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March 28, 2007

Harris & Wilson

The Patriots are in the process of setting up some pre-draft visits with prospects at Gillette Stadium.

Michigan linebacker David Harris and Maryland cornerback Josh Wilson are part of the list, as both are scheduled to meet with team officials at Gillette in the weeks leading up to the draft.

Harris is considered one of the few true "mike" linebackers for teams that play the 3-4 defense. At the NFL Combine, Harris said he worked in a 3-4 defense his sophomore year at Michigan.

"You have to go out and react and have instincts," he said. "Football isn’t all about speed. It’s all about reaction time and how well you can read plays and I think I can do that pretty well."

Wilson is considered one of the fastest players available at cornerback, the type of talent who could ignite a special teams unit. At the NFL Combine, Wilson was asked if his size (5-9) put him at a disadvantage.

"I may not be the biggest guy but I feel I’ll still come up and strike you because I know how to position my body to hit you at just the right angle," he said. "I may not be the tallest guy but facing Calvin Johnson and Greg Carr, I was right in there with them. You just have to know how to use your skills and your body to be able to fluidly play these guys with their advantage. And these guys aren’t going to have the speed that I have. If they want to compete, they’re going to have to compensate for that."

Pre-draft visits do not include workouts and are often used as a final step in the process of closing a player's file. The visits can sometimes answer medical questions.

Posted By: mreiss | Time: 09:51:28 AM | E-mail | Link

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