Wide receiver Quron Pratt should be a valuable special teams piece, even if he goes undrafted, head coach Kyle Flood said in an interview Monday. (For The Trentonian/ JOHN BLAINE)

By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

Despite not being invited to next week's NFL Combine, Quron Pratt should stick out to NFL teams, head coach Kyle Flood said Monday.

“Ultimately (NFL teams will) make the decision as to what that means from a draft perspective," Flood told The Trentonian. "He’s such a versatile player on offense, really playing the X. He played the Z, he played the slot for us. He’s such a valuable player on special teams. He’ll be what they call a ‘Big Four’ special teams in the NFL: kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt return. That kind of value to an NFL team goes a really long way. I think he’ll be the next in our long line of Rutgers players — wide receivers and DBs — that end up being a valuable part of an NFL team because there are so many things he can do.”

The bond between Pratt and cousin Terrance Howard, a former Notre Dame back

Pratt finished the 2013 season with 32 catches — third on the team — for 516 yards. He also returned a kickoff for a touchdown and blocked a punt.

Rutgers saw a school-record seven players drafted a year ago, but that figures to change in 2014 with a shallow draft class.

Teammate Brandon Coleman was the only Rutgers player invited to the combine, which begins Saturday. 

Jamil and Jamal Merrell could be intriguing late-round prospects. Marcus Thompson could be a versatile piece, depending on the defensive system of the team that drafts or signs him.

From lombardiave.com: a Q&A with draft prospect Brandon Coleman