As he monitored the NFL Draft, Ed Lamb felt joy and excited but he also felt a sense of disappointment.
Lamb, currently the assistant head coach at BYU but formerly the head coach at Southern Utah for the last eight seasons, watched as a watershed day for SUU played out. First, former Thunderbird safety Miles Killebrew became the first Big Sky Conference player to have his name called in the 2016 Draft. Killebrew was a fourth round draft pick, the 111th overall selection by the Detroit Lions and the just the second SUU player ever picked by an NFL squad. Former Southern Utah quarterback Brad Sorensen was a seventh round draft pick in 2012.
Former SUU cornerback LeShaun Sims/SUU Media Relations
Next came the surprise of the Saturday, the final day of the three-day extravaganza. LeShaun Sims, a talented but raw press cornerback projected as a potential late round pick or undrafted free agent signee, heard his name called in the fifth round by the Tennessee Titans.
Killebrew, Sims and defensive end James Cowser each were invited to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis in February. Each received substantial pre-draft hype, with Killebrew projected as high as the second round and most experts tabbing Cowser as a surefire fourth or fifth round pick. But as the draft reached its completion, none of the 253 selections contained Cowser’s name.
“Watching, it was mixed emotions because I think the guys had ideas where they would be drafted and I did too based on talking to teams and it didn’t play out how we thought,” said Lamb, who helped the Thunderbirds to their first ever Big Sky Conference title in 2015 before returning to his alma mater. “I was so happy for Miles and LeShawn, what a thrill. But I was disappointed for James.”
“Overall, it was really fun, a ton of fun for people in Cedar City and at SUU and all around the state.”
Cowser, the 2015 Big Sky Defensive MVP and the Football Championship Subdivision’s all-time leader in sacks (43) and tackles for loss (82), signed with the Oakland Raiders just moments after the draft. He also received contract offers from the Dallas Cowboys, the Green Bay Packers, the San Francisco 49ers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Former SUU defensive end James Cowser
“It was disappointing not getting drafted but then Oakland had been calling me for awhile and they really wanted to give me a shot and I was all about that,” Cowser said. “It was frustrating but I still had hope I would get a shot and I got it.
“I thought I had a chance to get drafted, I talked to a lot of people but the cards didn’t fall my way.”
By the end of the final day of the draft, six total Thunderbirds had earned shots on NFL rosters. Tight end Anthony Norris signed with the Denver Broncos, safety Tevin Carter signed with the Washington Redskins and Brock Miller, SUU’s punter in 2014, signed with the Indianapolis Colts.
“It’s huge because it’s what we have been talking about doing it forever, putting Southern Utah on the map and getting some respect,” Cowser said. “Coach Lamb called me and he said, ‘You guys never set out to be drafted. You guys set out to be the best players, the best team you could be and look how it’s paying off.’ It’s true. We just tried to be the best we could be and cool things happened because of it.”
The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Cowser was among the most surprising snubs in the entire draft. He tested out well at the Combine, posting the 11th-fastest 40-yard dash (4.82), the fastest three-cone drill (6.80) and the seventh-fastest time in the 20-yard shuttle (4.31). He bested his 40 time at his pro day, running 4.73 and putting up two more repetitions (24) on 225-pound bench test.
Former SUU defensive end James Cowser/by SUU Media Relations
Cowser has an infectious personality and an ever-present positivity to his way of being. He also has a level of maturity superior to most in this draft class. The 25-year-old is a Class of 2009 high school graduate who spent two years abroad on an LDS mission before posting four straight productive seasons in Cedar City. Despite high level college production, good tests and an appealing personality, Cowser did not have his name called. But it’s not the first time he’s been underrated in his athletic career.
“The great thing about James, I recruited that guy eight years ago so I know him really well and he certainly earned my trust and he trusts me,” Lamb said. “I talked to him yesterday after the draft and he was not afraid to say he was disappointed but I could still sense he is still him, which is energetic all the time. We’ve been pretty good over the years not necessarily winning all the games but coming back the next week and putting it behind us and that’s largely been because of James. He doesn’t define himself by the disappointment of the moment.”
On the other hand, the 6-foot-2 ½, 228-pound Killebrew seemed to have a star that never quit rising. After receiving praise from Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders during the NFL Combine, Killebrew’s draft stock shot through the roof.
NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock said Killebrew could go as high as the second round. Combine marks like a 38-inch vertical and a 10-foot-7 broad jump, plus a pro day 40 time of 4.43 affirmed the projection. Killebrew slipped to the third day but was still one of the highest FCS players drafted last weekend.
Former SUU safety Miles Killebrew
“Teams just put on the video and it’s obvious,” Lamb said. “Sometimes with a small college guy, if a guy doesn’t measure out like a (North Dakota State quarterback) Carson Wentz where there’s no question about him, sometimes they get undervalued. In my opinion, if Miles Killebrew would’ve played at BYU or Utah or somewhere in the Power 5, he could be the exact same guy he is now and he would be the first safety taken in the draft. He’s explosive, he loves to hit and he can run.”
Killebrew has garnered comparisons to players ranging from Seattle Seahawks All-Pro safety Kam Chancellor to Arizona Cardinals hybrid linebacker Deone Bucannon. Lamb said he thinks Killebrew, who earned All-Big Sky honors four straight years and at times played cornerback for the Thunderbirds, is well suited for the back end even in the NFL.
“When a safeties coach gets a chance to work with him from day to day, the perception about his coverage ability will change,” Lamb said. “They see 6-3, 230 pounds, they think he can play linebacker but there’s no reason to do that. He can run and he can cover.”
The 6-foot-1, 203-pound Sims had projects all across the board. He ran a 4.53 in the 40 at the NFL combine but made up for it with a 37-inch vertical and a 4.19 in the 20-yard shuttle. Some experts thought he could be as high as a fourth-round selection while others thought he was best suited as an undrafted free agent.
Some scouts told Lamb they saw Sims as “tight and stiff”, something that surprised the former SUU head coach. He sees Sims as a prototypical press cornerback in the NFL.
“I don’t think a Richard Sherman is making a type of impact for a team that is not playing press coverage as he is right now. LeShaun is very much in that mold,” Lamb said. “He’s long, he’s tall, he has long arms and he has great make up speed and he really wants to get up and compete in the face of an offensive player. I think he could play a really long time in the NFL on an island one on one. He really runs easy and his speed is almost effortless at times.”
Former SUU cornerback LeShaun Sims
Throughout the last few years, a slew of scouts stopped by Cedar City to check out SUU’s professional prospects. The attention reached the point that Lamb carved out about an hour a day to watch film and help the visitors make evaluations on his prospects.
Aside from athletic prowess, a good deal of the evaluation centered upon personality evaluation. Lamb could always be honest in his praise of the character of Sims, Killebrew and Cowser, each model citizens and good students who will now get a chance to chase their NFL dreams.
“I’m just so proud of them,” Lamb said. “Me, their teammates, other coaches on staff, we know how hard those guys have worked. I’m here in Las Vegas right now recruiting and I’ve already gotten the question three times today: hey, what do you look for in recruiting? There’s a big buzz right now in recruiting because of Southern Utah getting two guys getting drafted from right here in Vegas (Killebrew, Sims). That would be complete BS if I said I went out looking for NFL guys and knew those guys were going to get drafted. They were great students with a lot of height and speed and they worked their tails off. They made it happen for themselves.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez or noted. All Rights Reserved.
