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Eric Young, OG, Tennessee 2008 DS #6 OG, Projected Round(s): 4 News/Story Tagged As:Draft, General player information/news
4/25/2008 - Injury hurt Young’s draft value, not his desire - During February’s combine, most teams interviewed Young about playing guard. “I’ve never really played it in a game, but from what I’ve been told, they say going inside is easier ... but who knows?” Young said. Young admittedly became a little testy during the combine’s physical examinations. “I’ve been nicked on, pulled on, X-rayed and MRI’d to death,” he said. “The MRI is a big thing. If you are a big guy, you feel violated in a sense because you can’t move and it’s such a tight space. You feel like you’re being violated.” In the end, Young said his resume should do the talking for him on draft day. Despite missing those six games, Young earned second-team All-SEC honors. When he was in the lineup, Tennessee averaged 17 more rushing yards per game. “Overall, I feel like I’m a good player,” he said. “Playing in the SEC, you know the level of talent. I’m just ready to take it to the next level…READ MORE SOURCE: Patrick Obley, The State
Vols suffered when ex-Union tackle tore a muscle, but NFL team will get a steal
Spencer Larsen, ILB, Arizona 2008 DS #11 ILB, Projected Round(s): 6-7 News/Story Tagged As:Draft, General player information/news
4/25/2008 - Larsen plays waiting game - Sadly, the tale of Spencer Larsen and his NFL draft prospects can mostly be told in 4.9 seconds. It should be a little more complicated than that. We hope you stick with us for a couple of minutes here. But back to that 4.9 seconds. That time is, give or take a few hundredths of a second and depending on whose thumb was on the stopwatch, the time the former Arizona linebacker took to cover 40 yards at the NFL Combine in February. As if that time - over an arbitrary distance established long ago - defines his entire value as a football player. "I wish I would have done better," Larsen said of his 40 time. "Yeah, that is going to affect how high I get drafted and how much money I make right off the bat." I like the NFL draft. Could waste a whole weekend watching it…READ MORE SOURCE: Anthony Gimino, Tucson Citizen
Ex-Cat's 40-yard dash time may hurt
Jason Shirley, DT, Fresno State 2008 DS #23 DT, Projected Round(s): 7-FA News/Story Tagged As:Draft, General player information/news
4/25/2008 - Self-inflicted slips put Shirley's draft stock in question - A chance. That's all Jason Shirley wants. A chance to get selected this weekend during the NFL draft. A chance to keep playing. But the former Fresno State football player knows he severely hurt those chances in October when he was charged with three misdemeanors, including driving under the influence. The incident led to Shirley's third suspension of the season, and essentially ended his senior year. "I know NFL teams frown upon those types of incidents," Shirley said. "It's always a big deal when you did something like I got involved in. "They don't want guys who get in trouble. I just tell them: 'It was a mistake; it's unfortunate. I've moved on, and I've learned from it.' " Most mock drafts project…READ MORE SOURCE: Bryant-Jon Anteola, The Fresno Bee
4/25/2008 - Flowers' stock slips - How valuable is time? Ask Brandon Flowers. A split second or two on a stopwatch could wind up costing the Virginia Tech cornerback a million or two in guaranteed signing-bonus dollars in Saturday's NFL draft. Rated by a number of teams as the draft's top cornerback going into the NFL combine in late February, Flowers' mediocre 40-yard time at the league's annual meat market prompted his fall from first to fifth among defensive backs on most analysts' mock draft boards. Flowers ran a 4.58 40 at the combine, placing him 20th among the 27 corners who tested. If he had run, say, a 4.4, Tech defensive backfield coach Torrian Gray thinks Flowers could have likely been the first defensive back taken in Saturday's opening round. Now, he's looking more like a late first-round or possible early second-round pick, at best…READ MORE SOURCE: Randy King, Roanoke Times
Draft experts say he'll go late in the first round or early in the second.
