College Quarterback Update

There will be just three finalists in New York this Saturday when the Heisman Trophy is awarded for 2008.

And, they are all quarterbacks: Colt McCoy (left) of Texas, Sam Bradford (middle) of Oklahoma and the reigning Heisman holder Tim Tebow (right) of Florida.

All are college juniors, which makes them eligible for the 2009 NFL Draft.

McCoy said this week he will return to Texas for his senior season. That’s what he says now. Tebow has not said publicly what his plans are.

This week, Bradford said he would weigh his options about going pro after obtaining information from the NFL. His father Kent Bradford and OU’s quarterback coach Josh Heupel will gather the information.

Underclassmen must declare by January 15.

“It’s going to be a process,” Bradford told the Oklahoman newspaper. “Even if I think I know what I want to do right now, there’s kind of a need to get as much information as possible so that looking back on this decision years down the road you don’t regret anything because you didn’t go after the information needed to make the right decision.”

Bradford had surgery on his injured left thumb on Sunday, repairing torn ligaments. He’s now wearing a crimson color cast that extends to his elbow. He’s expected to wear the cast for 10 days and it will be replaced by a smaller hand cast.

Back in October, we highlighted the top 25 college quarterbacks who might be available for the NFL Draft. Here are the season statistics for those quarterbacks. Eight of the 25 are done for the year. The other 17 have bowl games to play, beginning Dec. 20 and running through the BCS Championship Game on January 8.

Here are the numbers:

Chuck Cook’s Top Five Seniors

Last week we brought you the top five senior prospects that Chiefs VP of Player Personnel Bill Kuharich had seen in his travels through college football this fall.

Now, here’s the top five of Chuck Cook, the Chiefs director of college scouting. Kuharich and Cook split up the top programs in the country and if one didn’t see a prospect, the other did. That’s along with the area scouts and the tape evaluations the Chiefs build in the file for each prospect.

The only school where both Kuharich and Cook both spent time at was Southern Cal, and that shows up in Chuck’s top five picks.

Now remember, this is all just one part of the scouting puzzle. Underclassmen are not included at this time because they have not yet had the opportunity to declare for the NFL Draft. Last year, 17 underclassmen were taken in the first round, so this is by no means is the top of the Chiefs draft board.

At this time, this is for entertainment purposes only, so please, no wagering.

Here’s the top five from the travels of Chuck Cook:

T Michael Oher/Mississippi 6-5, 320 pounds.

At Ole Miss, Oher has been a starter since his freshman season. That first year he worked at right guard, but they moved him to left tackle his sophomore year and he’s started 36 consecutive games there. He will wind up his career in the Cotton Bowl when Mississippi plays Texas Tech. “He’s got the best feet I’ve seen in years for an offensive lineman,” Cook said of Oher. “He’s very physically gifted and there really isn’t anything he can’t do at left tackle. I can’t imagine anything other than major injury that would keep him from coming into the league and playing well at left tackle for the next 10 or 12 years.”

On The Scouting Trail

In the next week or so, the Chiefs crew of college scouts will all come into headquarters and spend time as a group going over the vast amount of information they they’ve collected during the season.

This is a very “hands on” personnel department, led by Vice President of Player Personnel Bill Kuharich. Along with Chuck Cook, the team’s director of college scouting Kuharich has crisscrossed the country to look at some of the top ranked players that were initially scouted by area scouts: Bruce Lemmerman, Willie Davis, Terry Delp, Cornell Gowdy, Mike Hagen, Matt Littlefield and Greg Olejack.

Kuharich’s travels started back in September and ended only last week with a trip to see the Western Michigan-Ball State game. Overall, he saw 30 different teams all over the country. The most talented team he saw was Southern California, and by talented we mean with the most pro prospects. Oklahoma was second. He did not see Texas, Texas Tech or Florida; Cook handled those assignments.

But after watching hours and hours of tape from those Division 1 programs, here are the top five senior players that Kuharich scouted in person.

