Mizzou vs. Nevada … College Preview 9/25

Last year the NFL picked clean the roster of the Missouri Tigers, grabbing six of Gary Pinkel’s players including first round choices Jeremy Maclin and Evander Hood.

Pinkel’s program has reached a point where the pipeline isn’t completely empty, but there are not a lot of potential early choices coming out of Columbia this season.

LB Sean Weatherspoon (right) is the cream of the crop and a likely first-round choice based on what he’s gotten done with Mizzou. He’ll lead the Tigers into their game Friday evening against a Nevada team that has a handful of projected draft choices.

Here are the prospects you can watch on ESPN. Kickoff is 8 p.m.:

MISSOURI

LB Sean Weatherspoon (#12) – 6-1, 245 pounds, SR.: Considered one of the top linebacker prospects in the 2010 draft class, Weatherspoon has speed, power and quickness. He was already on the NFL radar screen, but his 17-tackle performance against Northwestern in the Alamo Bowl really lifted him another level. Weatherspoon considered entering last year’s draft, but got a third-round grade from the NFL Draft Advisory Board. Although he shows power and speed, he tends to run around blocks and that’s the only negative on his chart after his time with the Tigers. The Texas native has played in 42 games with 342 career tackles, three INTs and nine sacks. In three games this year, he has 29 total tackles and a sack. Scouts consider Weatherspoon a mid-round 1st-round choice.

WR Danario Alexander (#81) – 6-4, 215 pounds, SR: Alexander has battled back from three knee surgeries since December 2007, after tearing his ACL in his left knee during the 2007 Big 12 Championship Game. He’s slowly worked his way back, but is still not 100 percent physically. In 37 games he’s caught 98 passes for 1,231 yards and 10 TDs. In three games this season, he’s caught 20 passes for 234 yards and a pair of touchdowns last Saturday against Furman. Alexander had a big game against Illinois in the opener, catching 10 passes for 132 yards. Coming into the season, he was viewed as a fifth-round prospect but if he can show over the rest of the schedule that he can run with the same type of speed, he’s got the chance to move up in the wide receiver order.

NEVADA

G John Bender (#62) – 6-8, 325 pounds, JR-Redshirt: Big man from Alberta, Canada has dealt with some knee injury problems and surgery that ended his ‘07 and ‘08 seasons early. Athletic for a man so big, he’s got good feet and moves well. With further development he could move outside to tackle, but would benefit from a strong season when it comes to draft position. Bender is pegged as a third-round possible right now.

QB Colin Kaepernick (#10) – 6-5, 220 pounds, JR-Redshirt: He was the WAC Player of the Year in the ‘08 season, as he displayed his strong arm and quick feet. Kaepernick is very athletic, with good movement around the pocket and he can take off running at any time. In two games he’s completed 37 of 61 for 400 yards with one TD and 4 INTs; those are not good numbers to send him up the draft charts. Overall in 26 games he’s thrown 42 TDs against 14 INTs and he’s run 283 times for 1,786 yards. Scouts ranked him as a third-round potential coming into the ‘09 season.

DE Kevin Basped (#99) – 6-6, 240 pounds, JR-Redshirt: Last season he had 10 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss in the Wolfpack defense and was a first-team all-conference selection. But the ‘09 season has not started well for Basped. He’s lost playing time to teammate Ryan Coulson; in Nevada’s matchup against Notre Dame, he played 39 snaps. In two games Basped has three tackles and one sack. In 28 games, he’s notched 15 sacks. He’s got good speed and can rush the passer. Early projections had him as a third-round project.