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Mike Catapano
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Mike Catapano vs Penn (2012)
Mike Catapano vs Georgetown (2012)16 thoughts on “Mike Catapano”
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Mike Catapano
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Ryan Lownes
@NFLosophy Right. I like to focus on the positive as much as the next guy, but sometimes the tough things need to be said.
Chad Davis
RT @the_ironsheik: OKC might be the O Gay C after the tonight we see what happen #teamsheikie
Rob Engle
Congrats to Jason Collins! Big news for the NBA. Have a feeling it's only a matter of time for other leagues and players as well
Mike Catapano is impressive! Big, athletic 270 lbs pass rusher with a 7 foot wingspan who runs a 4.65 40…solid both as a run defender as well as an edge rusher, great size, speed combo. Catapano is a leader (voted captain the last 2 years by his teammates) and led his team to an impressive turn around for his senior season. He has a relentless work ethic and is a guy who doesn’t take plays off (won’t ever ask to be taken off the field due to fatigue). Led Ivy League in sacks, tackles for losses and forced fumbles in 2012. Most sacks in Ivy League since 1998 (12 sacks in 10 games…as well as 16 tackles for losses) Rare talent/work ethic combination. Just won 1st team all Ivy League Honors and is pretty much a lock to win Ivy League Defensive Player Of The Year. Top D1 talent just needs the exposure. No character questions here, mentally strong with Ivy League smarts. Huge sleeper draft pick here for an NFL team looking for big, fast and athletic pass rusher.
Agreed Catapano had an monster senior year but I would like to see him against top D1 talent to see if he is the real deal. He should easily win Ivy League Defensive player of the year, he deserves that.
Not knocking the guy at all, don’t get me wrong. But I would like to see him against top D1 FBS talent before i say his is worthy of a higher round draft pick. Could see him going rounds 5-7 now. If he gets into bowl games against D1 talent and does well then maybe higher. Does has sleeper potential. Good NFL size and speed. Has the stats
Just heard he may be playing in the East/west Shrine Game in January…so you will get to see Catapano against top D1 talent. Pro Teams looking for steal in the draft really need to keep their eye on this guy
I saw this guy play live this year! SICK “old school” Ivy League talent right here! My buddy’s brother plays for Brown University and we were at the Brown vs Princeton game this year and a bunch of us were watching in awe at Princeton’s 2 HUGE d linemen…they were like men amoung boys. It looked like they went and suited up 2 starting NFL players for the game. Huge AND athletic. Not sure of the other guy’s name but he wore #11 and Catapano wore #77 and they KILLED our team!! It was absolutely ridiculous how dominant these guys were. #77 (Catapano) in particularly is incredibly big, fast and athletic….has to be about 6’5″ Very long body and arms but powerful looking too. Both Princeton lineman looked about 300 lbs and FAST! But #77 in particular was all over the field. All of us there were very impressed by his combo of size and speed. Not surprised to hear about him getting honors as I’m sure he will be in the NFL, but watching the game we were all amazed by how much those 2 players dominated our team. I hope he gets a good look, it would be nice to the next Ivy League to guy make it big on the next level.
You were at that game Glenn? haha….ya i saw it on tv. In fact there is a highlight video of Mike from that game on youtube. I’ll see if i can post the link. Must be a short video made by his family or friends but shows some highlights from that game. The other guy #11 is Caraun Reid and yes he actually is 300 lbs 6’2″ 300 i believe and including this year is now 2 time 1st team All Ivy League selection. Mike is also All Ivy League this year…just read they were 2 of only 4 defensive players to get voted in unanimously. Mike Catapano should win Defensive Player of the year on Dec. 3rd in NY. We’ll see. He is listed at 6’4″ but he is every bit of that. But he actually only weighs around 270 lbs (down from 285-290 lbs last year) he lost 20 lbs for his senior year to increase speed. I guess it worked since his sacks jumped from 5.5 sacks all the way to 12 sacks this year! I think he is being drafted as a big pass rushing OLB for the NFL. We’ll see what he runs at the combine but its around 4.65 or 4.7. Mike is a monster but his best asset is his mind. Hope he has a good game at East West Shrine game. Its great he will get to show off his talent against top D1 prospects so the NFL can get a better picture. He will do even better as he won’t be double teamed on every play.
here is that link Glenn…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gO5OAHPGZs
As far as his Height he might well be 6’5″…i’m 5’7″ and he was about a foot taller than me in pictures we took after his last game so who knows. When he worked for me at 18 yrs old he was 6’4″ but appeared even bigger when i saw him last week. Whatever he is he is a lean and mean looking athlete for 270 lbs…moves like a cat. Nicest kid too….seriously is a class act! Mature and smart. Its hard to coach stupid and lazy and this guy is the EXACT opposite of that. He KNEW he would be an NFL player when he worked for me at my gym 4 years ago. Most driven High School kid I ever met but was smart enough to put his education first….didnt want to turn down an Ivy League education. So he went for both. Had confidence he would end up in NFL no matter where he played college football, Back then he was a top 20 nationally ranked running back if u can believe that (i guess because of his speed) but i think Defensive End was a good move…apparently, just look at the results.
