Rams giving WFL WR Prentiss Elliott a tryout?

by Ryan Van Bibber on Jun 30, 2009 9:48 AM CDT in News

A while back I passed along some info that the Rams were scouting WR Prentiss Elliott, a member of the Oklahoma Thunder WFL team. Elliott had a promising freshman season at Oklahoma State, only to be kicked off the team the next year, in 2005, for unnamed violations. Anyway, like most redemption stories go, he hit bottom a couple years later, and is now trying to turn things around via football. The Oklahoma Thunder of the WFL (not ot be confused with the OKC NBA team) gave him that chance, and now he might get a shot with another league, the NFL.

Is it going to be the Rams that give him a chance in the big leagues? An assistant coach with the Thunder, Thom Roundtree, told the Examiner-Enterprise of Bartlesville, OK, in story filed yesterday afternoon, that Elliott would attend the Rams training camp next month. A profile of Elliott appearing in today's Tulsa World says nothing about the WR attending camp with the Rams, but it does note that the Rams have been one of several teams to have scouted him, viewing every Thunder but one and asking for tapes of each. Given that level of interest, it wouldn't be surprising if Elliott has been invited to camp.

You can read about his impressive stats with Thunder - WFL caveat - at the Tulsa World link above. That's about the closest thing to a scouting report I can find. A look at the 2004 OSU team listed Elliott at 6'0" 175 lbs as a freshman. He may well have added some weight since then, but the 24-year-old profiles much like the other Rams wide receivers.The Thunder's official site lists him at 6'1" 205 lbs.

He stood out as a return man at OSU, so you'd have to think if he still has the kind of speed they say he does and he really has been invited to camp, that Elliott will get some looks as a returner, an area where the Rams are still looking for more definitive answers.

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Scouting or signing this guy makes no sense.

It goes against Spag’s ‘four pillars’ philosphy. He’s sound talented, but he’s gonna be an off the field distraction. If they’re looking at him then why don’t they consider Brandon Marshall or Plaxico Burress? Both Brandon and Plaxico look like a chior boys compared to Prentiss Elliott.

by Da Rams! on Jun 30, 2009 11:31 AM CDT reply actions

the thing about this guy

is that his stuff is in the past. he’s already paid his legal price, unlike Plax who is still waiting for trial and Marshall who has a history of doing things to rock the team boat (like unexcused absences, lying about injuries…not criminal stuff but bad for a locker room).

Bottom line on Elliott anyway is that he would be there for a tryout, nothing more, certainly no guaranteed roster spot. Besides, this guy is too unknown to be a media distraction like Plax. If he made the team, he’d be more of a human interest, feel good redemption story according to hte media playbook.

The pillars test holds for guys who have made amends for their mistakes…or have proven that their days disrupting the team are behind them. If they extended the pillars thing to past mistakes, Leonard Little wouldn’t be on this team.

Turf Show Times

by Ryan Van Bibber on Jun 30, 2009 12:08 PM CDT up reply actions

Problem is that this guy was arrested twice last year (a shooting and a vehicle crash) according to the Tulsa World website. Not quite what I would call ‘past mistakes’. I was hoping that this kid would have had a good 3+ years since his last brush with the law, but thats not the case. Theres nothing wrong with giving someone a second chance, but at this point he still doesn’t quite show that he’s learned from his recent mistakes. Theres a reason why no one has signed him yet, and it has nothing to do with his performance on the field. I say let some other team deal with this kid. I hope he straightens himself out and proves me wrong, but history backs me in cases like this.

by Da Rams! on Jun 30, 2009 1:52 PM CDT up reply actions

I say give him a try

The risk factor of his off the field failures isn’t worth letting someone good get away.

by dbcouver on Jun 30, 2009 2:23 PM CDT reply actions

If he capped someone just last year, he probably hasn’t even resolved the legal aspect of the case yet, let alone completely matured past the behavior. I don’t think going to jail means anything except you aren’t in danger of missing time because of that case. It sure doesn’t mean you learned anything from your time in jail, Pacman.

What’s this? → “…viewing every Thunder but one and asking for tapes of each”
Do you mean every Thunder game? Or every Thunder player? God help us if they think they the Rams are in such dire straights they have to review every player on every minor league team to find a little bit of help.

Lived in LA during the Rams and Raiders days. Now based in NorCal, I am still a die hard Rams fan and Raiders season ticket holder.

by CoachConnors on Jun 30, 2009 4:17 PM CDT reply actions