2010 Draft

[sovstar]

I did research on the draft pool age issue last season - some guys may remember me posting various numbers in a thread, then deleting it. I compared data from our draft classes (using our DB) to data from FOF 2007 draft classes. The numbers matched up pretty well in the end. Enough for me to drop the issue and delete that thread. If a new TCY comes out, I'll look at things again.

[Hell Atlantic]

without links, stats or brief writeups these are just random names to me.

Don't be such an ass.

i appreciate the time that was spent on that list, but without some substance behind those names - brief write-up, stats, etc - then it means nothing to me and it's information i can't use. he could have just wrote "here are the names of some people who are likely to get drafted" and that woulda been more acceptable.

[sovstar]

without links, stats or brief writeups these are just random names to me.

Don't be such an ass.

i appreciate the time that was spent on that list, but without some substance behind those names - brief write-up, stats, etc - then it means nothing to me and it's information i can't use. he could have just wrote "here are the names of some people who are likely to get drafted" and that woulda been more acceptable.

Patience?

[JesterBlaze]

without some substance behind those names - brief write-up, stats, etc - then it means nothing to me and it's information i can't use.

He just gave the positions of possibly the top 15 picks. Compare that to not posting at all. :shock:

The forums have been DEAD lately and I appreciate all the posts I can read.

[Mel Kiper Jr]

Focus on:
10 QB Matt Sanford, Penn State

Penn State's Sanford threw 41 touchdowns in 2008, and was poised for a Heisman quality year in 2009. He led the team to an 8-1 record through the first nine games of the season before he tore cartilage in his knee in the 4th quarter of a blowout 33-3 win over Wisconsin.

Without their star QB, the National Championship hopes of the Nittany Lions seemed to be dashed. Strong wins over sub-par Illinois and Michigan St. saw them retain their #3 spot in the polls, and the computers loved them enough to jump them ahead of Miami and into the NC game against Michigan.

When the day of the Fiesta Bowl came, Michigan players were stunned to see a still-hobbling Sanford take the field. Sanford took advantage of the confusion to throw a 54 yard TD pass to potential first round pick Ken Albriktsen on the third play of the game. Sanford threw for 337 yards and 4 TD's and was instrumental in PSU building a 45-23 lead over the Wolverines and obtaining an eventual 45-37 victory, bringing the National Championship to Happy Valley for the first time in the Imperial era!

Note: Befitting a NC season, PSU will have the most potential first rounders, with as many as 5. Florida is second at 4.

Note #2: Four out of the last five NC teams have been from the Big 10. The champions have been: PSU, UCLA, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan, UCLA.

[Mel Kiper Jr]

Focus on:
9 QB Chad Harding, Miami

Harding this season was one of the most hyped college players in the history of the game. In the previous two seasons he had passed for over 6500 yards and 77 TD's, including his 42 TD Heisman winning season of 2008. Draftniks said he could have been the top pick in the IFL in 2008, but he decided to go back to the U as a 100/100 QB for one more season. Miami had finished the season barely out of contention for the National Championship game. Harding had tasted it, and he wanted more.

Harding's dream season though was derailed by a Clemson defender in the sixth game of the season. Chad was hit just after releasing the ball, and his shoulder was driven into the ground. He missed five games with a separated shoulder, including the loss to Florida in the last week of the regular season that ended the NC hopes of the Canes.

Ending up with only 1700 yards and 14 TD's, Harding's season was a big disappointment, which could impact his draft position. But his career marks of 8,500 yards and 95 TD passes dwarf the career accomplishments of fellow Hurricane alumni [ifl]Lincoln Norton[/ifl] and [ifl]Will Irby[/ifl], and his record 3 Conference MVP awards may never be topped.


Heisman winners:
2009 Harry Prieto, RB, Miami of Ohio (Class of 2010, watch out Crespo!)
2008 Chad Harding, QB, Miami
2007 [ifl]Zack Palmer[/ifl], QB, Stanford
2006 CJ Dehaven, Stanford
2005 Pat Lavender, Auburn
2004 [ifl]Will Irby[/ifl], Miami

[Mel Kiper Jr]

Focus on:
7 RB Barry Battles, USC

Battles is something of an unknown. One of the younger players in the draft (he has not yet hit his 21st birthday), he has only 355 career rushing yards to his name and yet the scouts rave about his talent. His attitude is another matter, however. Redshirted in 2007, Battles saw limited action as a freshman in 2008, rushing 79 times for a 4.4 average and 5 TD's.

