Here Come the Oklahoma Sooners

College Football

Before the 2007 college football season started, not many gave Oklahoma a chance to win the national title. Talk about a team that seemingly rose from the ashes, this time last year the Sooners were seemingly on the downturn. Their blue chip quarterback Rhett Bomar was shockingly dismissed from the team, who, by the way has himself risen from the ashes, surfacing this year at Sam Houston State. The Sooners fought hard all year without a quality quarterback, they lost a game due to poor officiating against Oregon, but still managed to land a New Years Day bowl game (Fiesta Bowl), only to lose that game in a heartbreaking overtime defeat to Boise State (on a trick play). They then lost their star running back, Adrian Peterson to the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL Draft. So the Sooners entered the 2007 season with a possible New Years hangover, still no proven quarterback and a junior college transfer starting at left tackle.

We have to give credit to Coach Bob Stoops, in his eighth year as head coach he has a combined record of 87-19, which is the second most wins by any Division 1-A school and the best record of any BCS school during that period. He led the Sooners to the 2000 BCS National Championship and finished the season undefeated. That year (2000) Stoop's Sooners weren't even ranked in the Top 20 in the pre-season. He has led his team to eight straight bowl games, with five being BCS Bowls.

Bob Stoops masterfully put together the 2007 team with brilliant recruiting, throw in a few key junior college transfers and a tough as nails spring training and this Sooner team looks to compete for a National Title and is already one of the Top Ranked Teams in College Football. The Sooners are 4-0 and have scored 50 or more points against every opponent.

So let's look at some of the key players. It has to start with redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Bradford, his early rise to national stardom has given the Sooner nation hope for this year and the future. Bradford is not a one game wonder, he has size (6'4" 205 lbs) and talent, after four games he is the highest rated QB in the Big 12 with a rating of 215.45, and has thrown 14 touchdown passes. Folks Bradford has completed 79.13 percentage of his passes. He is incredibly accurate and throws a nice deep pass with a flick of his wrist. NFL Scouts will keep an eye on this young signal caller in the next few years.

We all knew about running back Allen Patrick, but he has been injured early. In comes redshirt freshman DeMarco Murray (6' 0" 191 lbs), who has 4.43 speed. After four games Murray leads the Big 12 with 8 touchdowns and has accumulated 297 yards. By the way, Patrick is healthy once again, so that is quite the one-two punch at running back.

The running game is so strong because opposing defenses can't stack the line due to Oklahoma possessing two NFL caliber receivers on the outside. Both talented juniors, Malcolm Kelly (6' 3' 217 lbs) and Juaquin Iglesias (6' 1" 204 lbs) can get open early and often and are great with the ball in their hands. They also can field one of the Top Tight Ends in the nation in Joe John Finley, (6' 6" 260 lbs). Finley, amazingly enough, is one of the only seniors starters on the team.

The real strength of this team however is their massive offensive line. This line is brutal and has been pushing people around all year. A lot of credit needs to be given to Coach Stoops for landing two time junior college All American, junior, left tackle Phil Loadholt. This man mountain blocks out the sun at 6' 8" 350 pounds and has surprisingly nimble feet. They have a super talented left guard in George (Duke) Robinson, who projects as an 2009 Top Ten NFL Draft Pick. Robinson is also huge at 6' 5" 330 pounds, he has started since he was a true freshman and has lost 46 pounds since arriving at Oklahoma. They also have a very talented sophomore right tackle in Trent Williams (6' 5" 321 lbs), who will be sharing time with junior 6' 6" 312 pound Branndon Braxton.

The defense isn't as strong as the offense, but they are still solid with yet another super talented redshirt freshman in 6' 4 290 pound defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. The defensive backfield is chalked full of NFL talent with three solid seniors in cornerback Marcus Walker and safeties Darien Williams and DJ Wolfe. The real strength of this defense however is a pair of juniors and future NFL safeties in Reggie Smith (6' 1" 199 lbs) and giant hard hitting Nic Harris (6' 3" 225 lbs). Do you see a trend here? The Sooners have almost no senior starters on their roster and depending on how many jump early to the NFL, the Sooners could easily be the top ranked team heading into the 2008 College Football Season.

Spotlight on George Selvie, Future NFL Draft Prospect

NFL Draft

The 2007 College Football Season is already two games old and do you know who the current sack master is? It is South Florida's Sophomore Defensive End George Selvie. South Florida is a team on the rise, after beating Auburn in week two they just missed being ranked in the top 25. They received the 26th-highest number of points (220) in this week's Associated Press Poll.

