Defensive Ends at the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine

Pass rushers are always in high demand at the NFL Draft evidenced by the fact that 25 were selected in the 2007 NFL Draft with five being selected in the first round. This year should be no different and the top defensive ends were recently on display at the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine. Here are some of my observations.

Vernon Gholston from Ohio State was a man among boys. Not only did he look the part weighing in at 6’ 3” 266 pounds, but he was solid muscle. Gholston is as strong as an ox lifting 225 pounds 37 times, which was the best performance at the combine, actually tying 313 pound offensive tackle Jake Long for first place. Gholston also displayed excellent speed, quickness and leaping ability. He ran his forty at 4.67 with a 35.5” vertical jump and a 10.05 broad jump.

Chris Long from Virginia also put on quite a show. Almost as muscle bound as Gholston, Long weighed in at 6’ 3” 272 pounds and ran a 4.75 forty. Long was very strong with 34 reps on the bench press, he also recorded a 10.4” broad jump and had the fastest (among defensive linemen) 20 yard shuttle run at 4.21 seconds.

Cliff Avril from Purdue made himself some money at the combine. Weighing in at 6’ 2” 253 pounds he displayed linebacker quickness. In fact with his performance he will probably be moved to linebacker in the NFL. Avril ran his forty at lightening quick 4.51 seconds and had one of the best 3-cone times of 6.90.

Quentin Groves from Auburn was a top performer as expected. While he didn’t run a 4.45 as earlier reported, his time of 4.57 was impressive considering he weighs 6’ 3” 251 pounds and benched 225 pounds for 30 repetitions.

There were early reports that Florida’s Derrick Harvey weighed in at 291 pounds, but it was a mistake, he was actually 6’ 4” 271 pounds. Harvey didn’t run a great forty at 4.80, but he looked quick and fluid in the drills and he is a playmaker, in 2007 he recorded 17 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.

Jason Jones from Eastern Michigan has probably seen his draft stock rise as much as anyone after his Senior Bowl performance. He continued his post season excellence with an outstanding combine performance. At 6’ 5” 273 pounds he ran a 4.71 forty and had the second fastest run of the 20 yard shuttle at 4.23. Eastern Michigan is a division 1 school and Jones finished ranked 7th in tackles for loss with 19.5 in 2007.

Chris Ellis from Virginia Tech should hear his name called very early in the 2008 NFL Draft, probably in the second round. He didn’t dispel that opinion with his performance at the 2008 NFL Combine. He measured in at 6’ 4” 263 pounds and ran a 4.71 forty. Ellis had a great season in 2007 finishing with 8.5 sacks and an amazing 22 quarterback hurries.

I am surprised there isn’t more draft buzz generated about Michigan’s Shawn Crable. He has nice size at 6’ 4.5” 245 pounds and ran a very good 4.64 forty. Crable is not just a workout warrior however; he ranked #2 in the nation with 28.5 tackles for a loss in 2007. He could be a prime candidate to be moved to outside linebacker in the NFL.

Wake Forest’s Jeremy Thompson had an excellent combine performance, measuring in at 6’ 4” 264 pounds he ran a 4.75 forty, which in itself isn’t great, but he recorded the second fastest 3-cone (6.79) and 20 yard shuttle runs (4.23).

UCLA’s Bruce Davis had a decent forty yard dash time at the combine at 4.72. Measuring in at 6’ 3” 252 pounds he is another prospect that will probably be moved to outside linebacker. A consistent performer in college he recorded 15.5 tackles for loss and 12 sacks in 2007.

The not so good:

Miami’s jumbo defensive end Calais Campbell didn’t look good at the combine, he looked soft and slow at 6’ 7” 290 pounds and ran a mediocre 5.03 forty.

USC’s Lawrence Jackson didn’t look that impressive at the combine. Measuring in at 6’ 4” 271 pounds he ran a below average 4.81 forty and a very poor 20 yard shuttle run of 4.40.

