Juniors for the 2008 NFL Draft: part 2

This is the second part of my series covering under-classmen for the 2008 NFL Draft. Coincidently, Scout.com came out with their pre-season junior All-Americans about a week after I came out with my original article. One prospect that they had listed as a first team Junior All-American was defensive tackle Callahan Bright. A five star recruit coming out of high school, Bright originally signed with Florida State after playing a year at Hargrave Military Academy. The 6' 2" 315 pounder was timed at 4.92 in the 40 yard dash. Bright has also played linebacker, defensive end and right guard. He has bench pressed 400 pounds and squatted 700 pounds, he played Lacrosse, threw the shot put and was an excellent wrestler. Bright had difficulty with his academics and Florida State didn't sign him, he sat out of football in 2006, but Scout.com is reporting that he has signed with Division 2 Shaw University. As of this writing I haven't been able confirm this. If he does play football again this year he might add some talent and beef to the 2008 NFL Draft class. He might be this year's version of Walter Thomas, if he declares early.

The underclassmen running backs have been written about numerous times this pre-season already, and for good reason, this could be the best group of running backs in years. Running backs tend to enter the NFL Draft early more than other positions it seems, the theory is that a running back only has a finite number of carries in his career, so why waste them all in college for beans, when they can make millions of dollars doing in the NFL. That being said, I predict a large number of talented (junior) running backs will enter the 2008 NFL Draft. Besides Darren McFadden, Steve Slaton and Ray Rice, the other juniors that might possible enter the NFL Draft early are Virginia Techs Brandon Ore, Oregon's Jonathan Stewart, NC State's Andre Brown, Boise State's Ian Johnson and Clemson's James Davis. If even half of those prospects declare early, which is a strong possibility; this could be one of the strongest running back classes ever.

The junior receivers, while not nearly as solid as the running backs, offer up some interesting prospects. DeSean Jackson leads the pack with his blinding speed and scoring ability from anywhere on the field. Jackson is a better prospect at this point than Tedd Ginn JR, who was selected in the 2007 NFL Draft ninth overall by the Miami Dolphins. Michigan's Mario Manningham is another touchdown machine. Despite missing three games with a knee injury, Manningham was the leading receiver for the Wolverines last year (2006) with 703 yards. Manningham is not big at 6' 0" 184 pounds, but has been clocked at 4.39 seconds in the 40 yard dash. WR Mario Urrutia from Louisville is huge at 6' 6" 227 pounds and he will have the top quarterback in the nation throwing him the ball in Brian Brohm. Oklahoma's Malcom Kelly is a slightly unheralded prospect, but he is a supreme talent with nice size at 6' 4" 205 pounds, Kelly reached 1000 receiving yards in only 19 games which was faster than any receiver in Oklahoma history. Kelly set a record for receiving yards in a quarter with 134 against Middle Tennessee. Keep an eye on Patrick Turner from USC, he looks like he is next in line to take the mantel of USC receiving greatness. He is fast and big at 6' 4" 225 pounds and will be featured in an explosive USC offense. The last junior receiver that I want to highlight is Jaison Williams from Oregon, he is beyond big, at 6' 5" 242 pounds he might be moved to tight end in the NFL. Williams will be difficult to handle in the NFL, not only is he huge, but he is fast, he has been timed in the 100 meters at 10.5 seconds. Despite fighting injuries last year (2006) he was still the leading receiver on the team finishing with 68 receptions for 984 yards and 6 touchdowns.