George Selvie has been instrumental in the Bulls success, after week two he leads the nation in sacks (5.5) and tackles for loss (9.5). Selvie stands 6' 4" and weighs 255 pounds of solid muscle, he is cat quick, strong and plays with a reckless abandon. Only a sophomore, but due to his breathtaking success last year as a freshman, he is already a team leader. Watch Selvie on the field (#95), he is almost unblock-able.

Last year (2006) Selvie put the football world on notice when he had a breakout game against the 7th ranked West Virginia Mountaineers. South Florida pulled off the spectacular upset and Selvie recorded eight tackles, including 3.5 for a loss, forced a fumble and scored a touchdown on a 9-yard fumble recovery. For that performance, Selvie was named National Defensive and the Big East Player of the Week.

Selvie was originally signed by South Florida to play center, but his size and quickness quickly facilitated the switch to the defensive side of the ball. I think he has found his niche, after winning the teams' Overachiever Award for outstanding work in the team's strength and conditioning program, Selvie was inserted into the starting lineup at right defensive end. He finished the season with 84 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks.

Selvie went on to be named a Football Writers Association of America/Scripps Freshman All-American, the first in the South Florida Bulls history. Selvie will probably be converted to outside linebacker in the NFL, but he is a prospect that is definitely rising up the future draft boards. Yes we will have to wait until the 2009 or the 2010 NFL Draft to see him sack quarterbacks in the NFL, but it will be worth the wait.

Early Winners for the 2008 NFL Draft

I know it's way early, and we can put to much into the first game, but my goal is to identify a few of the college football NFL prospects that are improving their draft stock each week leading up to the 2008 NFL Draft.

Image: DeJuan Tribble, Boston College

1. QB Matt Ryan and CB Dejuan Tribble from Boston College:
I have talked about Ryan since last year and even had him in the first round of my 2008 NFL Mock Draft for quite some time. After week-one he is now finally getting some national notoriety. Ryan threw for 408 yards and 5 touchdowns in a big win against Wake Forest, he is cool as a cucumber and has a cannon for an arm. I can see the future debate for the number one selection in the 2008 NFL Draft already between Ryan and Louisville's QB Brian Brohm. Tribble is a small cover corner that is capable of making game changing plays. I don't care that he is only 5' 9" tall, if I were a NFL General Manager I would definitely want him on my team. He had 2 interceptions against Wake Forest, but his seven solo tackles were even more impressive. Tribble, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, snatched seven interceptions last season (2006), returning three for touchdowns. Heading into his senior season he has totaled 135 tackles, 11 interceptions, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and eight tackles for loss.

QB Matt Flynn and Safety Craig Steltz from LSU:
Matt Flyn hasn't been talked about much as an NFL Prospect because he hasn't really had any extended playing time. Against Mississippi State in the 2007 season opener he looked like a capable signal caller. He has decent size at 6' 2" 224 pounds and his arm strength, while not as powerful as Matt Ryan's, looks good enough to make all the throws. His accuracy is excellent, he finished his first game with a 63.16 completion percentage and a 154 QB rating. Craig Steltz is quite the play-maker in the LSU defensive secondary. He tied a school record last week with three interceptions as LSU destroyed Mississippi State 45-0. The LSU Tigers face a tough task this Saturday night against Virginia Tech.

RB Marlon Lucky from Nebraska:
The number one running back back after the first week of college football is Marlon Lucky. Talk about some talented junior running backs, I m not even mentioning junior running back James Davis from Clemson who absolutely terrorized Florida State. Marlon Lucky is way underrated. His 30 carries for 233 yards and 3 Touchdowns leads the nation. The Cornhuskers better hope he stays lucky when they face top ranked USC on September 15 (7:00 PM Central) on ABC. This is a must see game.

RB Felix Jones from Arkansas:
Yes there are two talented running backs from Arkansas this year, Jones would be the featured back for almost any other team in the nation. Jones is currently ranked #2 in the nation in all purpose yards with 129 rushing yards, 14 receiving yards and 144 yards on kick returns. He is averaging almost 18 yards every time he touches the ball. This junior will probably be the featured running back for Arkansas next year after Darren McFadden leaves for the NFL as expected.

