When Kain Colter takes the field at the Senior Bowl on Jan. 25, he'll do so as a wide receiver, not a quarterback. Switching to receiver was the only choice for Colter if he wanted to have a chance to make the NFL, and it appears that he's impressing at his new position.
I'm no scout, so I had no idea where Colter would end up in the draft. I thought he could go anywhere from the mid-rounds to undrafted, since teams could consider it a risk to draft a player who was primarily a quarterback in college. But as it turns out, Colter could go even higher than I had anticipated. Check out a sampling of scout tweets and evaluations from the Senior Bowl.
Tony Pauline of PhiladelphiaEagles.com:
Colter was featured in our Senior Bowl preview as the latest college quarterback asked to make the transition to receiver. In the early going, the former signal-caller has looked good at his new position. On a number of occasions Colter beat well-established defensive backs to come away with the catch. He also showed great shiftiness separating from opponents as well a run-after-the-catch skill. He still must learn the nuances of the position and protect the ball, yet all signs point North for Colter's move to receiver.
Kain Colter is going to be drafted. He's obviously raw, but he looks better at WR than Denard Robinson did last year at SB #Northwestern
— Mike Loyko (@NEPD_Loyko) January 22, 2014
How about this? @RUSSLANDE just said Kain Colter, now a WR, could go as high as "second or third round" in NFL draft.
— Brent Yarina (@BTNBrentYarina) January 21, 2014
Kain Colter/Northwestern made a few sensational catches thus far. Told he'll be used as a return specialist during the game. Very important
— Tony Pauline (@TonyPauline) January 22, 2014
Longest play of the North practice thus far: Tahj Boyd airs it down the sideline to a diving Kain Colter.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) January 22, 2014
Kain Colter the former Northwestern QB looking good as a WR convert early. Quicker than fast. Huge hands.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) January 21, 2014
Kain Colter/WR/N'Western looking good at receiver. Smoked Isaiah Lewis.
— Tony Pauline (@TonyPauline) January 20, 2014
Kain Colter just made a slick, one-handed catch on an errant Logan Thomas pass on the sideline.
— Eric Edholm (@Eric_Edholm) January 21, 2014
A lot of draft analysis is faulty, and for every tweet praising athletes, there's usually one bringing up "character issues." However, Colter seems to be impressing just about everyone in Mobile this week. That bodes well for his NFL future.