First Compensatory Selection, 201st overall: Steve Justice, Center, Wake Forest:
When Mike Pollak was selected in the second round, everyone assumed that he
would be the heir apparent to current starter Jeff Saturday.
Steve Justice
may have a few things to say about that before everything is said and done.
While Pollak was the highest rated center according to Scout.com and Justice was
the third-rated player at the position, both project well to suiting up and
playing on Sundays.
Justice has a pre-existing medical condition that made it necessary for his
parents to sign a waiver in order for him to be allowed to suit up and play at
Wake Forest.
However, the condition does not seem to have slowed him down
at all or kept him from contributing through out the course of his collegiate
career.
Veteran scout Tom Marino says that Justice has "good athletic
ability, experience, intelligence, and toughness. He is a solid football
player who could turn into a steady professional."
Although he is a little light to play at the NFL level, tipping the scales at
only 290 pounds and struggled against bigger men up the middle — of which there
is no shortage in the AFC South — some time in the weight room and working with
the Colts talented coaching staff should get him ramped up fairly quickly.
Second Compensatory Selection, 202nd overall: Mike Hart, Running Back,
Michigan:
Michigan's Mike Hart
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
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Hart was an extraordinarily productive and dependable starter for the
Wolverines throughout his career in Ann Arbor, appearing 43 games with 1,015
rushes for 5,040 yards and 41 touchdowns.
Those numbers are impressive
against any level of competition, nonetheless the Big 10, where everyone seems
to be focused on running the ball and stopping the run year to year.
A number of teams, though, were hesitant to pull the trigger on Hart, based
on his pedestrian 40 time of 4.76. Bill Polian was not scared away and was
pleased when Hart was available towards the end of Round 6.
"I think the 40 time scared a lot of people away," Polian said on the NFL Network shortly after the selection. "But in the end we had such respect
for his playing ability and his measurables ... and the lack of fumbles,
durability, and work ethic. So we said forget about the 40, and we had a
back here that unfortunately had his career cut short by a knee injury named
James Mungro and he was very, very similar to Hart."
Third Compensatory Selection, 205th overall: Pierre Garcon, Wide Receiver,
Mount Union:
With all the attention being paid to Division III player Justin Beaver, much
of the focus was being taken away from the man he beat in the Division III
championship game — Mount Union's Pierre Garcon.
According to Marino, Garcon is, "a very impressive athlete that dominated his
level of competition. But he was also very effective when he lined up
against the big boys in all-star games. He needs a good deal of positional
work from a coaching standpoint, but he has the potential to be a very
successful NFL player if he works hard."
He will certainly be a much-needed contributor on the special teams coverage
unit with his size — 6 feet and 210 pounds — and 4.44 speed. His
production level — 60 touchdown receptions and an 18-yard per reception average
at Mount Union — is very similar to Jerry Rice's.
He may not be a big name from a big school, but he could certainly end up
paying big dividends for the Colts down the line with some practice and
coaching.
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