Colts Scouts Take: Florida Defensive End George Gumbs Jr.

Colts Scouts Take: Florida Defensive End George Gumbs Jr.

INDIANAPOLIS – Does the Day 3 project still have enough ingredients in the cupboard to cook something up?

That’s the name of the game quite often when it comes to the NFL Draft.

And the Colts feel like George Gumbs Jr. is going to bring the Colts coaching staff a solid canvas to work with.

“You’re just betting that this guy can figure it out,” Colts southeast area scout Anthony Coughlan says. “Part of that is he’s got talent, got size, and does he have the football smarts and drive to get better? Because you can have potential, but if you’re not going to work at it, it doesn’t matter. (Gumbs) is wired the right way. He’s super into football.

“I just think it’s a great story. This guy pursued football. He walked on at a MAC school and leveled up and then started in the SEC and was now drafted in the NFL. He’s got some stuff to him where he’s really determined, and I’m really high on the person. I think he’s really talented as well.”

Originally a walk-on wideout at Northern Illinois, Gumbs Jr. put on some weight to play tight end before switching sides of the ball to defensive end.

With some promise there, Gumbs Jr. then transferred to Florida where he flashed a bit more as an edge rusher.

Unlike the drafting of Ohio State’s Caden Curry, this defensive end selection is more on how Gumbs tests athletically first, and the hope that there’s a higher ceiling of potential if those traits can be further developed.

“There’s a few things he can still clean up, technique-wise, skillset wise, hand usage, foot usage,” Coughlan adds. “He’s only been rushing for three years…He’s a little green, but I wouldn’t say he’s super raw, though.

“There’s been a good baseline of stuff for us to work with, as far as his skillset. I think what he was able to do athletically really impressed me, personally, and he blew up at the Combine with his numbers, and you could see that on tape, too.”