According to Peter King's text messages, Kenny Britt is "flaky". Tom Luicci won't have any of that.
A personality scouting report on Kenny Britt the person would go something like this (and it's from someone who spent three years around him, not three hours): Likeable, engaging, cooperative, accessible. He worked hard in practice, was a good teammate and turned out to be the best wide receiver in Rutgers history.
Sometimes Britt struggles to express himself. He's not a polished interview, not a smooth, glib talker. But he showed plenty of personality if he was comfortable with you and trusted you not to twist his words.
Britt hasn't really gotten a fair shake from the national media over the past few months. Whatever concerns may be there, it's crazy to compare him to Terrell Owens just because star receivers have a tendency to be a little self-centered. Owens is a locker room assassin of the highest order, quick to throw quarterbacks under the bus at a moment's notice. There has been nothing of the sort, ever, with Kenny.
I also think it's a mistake to assume that there aren't any legitimate concerns. This talk didn't just originate with Todd McShay. No one really respects McShay, and he was calling Britt a third round pick when Kenny had gotten a first round projection from the NFL's draft advisory committee. It's conceivable that the local press may not get all of the picture. Any concerns about Britt were overblown, out of proportion, by the echo chamber of the NFL offseason.
And with any of these pre-draft stories, it's always worth considering the intentions behind each source. Me, I'm a fan of Rick Gosselin from the Dallas Morning News and his approach.
"People have said, 'Gosselin, these aren't his rankings,'''' he says. "Well, that's right. I'm a writer, I'm not a talent evaluator. I'm not getting hired or fired or paid to make draft picks - but I talk to the people that are getting hired, fired or paid to make draft picks. Those are the people I trust."
Ok, it's settled; if Rob Lunn from UConn can blog, why can't Blaze? He must start one, I insist.
"I’ve been saying this for four years: The offensive linemen are the prettiest, the most enthusiastic and the best personalities on the team."
Fooch talked to Devin McCourty at the spring game, and Keith Sargeant also has a new Andre Civil article up.
Paul Mulshine wrote a great editorial decrying the latest round of funding cuts to Rutgers, which directly lead towards exhorbant increases in tuition. Governor Corzine was all too happy to show up at the spring game on Saturday in an election year. Nice gesture, but what really matters is the bottom line.