Now remember, this is all just one part of the scouting puzzle. He did not include underclassmen because at this time, they have not yet had the opportunity to declare for the NFL Draft. Last year, 17 underclassmen were taken in the first round, so this is by no means is the top of the Chiefs draft board.

At this time, this is for entertainment purposes only, so please, no wagering.

These players are ranked only in the order that Kuharich recalled them when asked the question: name the top five players you saw?

T Eugene Monroe/Virginia 6-5, 315 pounds.

Last year, he played next to Branden Albert on the left side of the Cavaliers offensive line. This year, he’s had to hold down the left tackle spot without much veteran help next to him. “I think he’s a lot like Branden,” Kuharich said. “He’s very athletic. He’s probably better than Branden at the same stage because he’s played the position (Albert played guard at Virginia). He’s got good feet and he can pass protect.”

College Pass Rushers Part 2: Pro Potential

Whether they select a quarterback, pass rusher, middle linebacker or offensive lineman, the Chiefs will get the opportunity to draft one of the best players in the 2009 NFL Draft. They figure to again have a selection among the top five picks, maybe even as high as the No. 2 spot.

We checked out the top quarterbacks in early October. Now, with the Chiefs pass rush floundering and headed for the worst sacking season in club history, it’s time to look at the pass rushers. Yesterday, we hit on the top active sackers, both this season and over a career. If you missed that, you can read it right here.

Today, we look at a top 10 list of pass rushers rated on potential by scouts around the NFL.

Here’s our list:

1. Michael Johnson     DE    Georgia Tech    SR    6-7    258

Understand right off the bat that when it comes to Johnson, the Chiefs have a lot of inside information, since he was recruited to Georgia Tech by offensive coordinator Chan Gailey and there are two other former Tech assistant coaches on the Chiefs staff. As a physical specimen, Johnson is off the charts. He has size, speed, quickness and athletic ability. His body fat is that of somebody 100 pounds lighter and a long-distance runner. That’s caused him problems in the past with dehydration and cramping. Scouts think he relies too much on his speed to rush the passer. He sometimes has problems standing up to the run, which is why he was used only in pass rush situations until this season. Over his career he’s played in 46 games with 96 tackles and 16 sacks.

Best College Pass Rushers-Part 1

This is the first of two parts on the best pass rushers coming out of college football next spring. It’s obviously going to be an important part of the off-season discussion around the Chiefs after this season. There are two angles of evaluation: production on the college level and potential on the pro level. Today, Part 1 is about production. Part 2 comes on Thursday and it’s about potential.

His name is Greg Peach.

In college football, he’s the leading sacker in 2008 and the leading career sacker of quarterbacks, with 18 this year and 35.5 sacks over 46 games at Eastern Washington University.

Could he help the Chiefs anemic pass rush?

Pro football scouts aren’t so sure that Peach (left) the 6-2, 252-pounder out of Vancouver, Washington has the size and quickness to play defensive end in the NFL.

But right now with one game to go in his college career, Peach is the favorite to win this year’s Buck Buchanan Award, given to the best defensive player in Division I-AA football. Jared Allen won the same award five years ago in his last season at Idaho State. Allen played 41 games with 38.5 sacks. He was also 6-6 and 250 pounds.

The 11 pass rushers that rank at the top of the college career sacks list are all eligible for the 2009 NFL Draft. They all play either defensive end or outside linebacker. Among the top sackers in this current college season, only one can’t enter the draft: Butler DE Grant Hunter, who is a red-shirt freshman.

But most of the top career sackers do not have the physical numbers that pro football teams look for when it comes to outside pass rushers. Of the 11, only three are taller than 6-3 and only two are listed as bigger than 260 pounds. The best physical numbers in the group belong to Marcus Benard out of Jackson State. A junior college transfer out of Michigan, Benard is 6-4, 270 pounds. He had 14 tackles and 3.5 sacks last Saturday against Alabama A&M. At Grand Rapids Community College, he had 19 sacks over his first two seasons of college football. That gives him 42 in the last four years.

