Broncos interested in unique draft prospect

(Image courtesy of Bob Gathany/The Huntsville Times)

The league’s 2012 Supplemental Draft will be held on Thursday and eight players are eligible to be selected.  One of the prospects in the draft is former Alabama A&M linebacker Larry Lumpkin, who was ruled ineligible for the 2012 college football season.

The draft gives players often labeled as character-flawed a chance to rectify their football careers.  Players who were unable to petition the league for early entry into the NFL Draft and find themselves ineligible for their upcoming college season may enter the Supplemental Draft as underclassmen.

Players are rarely selected in this draft however as teams are wary of players who were not held in high regard by their college coaches.  After the Supplemental Draft order is finalized, teams wishing to select a player submit the name of the player and round they want to select him into the league.  The team that bids the highest round pick is awarded that player and that selection is forfeited from the team’s corresponding round of the next year’s NFL Draft.

And if you’re still reading, yes, this is all relevant to the Denver Broncos because the team has reportedly shown interest in one of the players eligible for the supplemental draft.

Team scouts representing the Broncos have been talking with Alabama A&M Offensive Coordinator Cedric Pearl, who serves as A&M’s NFL liaison, about Lumpkin and are seeking information on his background.

“They’re interested in Larry,” Pearl told Reggie Benson of The Huntsville Times. “They’ve seen him on film. They know what he can do. They’re trying to get information on his background.”

Lumpkin spent two seasons at A&M before transferring to Carson-Newman College after the 2010  season.  Measuring up and weighing in at  6-0, 234 pounds, Lumpkin was a high school star and led Carson-Newman with a team-high 94 tackles, including 62 solos, and also had 10 tackles for loss en route to earning All-South Atlantic Conference first-team honors last season.

His talent on the field was undeniable, but Lumpkin struggled with off-the-field problems.

“Larry was a playmaker for us, but he had a lot of issues,” A&M’s inside linebackers Coach Jay Martin said. “He was constantly late for meetings and he would miss practice at least one day a week.  He was very undisciplined. He would have helped us, but he didn’t want to be here.”

That’s likely not what the Broncos wanted to hear.  But if the team is willing to take a chance on his character concerns, they could benefit from his athletic abilities.

It seems unlikely that the Broncos would use a future draft selection on such a high-risk-moderate-reward prospect, but they have shown interest.  The Supplemental Draft will be held on Thursday, July 12th at 1 p.m. (ET).