4/25/2008 - MSU's Thomas ready to prove doubters wrong - Even though this Thomas never doubted, he has no hard feelings for anyone who did. All that concerns former Michigan State wide receiver Devin Thomas is the bottom line, which will be scored on Saturday during the NFL draft. If he is selected in the first round, as draft analysts have universally concluded he will be, his decision to leave school early will be validated for those who questioned his judgment in ways words never can. "I can't say anything to them," Thomas said. "They'll just see the outcome. I'm not a guy to say, 'Look who's laughing now,' but I'm always going to be one to want to prove the doubters wrong. "It's just something I do." With only one stellar Division I-A season in his body of work, Thomas still has some work to do. But at least it's not like he's coming out of nowhere any longer. "I guess…READ MORE SOURCE: Steve Grinczel, MLive.com
4/25/2008 - VU tackle an expected first-round pick - Chris Williams is strolling through a hallway of Vanderbilt’s McGugin Center on a perfect April afternoon with his new wife by his side and a smile on his face. He cordially greets people, cracks jokes and handles media interviews with a cheerful approach. In less than a week, he’s going to be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft and will, for all intents and purposes, become an instant millionaire. These days, it’s good to be Chris Williams. The 6-foot-7, 320-pound former Vanderbilt offensive tackle is headed for a big day Saturday. Draft analysts predict he will most likely be picked No. 12 overall by the Denver Broncos or No. 14 overall by the Chicago Bears. Both teams need help at left tackle, and Williams is a hot prospect after…READ MORE SOURCE: Brett Hait, Nashville City Paper
4/25/2008 - All over for Simpson but the wait - "I'm just basically keeping it cool and not worrying about it," Simpson said. "I'm trying not to watch too many football channels. ... I honestly don't know where I'll end up. It's like playing poker - you never know what you will be dealt." At Coastal, Simpson was the Big South's all-time leading receiver and as the active Football Championship Subdivision leader in touchdown receptions (44), six behind Division I leader Jerry Rice. Simpson is all but assured to become the second Chanticleer drafted into the NFL after Tyler Thigpen was selected in the seventh round by the Minnesota Vikings last season. Four years earlier, Simpson was overlooked out of Reidsville, N.C., choosing Coastal and head coach David Bennett's no-pressure recruiting style over East Carolina, which was pressing for a commitment. "A lot of 1As missed out on a great one…READ MORE SOURCE: Travis Sawchik, Myrtle Beach Sun News
Carl Nicks, OT, Nebraska 2008 DS #12 OT, Projected Round(s): 4 News/Story Tagged As:Draft, General player information/news
4/25/2008 - NFL Draft: Mocks have ex-NU lineman all over - Nicks said it's almost funny to see the general assessments of him come from all over. "I kind of try to look at everything as positive criticism, as things I need to work on," he said. "Some things you do laugh about, but if that's how they feel I've got to prove them wrong. If I believed everything, I must be a slow, bad guy who can't play." Nicks was arrested March 8 on suspicion of being an inmate of a disorderly house and failure to disperse. Charges eventually were dismissed, and Nicks said he already has performed community service in Lincoln as part of pre-trial diversion. The change in his legal status, however, was long after Pelini banned him from pro day at NU, telling The World-Herald it also was for being a "bad example" for current Huskers. NFL teams already had seen Nicks work out, so that didn't hurt him. But the "fact that I was banned from my own pro day" was something that could be held over his head…READ MORE SOURCE: Rich Kaipust, Omaha World-Herald
Tracy Porter, CB, Indiana 2008 DS #12 CB, Projected Round(s): 3 News/Story Tagged As:Draft, General player information/news
4/25/2008 - IU stars feeling the draft - Tracy Porter believes he knows what to expect next season, when in all likelihood the cornerback will don the uniform of an NFL team. After all, Porter lined up opposite an NFL-caliber receiver nearly every day for three seasons, going head-to-head with James Hardy during Indiana University practices. "When you get to go up against a guy with that much ability, it can only make you better," Porter said last month at IU's Pro Day workout for NFL coaches and scouts. "IU hasn't been known as a football school, but hopefully we can start to change that." Actually, the Hoosiers did last year, when they ended a bowl drought dating to 1993. On Saturday, when NFL teams make their first three rounds of draft selections, the program could gain more notice. Hardy, a 6-foot-7 receiver from Fort Wayne, has a chance to go late in the first round, though most projections have him early in the second, around the 36th overall pick (belonging to the New York Jets)…READ MORE SOURCE: Tim Ethridge, Henderson Gleaner
*Phillip Merling, DE, Clemson 2008 DS #4 DE, Projected Round(s): 1 News/Story Tagged As:Draft, General player information/news