Among this year’s sack leaders are three players with prototype physical numbers to rush the passer off the edge in the pro game: Alex Carrington (6-5, 280) out of Arkansas State, Texas Tech’s Brandon Williams (6-5, 252) and Austen Lane (6-5, 258) out of Murray State.

Before this season, Carrington had just one career sack. But he’s leading the Sun Belt Conference this season with his 10.5 sacks in nine games. He’s a red-shirt Junior.

Williams (right) leads the Big 12 Conference this year with 10 sacks, including two of Texas QB Colt McCoy in the Red Raiders upset of the Longhorns. A true junior, Williams has 19.5 career sacks.

Lane leads the Ohio Valley Conference in sacks with 10, including 3.5 sacks in a game 10 days ago against Southeast Missouri State. He’s also a true junior.

Best College Quarterbacks: Part 3

Some Chiefs fans have already decided the team needs to grab a quarterback in the 2009 NFL Draft.

If you are one of those fans, then you should know something about the potential selections. Over three days, we have looked at the top 25 quarterbacks that could be available in April ‘09.

That’s could be available because this list includes not only the top senior quarterbacks, but junior quarterbacks who would all be eligible for selection. The juniors would have to declare for the draft. Plus, there are three sophomore quarterbacks thrown in as well.

The NFL draft rules say a player must be three years removed from high school graduation to be eligible to apply for early entrance into the annual selection meeting. Thus, any sophomore who took a redshirt season would be three years removed and thus eligible. It’s very rare for any sophomores to leave early, especially quarterbacks. But just to cover all the bases, we’ve added three of them to the mix.

We had our group of the first eight on Wednesday, our second group of eight on Thursday and today the final nine quarterbacks. They are listed in alphabetical order.

Best College Quarterbacks: Part 2

Some Chiefs fans have already decided the team needs to grab a quarterback in the 2009 NFL Draft.

If you are one of those fans, then you should know something about the potential selections. Over three days, we’ll provide you with a look at the top 25 quarterbacks that could be available in April ‘09.

That’s could be available because this list includes not only the top senior quarterbacks, but junior quarterbacks who would all be eligible for selection. The juniors would have to declare for the draft. Plus, there are three sophomore quarterbacks thrown in as well.

The NFL draft rules say a player must be three years removed from high school graduation to be eligible to apply for early entrance into the annual selection meeting. Thus, any sophomore who took a redshirt season would be three years removed and thus eligible. It’s very rare for any sophomores to leave early, especially quarterbacks. But just to cover all the bases, we’ve added three of them to the mix.

We had our group of the first eight on Wednesday. Here’s the second eight and on Friday we will finish up with the final nine. They are listed in alphabetical order.

JOSH FREEMAN/Kansas State        JR    6-6, 248                                   1/13/1988

Freeman’s story is well known around Kansas City, where he was one of the best schoolboy football prospects of the last decade. At Grandview High School he threw for 7,175 yards and 78 TD passes. Freeman narrowed his college choices to K-State, Kansas, Nebraska and Oregon, choosing the Wildcats. He became a starter as a freshman in ‘06, opening the final eight games of K-State’s season. He’s got the size that NFL teams like and the arm strength. While he’s not a dual threat quarterback on the run, he has shown the ability to get himself out of trouble with his feet. Coming into this season, most scouts pegged him as a first-round talent for the 2010 Draft with continued improvement.

College Preview 10/4

There’s lots of action this weekend and the big TV games have match ups where we’ve covered one of the teams in just the last two weeks.

So we’ll provide updates on their opponents this week.

STANFORD @ NOTRE DAME, NBC, 1:30 P.M.

Stanford

#91 DE Pannel Egboh – 6-6, 272 pounds, SR-Redshirt. Has started the last 24 games for Stanford and contributed 94 total tackles in that time. He has 8.5 career sacks. He played just one year of high school football. In five games this year, he has 16 total tackles and one sack.

College Preview 10/2

ESPN’s Thursday night football features two Big East teams as Pitt travels to Tampa to take on South Florida at Raymond James Stadium.

