NFL Draft Prospect Visit Tracker: Oregon State DB Brandon Hardin, Others Visit VMAC

Former Oregon State defensive back Brandon Hardin visited with the Seahawks recently, as per the ever-vigilant Aaron Wilson of Scout.com. Hardin has been on my radar for a while, by virtue of being the most obvious 'Seahawky' pick of all time (I jest,... but seriously). Hardin played in the Pac-12. He's a tall, strong, fast defensive back with no clearly defined position at the next level as a CB/S tweener. He's very strong on special teams. He's coming off a missed season due to injury and thus his stock has taken a serious hit. All this adds up to Seahawks interest.

Most analysts put him at safety at the next level, much like Boise State CB George Iloka. Hardin's physical measureables are intriguing - at 6'3, 216, he ran the 40 in 4.36, had a broad jump of 10'4, and put up 225 pounds 24 times, all pretty impressive numbers for a player his size. He certainly fits the bill as a potential 'big nickel' prospect that the Seahawks appear to be so interested in, and if he could be grabbed in the mid to late rounds, might have 'steal' written all over him. Hardin is definitely one guy to keep your eye on.

Several more players to add to the list, first - four courtesy of Seahawks.net. According to their information, we can add Portland State defensive back Deshawn Shead, Idaho linebacker Korey Toomer, Northern Illinois WR Nathan Palmer and Montana OT Jon Opperud to our list of prospect visits. Again, none of these are official as announced by the team, but certainly paint a picture as we piece together who the Seahawks are allegedly bringing in.

Of most interest to me are Deshawn Shead and Korey Toomer. Shead played cornerback early in his college career at 6'2, 220 pounds before making the change to safety in 2010. He had some very impressive test numbers, running the 40 in 4.49, putting up 24 reps on bench, registering a 38" vert, and a 6.76 3-cone drill - again, all very solid numbers for a player his size. He's a small-school guy - probably a late rounder, and I can see why the Seahawks have interest, based on his production at Portland State. In three years, he had nine interceptions, 21 pass breakups, and made 147 tackles.

Korey Toomer is another guy that's been on my radar after I saw on Twitter that the Seahawks worked him out personally at his pro day. Toomer certainly fits the bill with speed (4.48 40) and length (6'2 1/4", nearly 80" wingspan). He played on the inside at Idaho but I'm not sure where the Seahawks may potentially see him. Interestingly, he had 10.5 tackles for a loss in 2011, to go along with his 4.0 sacks, four pass breakups, three quarterback hurries, one interception, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick. Solid production, even if at a lower level. He's a late round prospect, from what I can tell.

Finally, per the world wide web of tangled rumors, in the mode of Davis-Hsu-Alex-Smith-Gate, according to rumors, a guy sat next to Appalachian State's Brian Quick on a plane, in which he was en route to Seattle after a visit with the Rams. I'll neither confirm nor deny this report, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me that the Seahawks were interested in a big, long, fast under-the-radar wide receiver.

After the jump, I've included our updated list.

DEFENSE:

Defensive Backs:
CB Ron Brooks, LSU
CB/S George Iloka, Boise State
DB Donnie Fletcher, Boston College
DB Jeremy Lane, Northwestern State
CB Josh Bellamy, Louisville

DB Brandon Hardin, Oregon State

DB Deshawn Shead, Portland State

Defensive Line:
DT Michael Brockers, LSU
DE/DT Matt Conrath, Virginia
DT Renard Williams, Eastern Washington
DE Claude Davis, USF

Linebackers:
LB Danny Trevathan, Kentucky

LB Korey Toomer, Idaho

OFFENSE:

Quarterbacks:
QB Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois

Running Backs:
RB Derrick Coleman, UCLA
RB Logwone Mitz, WSU

Tight Ends:
WR/TE/HB Derek Carrier, Beloit
TE Adrien Robinson, Cincinnati
TE David Paulsen, Oregon
TE/HB Brad Smelley, Alabama
TE/HB Lamant Bryant, Morgan State

Wide Receivers:
WR Deonte Thompson, Florida
WR Devin Aguilar, Washington
WR Jermaine Kearse, Washington
WR Lavasier Tuinei, Oregon

WR Nathan Palmer, NIU

WR Brian Quick, Appalachian State

Offensive Linemen:
OG Will Blackwell, LSU
OT Mike Ryan, UConn

OT Jon Opperud, Montana