LB Jordan Dizon from Colorado:
Dizon is a little small at 6' 0" 227 pounds, but he is a tackling machine. After week one he is ranked #1 in the nation in solo tackles with 15. This is nothing new for the 1st Team All Big 12 linebacker, Dizon last year (2006) recorded an amazing 137 tackles in which 80 were solo.

DE/DT Mitch King from Iowa:
King, only a junior, will eventually have to convert to defensive end or outside linebacker to make it in the NFL as he is only 6' 3" 265 pounds, but he is a force playing inside for the Iowa Hawkeyes. King is very quick, strong and he really knows how to use his hands. His forte is slicing in and making big plays behind the line of scrimmage. Against Northern Illinois in week-one he was a terror recording three tackles for a loss and two sacks.

Spotlight on Appalachian State

First of all, Michigan did not lose to Appalachian State. The Mountaineers beat Michigan, let's get that straight. Was it a huge upset? Sure it was. It was the first time a non Division 1 team has ever beaten one of the Top 20 ranked NCAA Football Teams. People that claim that it was the biggest upset in sports history just don't understand how good the Appalachian State football program has become. It seemed to all start in 2005, playing against a highly ranked LSU squad in Baton Rouge, the Mountaineers gave them quite a game and played them tough. They (Mountaineers) only trailed 14-0 at halftime, eventually losing 24-0, but they actually outrushed the LSU Tigers 176 yards to 163, and showed everyone that they can play with the big boys. Since that game they have won two consecutive Division 1AA championships and are heavily favored to win a third this year (2007).

Playing at home in Ann Arbor Michigan the Wolverines were clearly not prepared for a fast, spread offense and it's clear that the Wolverines defense was built to stop a power running game, which is typical Big Ten style. The Wolverines don't have much speed in the defensive secondary. But this article is about Appalachian State, not Michigan.

Coach Jerry Moore deserves a lot of credit for building this franchise into a perennial powerhouse. Since his arrival to Boone North Carolina in 1989 the Mountaineers have a record of 154 wins with only 68 losses. Coach Moore has the credentials; he was a former coach of Texas Tech and North Texas and was developed under the tutelage of two hall of fame coaches, Nebraska's Tom Osborne and Iowa's Hayden Frye.

Appalachian State is clearly the class of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) or better known as 1AA. By the way, I wish they wouldn't have changed it to FCS, Division 1AA was so much simpler to understand. The Mountaineers have some serious talent, a few of their player could start for almost any division one team and some even have legitimate potential for the NFL Draft.

The best NFL Prospect on the team might be offensive lineman Kerry Brown (6' 6" 312 lbs). Brown is the defending Southern Conference Jacobs Blocking Trophy recipient and first-team All-American. He has started 31 consecutive games at left guard and has great strength, and athletic ability. NFL Draft Dog has Brown ranked among the nation's top guards for the 2008 NFL Draft.

Sophomore quarterback Armanti Edwards (6' 0 " 182 lbs.) might be a little short to play QB in the NFL, but this kid showed everyone that he could play the position at the collegiate level. Against Michigan he looked faster than any player on the Michigan defense. He finished the game passing for 227 yards and 3 touchdowns, he also ran for 78 yards and another touchdown. Last year (2006) as a freshman, he didn't start until the third game of the season, but once he got rolling he turned in one of the best seasons in college football history at any level. He became just the fifth player in NCAA Division I history (and only the second freshman) to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in the same season. Those statistics rank him right up there with Tennessee Titans' quarterback Vince Young.

Michigan must have been worried about All-American running back Kevin Richardson, because they let loose Wide Receiver Dexter Jackson. He (Jackson) was about the only player on the football field that looked faster than the Appalachian quarterback (Edwards). I watched the game film again and number 2 jumped out with his breath taking speed. The 5' 10" 185 pound receiver and return specialist caught 3 passes for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jackson will be the go-to receiver this year and he is rated as one of the better receiver prospects for the 2008 NFL Draft.

I have been touting Safety Corey Lynch, (6' 0" 205 lbs.) for a while now. He made his debut on the Sports Center highlight reel by blocking Michigan's potential game winning field goal in the waning minutes to seal the win for the Mountaineers. Lynch is another Mountaineer player with legitimate potential for the NFL Draft.

So in closing, don't despair Michigan fans, you got beat by a darn good football team. In fact, I will give the Michigan athletic department credit for scheduling them for their first game of the year. Most Division 1 schools don't want anything to do with playing the two time Division 1AA champion Appalachian Mountaineers.