Justin what are you Catapano’s manager or something?? Jees! =) haha, nothing wrong with wanting to see a friend succeed. Just busting ur chops. I’m glad he will get to play in East West Shrine game. This is confirmed? I want to see that. There has been talk about Catapano in draft circles for a couple years now but rumor has it he took it to another level this year working in off season with pro trainer and former all-pro Chuck Smith. I look forward to seeing what he can do against the big boys.
Catapano looks impressive in that edited tape sure but how will he do against the best REAL football players from D1? Not dissing Ivy League or small school talent as great NFL players do come from small schools, just saying I want to see him against Bama, LSU, Georgia and Gater type linemen before i start gushing over a Princeton guy. He looks good here sure but NFL is a different game man. Has the size for OLB tho, big dude. Seems like good guy. Wish him well.At least he can be a doctor or lawyer or whatever if NFL guys eat him for breakfast.
Just did some research on Catapano and was surprisingly impressed. Saw this quote from Bob Surace “I thought Mike Catapano was the best defensive player in the league this season,” said head coach Bob Surace, a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award as the FCS National Coach of the Year. “He worked tirelessly to lead this defense, and his hard work paid off with a terrific year.” Surace was an assistant coach for the Cincinnati Bengals for years. When an established NFL guy says something like that it means something. I look forward to seeing more of this kid on the next level. Might be a good find in the draft although he will probably jump up on draft boards by then from what i’m seeing. All the best to him.
Correction…just spoke with Mike personally and asked about any bowl games and he said he was hopeful to get into that game or any other game against some D1 guys but there was nothing definitive planned yet…so my bad, I heard that from somebody else and jumped the gun bit. But I hope he does and we get to see him against the guys with the bigger names.
Justin, you’re right to expect big things from your bud. He first caught my eye this summer when I was studying his teammate Caraun Reid — I was surprised to find that very few small school draft analysts were talking about him. Even in ’11 he had intriguing length & strength; with the off-season pass rush training and weight loss, he managed to add NFL-caliber quickness. Whether it’s at E/W Shrine or another All-Star game, he should get an opportunity to showcase his skills. And when he does, I expect him to impress.
Thanks Aaron, I hope he gets to show what he has against FBS talent so that the Pro teams get a better look at him for the upcoming NFL Draft. Besides the “physical” tools Mike has ROCK solid character and drive. Always had it, even as an 18 year old kid he had a very special quality about him. I expect him to win Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year (he was just announced as one of 2 defensive finalists today).
http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=46859&SPID=4263&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205783459&DB_OEM_ID=10600
I hope he gets a fair look and adds to the list of Princeton and Ivy League players to get drafted by the NFL this spring. Some NFL team will get a steal in Mike on draft day. He will be a defensive captain on the next level. He is a true leader and a hard worker who will only improve as the level of talent around him improves =)
Mike Catapano won Ivy League Defensive Player Of The Year today….drew comparisons to Justin Smith by his coach Bob Surace during his acceptance speech. Surace coached Smith when he was with the Bengals. Congrats Big Mike.
From Chuck Smith (former NFL All Pro and top NFL trainer) on twitter re: Catapano…
Chuck Smith NFL ?@chucksmithnfl
@PrinceSports I’ve trained a lot of great Dl/LB/OLB, Mike Catapano wont take a back seat to anyone in this years Draft! He will be special!
check out his twitter for all the positive comments on Mike Catapano. Apparently somebody who knows what they are talking about also thinks he will be a great pro. I knew this when Mike was 18…its all about having a champions mind. Besides having all the physical gifts he is mentally strong and focused…unusually focused. Only thing working against him is the small school tag. Some NFL team gonna get a steal on him in the draft! I hope its the Jets…actually I hope its a team who sees his potential. Mike will be a PRO BOWL defender on the next level. If you heard it here first then give me credit one day when it happens