The best player in this game isn’t draftable right now; that would be Pitt sophomore running back LeSean McCoy. He’s 5-11, 210 pounds out of Harrisburg, PA. If he stays injury free and decides to leave school a year early, he’ll be one of the first players taken in the 2010 NFL Draft. Last year, he ran for nearly 1,400 as a true freshman.

Otherwise, most of the players the pros are keeping an eye on in this game are on the defensive side of the ball.

Kickoff is 6:30 P.M.

Pitt

#40 MLB Scott McKillop – 6-1, 240 pounds, SR-Redshirt. McKilllop came into the season having played 35 games for the Panthers. He became a starter last season at middle linebacker and finished with 151 total tackles, three sacks, one INT, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. His tackle total led the nation last year. So far this season, he had 40 tackles and one sack. He picked up 10 tackles and one sack against Iowa in a Pitt victory. McKillop has all the intangibles to play in the NFL, but lacks top-end speed for a linebacker, so he’s considered anywhere from a fourth to sixth-round projection.

College Preview 10/1

More weeknight college action this coming out of the Western Athletic Conference Wednesday evening with Louisiana Tech at Boise State.

Not many prospects in this game, and those that are wear the uniform of Boise State.

Kickoff is 7 P.M. on ESPN2.

Boise State

#41 RB Ian Johnson – 5-11, 198 pounds, SR-Redshirt. Coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, Johnson has been one of college football’s most productive runners. Last year, he had 1,041 rushing yards and scored 16 rushing TD. In the ‘06 season, he ran for 1,713 yards and 25 TD runs. Fans will remember him as the guy who proposed to his cheerleader girl friend after the 2007 Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma. Coming into this season he had 640 career touches and some NFL types are concerned that because of his lack of bulk and upright running style he will not be durable at the pro level. No especially fast or big, Johnson is a slasher with great vision and anticipation. So far this season, he’s gotten off to a slow start with 224 yards on 46 carries and four touchdowns in three games. He’s also returned one punt for 19 yards and three kickoff returns for a 24.7-yard average. Johnson is considered a third/fourth round prospect.

College Preview 9/30

There’s a lot of college football on the ESPN family of networks this week, including a Tuesday night game from the Sun Belt Conference between Florida Atlanta and Middle Tennessee State. Kickoff is 7 o’clock on ESPN2.

There are some NFL draft prospects, but only at Florida Atlanta this year. Here they are.

Florida Atlantic

#46 FB William Rose – 6-1, 228 pounds, JR-Redshirt. Rose played every game in ‘07 for the Owls and showed versatility as a blocker, runner and pass catcher. He had 333 yards rushing and 264 yards receiving on a combined 101 touches. So far in the’08 season, Rose has run 13 times for 54 yards and caught seven passes for 50 yards.. He’s considered a fourth/fifth-round talent.

College Preview 9/27

There’s a lot of good action on this weekend of college play, including the Arkansas-Texas game that was postponed by Hurricane Ike and moved to this Saturday.

Here are the top prospects involved in some of the major TV games this weekend.

ARKANSAS AT TEXAS, ABC, 2:30 PM

Arkansas

#63 C Jonathan Luigs – 6-4, 314 pounds, SR-Redshirt. Luigs is considered by some NFL teams the top interior offensive lineman in the Class of ‘09. He won the Rimington Trophy last year as a junior and was nominated for the award as a sophomore. He’s got the size and speed the NFL is looking for at center these days, but isn’t naturally strong and may need work in the weight room to be able to battle bigger, stronger defensive tackles. He should be a bottom half of the 1^st-round selection.

College Preview 9/25

ESPN’s Thursday night college game comes out of the Pac-10 Conference as No. 1 ranked Southern Cal travels north to Corvalis to take on Oregon State.

Kickoff is 8 p.m. Here are the top talents as viewed by NFL scouts.

College Preview 9/20

A lot of action involving teams out of the SEC this week. We’ll update some of the teams we’ve already covered and add a few more that are getting their first exposure on this site.

Again, we are looking specifically at the players that the pros think will be potential draft choices in April 2009.

