to have been able to learn his new positions: going from a TE to the starting LT at W.Michigan in two years, moving to RT and becoming an All-MEAC selection after one year. It will be interesting to see if he can similarly learn how to be a good player on the NFL level from "Mouse" McNally on the Bills' PS the way that Jason Peters has. Obviously the guy is a "project", his chances of making it are slim, but I thought his similarities to Peters and Pennington were interesting. We'll just have to see what happens with him.