Poor motivation in the classroom saw him become academically ineligible his sophomore year. He apparently decided that college life wasn't for him, as he immediately signed with an agent who gave him a big enough advance for Barry to purchase a luxurious home in Orange County. Since then he has been living the superstar life, and it will be interesting to see if he runs in the combine. He has a ton of potential, but could be raw, especially for a RB.

[Mel Kiper Jr]

Focus on:
6 OLB Lester Butler, Oklahoma

Are you a team with a top ten pick that needs a run stopping OLB? Then you've found your man in two-time first team All-American Lester Butler. Lester has been molesting opposing RB's for four years at Oklahoma, starting 45 games for the Sooners. In each of the past two seasons he has registered over 100 tackles, and boasts 45 tackles for loss in his career. No doubt about it, Butler is strong against the run.

Don't expect much else from him, though. In four years and over 700 passing plays, Butler failed to register a single sack, pass block, or hurry, His coverage skills in college were average at best. Any team that takes him high in the first round will hope that his coverage skills are good enough to play him in nickel situations, because it would be tough to justify such a high pick on a WLB that might only be on the field for half the defensive snaps.

[JesterBlaze]

woohoo! Rookie info. I love it!!

[sovstar]

Harding will be going against the odds. As you can tell from above, 'College Player of the Year' award winners have not fared well.

[Matt]

2007 [ifl]Zack Palmer[/ifl], QB, Stanford

I knew that name sounded familiar

[Coder]

Love this stuff, keep it up Mel!

[Mel Kiper Jr]

Focus on:
3 Warren Farley RCB Florida
14 Clay Bradbury MLB Florida

The Florida defense was the nation's best in '09, holding opponents to 8.3 pts per game, leading the nation in rush defense (44 /game) and coming in second in pass defense (143 /game). If not for a horrible week 4 31-30 loss to Idaho, many believe that Florida would be the National Champions. So it's no surprise that two of their star defensive players will be among the first players taken on draft day.

Despite injuries which limited him to only starting 32 games despite being a 4 year starter, Farley ended up with 12 career interceptions and 39 defensed passes. He is a shut down corner that only gave up 27 catches in 20 games over the past three years, while racking up 8 int's and 19 defensed passes during that same span. 27 catches and 27 int's+PD would make any IFL GM smile.

Bradley had a monster year in '08 patrolling the middle for the Gators, ending up with 105 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, and 4.5 sacks. His production went down somewhat this past season, due to the amount of talent around him, but the team's performance speaks volumes. An all-academic selection, Clay's 3.87 GPA in Medicine shows that he has what it takes to be the point man in an IFL defense.

[Mel Kiper Jr]

Before the IFL

QB Bernard Rockwell

Most people in IFL circles had not heard the name [ifl]Bernard Rockwell[/ifl] before he exploded onto the IFL scene this year as the fill-in for an injured [ifl]Tobias Stanfield[/ifl]. But fans of the college game know him well.

Rockwell led the '04 Tennessee team to a top five finish and a New Year's Day win over Michigan, throwing for over 3600 yards and 40 TD's. Despite being edged out for the College Player of the Year by Miami quarterback [ifl]Will Irby[/ifl], Rockwell's season was good enough to give him the Offensive Player of the Year award and also First Team QB honors.

Rockwell is also part of the college record book, throwing for 329 of the record 611 yards passing that Tennessee had in its 82-10 drubbing of Louisiana Tech. He also threw for 6 TD's, all while sitting almost half the game.

Unfortunately for Rockwell, no team gave him a chance on draft day, and it wasn't until the rookie FA period that several teams gave him a look. With interest from Tulsa, Boston, and Hartford, he finally signed with California (nee Fresno). It wasn't until 2008 that he played a snap, and his performance was enough to interest Lawrence in trading for him. In four starts this season, Rockwell is 3-1, and is seen as a very good backup for Stanfield.

[Warhammer]

Coincidentally, 2005 was a good year for QBs in the draft.