FLORIDA AT TENNESSEE, 2:30 P.M. on CBS

Florida

#15 QB Tim Tebow – 6-3, 238 pounds, JR. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Tebow remains a mystery to many in the NFL. Where does he fit? His ability to run as well as pass and his background in Urban Meyer’s offense are considered positives for some teams, negatives for others. There’s no questioning his athletic ability or his intelligence which both test through the roof. Last year he had 32 TD passes to six INTs. He’ll need significantly work in NFL offenses, right down to taking a snap from center, rather than in the shotgun. In two games, he’s run for 92 net yards on 22 carries, while throwing for 393 yards with three TDs and no INTs.

College Preview 9/18

The West Virginia Mountaineers need to go on the road and pick up a big victory Thursday night. They’ve got a tough assignment, heading into Boulder to face Colorado.

WVU is 1-1 and Colorado is 2-0. Game time is 7:30 p.m. on ESPN

West Virginia

G Greg Isdaner – 6-4, 322 pounds, JR-Redshirt. Isdaner is a two-year starter at left guard for the Mountaineers and is big and physical. He’s a very strong man who plays aggressively. West Virginia offense in ‘07 had a pair of 1,000-yard rushers and allowed just 13 sacks. He’s pegged right now as a second or third round selection, but can improve that with another strong season in ‘08.

College Preview 9/19

The Big 12 heads east Friday night as Baylor (2-1) visit Connecticut (3-0). The Bears have victories over Northwestern State (LA) and Washington State, and a loss to Wake Forest. The Huskies have beaten Hofstra, Temple and last weekend they stopped Virginia 45-10.

Game time is 7 p.m. on ESPN2

Baylor

OT Jason Smith – 6-5, 300 pounds, SR-Redshirt. Despite a strained MCL in his right knee, Smith started seven games in ‘07 for the Bears at left tackle. He’s a two-year starter at both left and right tackles, who began his football career as a tight end. The pros love his athletic ability, but he’ll need a lot of work on fundamentals and techniques. A strong season could push him into the late second round.

College Preview 9/17

The Kansas State Wildcats are on the national telly tonight, visiting the University of Louisville at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Here are the guys the pros think are prospects for both teams

Kansas State

QB Josh Freeman – 6-6, 248 pounds, JR. Freeman has started strong in this his junior season, by completing 75.6 percent of his passes and throwing five for touchdowns in the Wildcats first two games. Over his time in Manhattan, Freeman has played in 25 games, starting 22 with 29 career TD passes and 26 INTs. He’s big, strong and intelligent and is considered coming into the ‘08 season as a potential second or third-round selection. If he continues to throw TDs and eliminate his INTs, he could push himself even higher, whether he comes out for the ‘09 or ‘10 Draft.

College Preview 9/13

There are other games this weekend beyond the classic tilt between Ohio State and Southern Cal. Here are the prospects for three of those games that can be seen on network television.

CALIFORNIA AT MARYLAND, ESPN, NOON

California

C Alex Mack – 6-4, 315 pounds, SR-Redshirt. A two-year starter for the Golden Bears, Mack has won back-to-back All-Pac 10 Conference honors. In fact, last year the defensive linemen of the conference voted him the best blocker in the league. Athletic with great effort and intangibles, he sometimes has trouble with smaller, powerful defensive tackles. A strong ‘08 season could push him into the later part of the first round.

College Preview: Ohio State at Southern Cal

There’s no game in this 2008 college football season that will have more pro prospects on the field than what will be seen with Ohio State’s visit to Los Angeles to play Southern Cal on Saturday.

Both teams are so loaded we had to limit our little bios to players the pros consider first or second-round choices. We’ve tried to list all the players mentioned by NFL scouts.

Here they are:

College Preview 9/12

One of the better college games of this weekend features the Kansas Jayhawks traveling to Tampa to face South Florida at Raymond James Stadium.  The Hawks are 2-0 and ranked 13th in the latest Associated Press college football poll.  The Bulls are 2-0 and ranked 19th in the same poll.

Kickoff is at 7 o’clock on ESPN2.