4/25/2008 - Former Clemson standout Merling hopes workout solidifies draft status - Phillip Merling’s agent Jimmy Sexton wasn’t so keen on the idea of the former Clemson defensive end having a pro day with the NFL Draft just two days away – in fact, he did not like it all. “I just didn’t want him to get hurt,” Sexton said. But Merling is a competitor, and the way he saw it, he had something to prove to the 15 or so NFL coaches and scouts that made it out to Clemson on Thursday to watch him run around cones, hit tackling dummies and drop back into coverage for 27 minutes. “This was the most important thing for me,” he said. “I want to compete. I want to compete everyday.” Merling wanted to compete because he was unable to do so in the NFL Combine this past February after it was discovered he suffered from a sports hernia, which he injured during camp last summer…READ MORE SOURCE: Will Vandervort, Daily Journal
Bruce Hocker, WR, Duquesne 2008 DS #50 WR, Projected Round(s): News/Story Tagged As:Draft, General player information/news
4/25/2008 - Dukes WR expects to hear his name called - The 12 NFL scouts attending pro day at Duquesne last month checked their stopwatches and scribbled notes as Duquesne wide receiver Bruce Hocker and 10 other hopefuls from the area were timed in the 40-yard dash, had their vertical jumps measured and ran through agility drills. "Now it's all about the numbers," said Hocker, who is Duquesne's all-time receiving leader with 162 catches and second with 2,595 yards receiving and 33 touchdowns. "They don't care what school you went to. I proved I could play with anybody on any level in the all-star games." Hocker, the first player from Duquesne to participate in the Hula Bowl and the only player there from a non-scholarship football program, caught a 3-yard touchdown pass in Aina's 38-7 victory against the Kai team. Hocker, 6 feet 4, 215 pounds, also played for the United States…READ MORE SOURCE: Phil Axelrod, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Mike Cox, FB, Georgia Tech 2008 DS #10 FB, Projected Round(s): News/Story Tagged As:Draft, General player information/news
4/25/2008 - Cox hopes to hear name called Sunday - Mike Cox took a short stroll in Lewisberry recently to the house of agents Mike and Mark Clouser to sign a contract. That was the first order of business as the former Red Land High and Georgia Tech football standout is about to realize his childhood dream in becoming an NFL player. "I've had this dream since the third grade," Cox said about this weekend's NFL draft. "I'm starting to feel it now. ... I'm so nervous I can hardly sleep." Cox, a bruising fullback who can run, block and catch, was informed by the Clousers that late Sunday might be the time Cox hears his name called. "The three teams that have really shown interest are the Kansas City Chiefs, Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals," Cox said…READ MORE SOURCE: James Phillips, The Patriot-News
4/25/2008 - Fluellen fishing for a first-day selection - Andre Fluellen won't learn which NFL team drafts him this weekend by sitting in front of a television. The former Florida State defensive tackle will be on a boat on Lake Allatoona near his home in Cartersville, Ga., fishing pole in hand. "I don't really like watching it, anyway," Fluellen said. "I don't want to watch for 10 hours on Saturday and 10 hours again on Sunday. I'll just have agent call me whenever my name gets called." If Fluellen doesn't get that call until Sunday, the Seminoles will snap a 20-year streak of having at least one FSU player picked in the draft's first day. Most NFL analysts don't have an FSU player going in the first two rounds, the only ones on the draft's first day. The Seminoles don't have many chances for keep their streak alive. Only Fluellen, defensive lineman Letroy Guion and linebacker Geno Hayes were invited to the NFL's scouting combine. Fluellen said he'd love to add to FSU's line of first-day picks. "I'm really kind of hoping I do," he said. "If not, I'm going to be all right…READ MORE SOURCE: Derek Redd, Palm Beach Post
*Derrick Harvey, DE, Florida 2008 DS #3 DE, Projected Round(s): 1 News/Story Tagged As:Draft, General player information/news
4/25/2008 - Harvey Makes It Happen - He was only 17 when his parents dropped him off at UF's campus in June 2004. It didn't take long for homesickness to settle in, so his parents made a pact never to miss one of his games. They left between 11 p.m. and midnight every Friday for the 780-mile road trip from Greenbelt, Md. His mother and stepfather took turns driving through the night until they reached Gainesville early Saturday morning, making it to The Swamp still sleep deprived. Florida coach Urban Meyer made it a priority to point this out to NFL scouts when they ask about Harvey. "They put 40,000 miles on their car in a year and a half, and that just tells you the commitment level and the kind of family he's from," Meyer said at Florida's Pro Day…READ MORE SOURCE: Jenna Marina, Tampa Tribune
Kirk Barton, OT, Ohio State 2008 DS #14 OT, Projected Round(s): 4-5 News/Story Tagged As:Draft, General player information/news
4/24/2008 - OSU's Barton battles poor image - At Ohio State, right tackle Kirk Barton was known for his way with words and lack of convention. When it came to the latter, his lighting a cigar in the press room after a 2006 victory over Michigan might have been rivaled in the coach Jim Tressel era only by Ben Hartsock's notion to leave a snow angel on the White House lawn. And when the media needed an honest and witty answer, only Anthony Gonzalez was in Barton's league. But in the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft this weekend, Barton might have been wise to ignore his press clippings. Analysts' reviews of the Perry High School product have not been kind. In Pro Football Weekly's 2008 Draft Preview, Nolan Nawrocki wrote Barton ''moves like he is attached…READ MORE SOURCE: Marla Ridenour, Akron Beacon Journal
Experts express doubts that Buckeyes' lineman can thrive in pro game
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