Kansas

NFL teams right now do not have any Jayhawks ranked high enough to be a selection in rounds one through five. A big senior season could elevate OLB James Holt into a late-round choice. He’s 6-3, 226 pounds. He played 33 games for the Jayhawks before this season.

College Preview 9/11

Thursday night football on ESPN features North Carolina (1-0) at Rutgers (0-1).

The Tar Heels and Scarlet Knights will kick off at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.

 North Carolina

WR Hakeem Nicks – 6-1, 210 pounds, JR. In the ‘07 season, Nicks set a school record with 74 catches for 958 yards and five touchdowns. This came after he led the team in receiving as a true freshman, catching 39 passes for 660 yards in the ‘06 season. He had six catches for 110 yards in NC’sopener against McNeese State.

WR Brooks Foster – 6-3, 205, SR-Redshirt. Foster has played in 28 games over his previous three seasons and showed good athletic ability. He has 67 career catches for 903 yards and four touchdowns. He’s gifted enough athletically that he walked on and played for the ‘05 Tar Heels basketball team, seeing action in five games in the second half of the season.

Rutgers

Here’s list of Rutgers players considered draftable from earlier in the season.

College Preview: 9/6

Week Two of the college football season has some interesting matchups and games that involve a lot of potential NFL prospects.  Oklahoma and Florida are  both on national TV and they have rosters filled with players who have attracted attention from the pros.

Here’s a look at the talent in the nationally television games coming up today

Cincinnati at Oklahoma, 2:30 on ABC

Cincinnati

CB Mike Mickens – 6-0, 190 pounds, SR. Mickens is considered one of the top 40 seniors in the country by the NFL this year. The worst thing the scouts say about him is that he may be too light and physically thin. He’s started all 36 games he’s played for the Bearcats and he’s got 10 interceptions with 163 career tackles. Other than size, he’s got the complete package to play the corner in the NFL.

College Preview: 9/5

Tonight on ESPN with a 6 o’clock kickoff is Navy at Ball State.

The Midshipmen do not have any NFL potential players, but the Cardinals do, highlighted by a potent passing combination.

Ball State

QB Nate Davis – 6-2, 218 pounds, JR. Davis has started 20 games over the last two seasons and in ‘07 he was named first-team All-Mid-American Conference. He set a school passing record last year with 3,667 yards, hitting 270 of 478 passes, with 30 TD passes and only six INTs. He threw for 422 yards last year against Nebraska. Davis hit 21 of 24 passes in Ball State’s opener against Northeastern, passing for 280 yards and three TDs.

College Preview: 9/4

For the second week in a row, South Carolina is on national television. After the Gamecocks victory last week over North Carolina State, they are on the road Thursday night in Nashville against Vanderbilt.

Kickoff is 7 o’clock on ESPN.

We covered South Carolina’s prospects last week. Here are the players the pros are looking at with the Commodores.

Vanderbilt

CB D.J. Moore – 5-10, 184 pounds. JR. Moore is already being looked at as a potential first-round CB choice by the NFL when his class comes up in 2011. He could leave early with another big season in ‘08. In two seasons, he has played in 24 games and started 20 games on the corner, with seven interceptions. Moore returned kickoffs in ‘07, averaging 25.7 yards a return. In Vandy’s opener against Miami, in the first quarter he had an interception, two tackles, a forced fumble, a sack and a 91-yard punt return that set up a touchdown. He’s also going to get snaps on offense.

College Preview 9/1

The Labor Day holiday brings us college football on Monday.

Fresno State visits New Jersey to play Rutgers with kickoff at 3 p.m. on ESPN and then Tennessee travels to the Rose Bowl to play UCLA at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

Fresno State

TE Bear Pascoe – 6-6, 258 pounds, SR-Redshirt. Brainy receiver who started his college career as a quarterback, Pascoe is an old-school tight end, able to block and catch. He started 12 games last year, catching 45 passes while missing some playing time because of an ankle injury. He’s good on special teams as well, with four blocked kicks over his career. Given name is McKenna Sean Pascoe.

College Preview 8/31

It’s Sunday afternoon college football this week, with Kentucky visiting Louisville. Kickoff is 2:30p on ESPN. Here are some prospects.

Kentucky

CB Trevard Lindley – 6-0, 178 pounds. JR-Redshirt. Lindley has 24 starts in the last two seasons on the corner for the Wildcats. Last year he had 66 total tackles and three INTs to go with the two swipes he grabbed in his freshman season.

Mizzou-Illini Preview 8/30

It’s been a long time since Mizzou fans have been as excited about a college football as they are for the 2008 season. After the Tigers performance last year, they are among the Big 12 Conference favorites this season. The key for head coach Gary Pinkel has been his ability to increase the talent level of his team. That’s where the improvement has come and that’s visible when you look at their pro prospects.

These two teams face off Saturday night from the Edwards Jones Dome in St. Louis. Kickoff is just after 7:30 on ESPN.

Missouri

FS William Moore – 6-1, 226 pounds, SR-Redshirt. Moore is ranked among the 40 senior prospects for NFL teams to evaluate thanks largely to his physical gifts and his big play ability. He really jumped forward at the end of the ‘07 season when Mizzou lost fellow safety Pig Brown and Moore became the playmaker. In the last six games, he had five interceptions and two forced fumbles. He led the team and Big 12 Conference with eight interceptions. He has 10 career picks, and he’s returned four for touchdowns. Could be a top 20 choice in April ‘09 Draft.

College Preview 8/30

Here’s a look at some of the top players the NFL is keeping an eye on who are involved in Saturday’s national-TV action in the world of college football. Each week we will highlight several of the games. We’ll have a separate Mizzou-Illinois posting later this afternoon. We won’t do every team every week, because there are some teams that will keep popping up on national games like Ohio State and Southern Cal.

Today we look at highly ranked players from three games:

• Virginia Tech vs. East Carolina in Charlotte, NC, 11a ESPN.
  
• Utah at Michigan, 2:30p on ABC.
  
• Clemson vs. Alabama in Atlanta, 7p on ABC.
  Read More..

Top 40 College Seniors-NFL View

The college football season kicks off everywhere this weekend and that means that NFL scouts will begin their long trek towards the Draft next April. That starts with tracking the best college players through this senior season.

Now, the NFL says it does not prepare for juniors who will decide to come out early, but you can bet the scouts will be starting dossiers on guys who have the potential to make the jump. Based on the last couple years, that figures to be as many as three dozen underclassmen.

We’ve taped our NFL sources and they produced this list of the top 40 seniors coming out this year. We’ve broken them down by conference and team. Any listing of one through 40 at this point is really a waste of time without the senior season production.

College Preview: 8/28

The college football season kicks off Thursday night with two big national games on ESPN: North Carolina State at South Carolina and then a Pac-10 matchup between Oregon State and Stanford.

During the college season, we’ll try to take the national games and point out some players to keep your eye on that the NFL is keeping their eye on. Here are a few for Thursday night.

South Carolina

LT Jamon Meredith – 6-5, 304 pounds, SR. Meredith has started the last 13 games at LT for the Gamecocks, but he won’t play against North Carolina State or William & Mary to open the season. This absence traces back to his freshman year when he played a few plays and then took a red-shirt season. The NCAA ruled he could have the extra year, but he had to give up two games. The ticket is due and he’ll be on the sidelines. When he comes back, Meredith may move inside to guard. He’s considered one of the top 40 prospects in the country by some NFL teams.

CB Captain Munnerlyn – 5-9, 185 pounds, JR. Don’t you just love that name! NFL teams don’t have juniors ranked yet, but by the end of the college season there’s a good chance the Captain will be on the radar screen. He’s played 23 games with 15 starts and last year the SEC coaches voted him all-conference. This guy is a hard-nosed player, despite not being very big and he’s got legit 4.3 to 4.4 speed. He also returns punts and has done kickoffs as well. He suffered a broken bone in his left foot at the end of last year and that kept him out of spring ball.