Wide Receivers at the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine

Image: Andre Caldwell

This is an interesting year for wideouts with no clear cut first round stars. Last year all the buzz was about Calvin Johnson, who tore it up at the combine and was drafted 2nd overall by the Detroit Lions. Some would argue that by the time the Super Bowl rolled around that New York Giant’s Steve Smith was the best rookie receiver, if you evaluated his playoff and Super Bowl performance it would be hard to argue against that opinion. Smith wasn’t drafted until the second round (51st overall). Well there isn’t a Calvin Johnson in this draft, but there might be plenty of Steve Smith’s. What I mean is that the first round talent is not impressive, but the players that get drafted in the 2nd and 3rd round might end up as the best NFL players, and they certainly hold the best value in this 2008 NFL Draft.

As the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine results come rolling in, one thing is clear, there were some blazing fast receivers running at Indianapolis. Seven receivers ran the 40 yard dash at 4.40 or better. Here are a few receivers that really helped themselves.

When DeSean Jackson (California) weighed in at 5’ 9.5” 168 pounds the red flags came out, most scouts didn’t think he was that tiny. But when he lined up and ran a combine best (for receivers) 4.35 forty, the red flags were put away. If he can’t be caught, who cares how big he is. This multi-dangerous receiver has to be watched at all times, not only a great receiver, but he also returns punts and kicks.

Andre Caldwell(Florida) came in with the second best 40 time of 4.37 seconds. Decent size at 6’ 0” 204 pounds, Caldwell can strike from anywhere on the field. Caldwell is quick as a cat and also scored in the top 5 of the 3 cone drill with a time of 6.75.

Small school standout Dexter Jackson (Appalachian State) was a key player in Appalachian State’s stunning upset of Michigan last year. Now we know why the Wolverine defense couldn’t catch him. His 40 time of 4.37 was the 3rd fastest time among receivers. Some NFL team that does their homework on this receiver could be making the others wish they had done more.

Missouri receiver Will Franklin had a great performance at the combine running a 4.37 forty. His speed is outstanding, but you would like to see better performance on the football field, he only recorded 709 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns in 2007.

Virginia Tech’s Eddie Royal was very impressive at the Combine. I give Kudos to Royal for doing a complete workout; his 40 time of 4.39 was outstanding. Royal has decent size at 5’ 10” 184 pounds and is very strong; he bench pressed 225 pounds 24 times and recorded a 36 inch vertical jump.

Everyone knew Houston’s Donnie Avery was going to be fast, he didn’t run quite as fast as he looks on the field, but his 4.40 forty yard dash is nothing to sneeze at.

Michigan State’s junior Devin Thomas is a prospect that continues to climb up the draft boards. Yes he might be a one year wonder, but that one year was spectacular. He finished 2007 ranked 15th in the nation in receiving yards with 1,260 and an additional 8 touchdowns. He has nice size at 6’ 1” 216 pounds and is blazing fast, running a 4.40 forty at the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine.

Kentucky’s Keenan Burton is a vastly underrated receiver; he will be a steal anywhere after the second round. Tough as nails, good character and decent size (6’ 0” 201 lbs). Burton ran a 4.43 forty and recorded a quick 6.77 second 3-cone time. He also recorded the best vertical Jump at 38.5”. Burton became only the third player in school history to total over 2000 receiving yards in his career. On the down side he was out of the lineup with assorted injuries--- knee, foot and ankle.

You have to like the combine performance of small school (Richmond) standout Arman Shields. He measured in at 6’ 0” 194 pounds and ran a nice 4.43 forty. His 6.67 second time in the 3-cone was among the best and he finished in the top 5 in the Vertical Jump at 37.5”. Shields also recorded the best 60 yard shuttle run at 10.87 seconds. Whether Arman gets drafted could depend on his performance at the combine due to the fact that he missed all of the past season except for the first game due to a knee injury.

Wisconsin receiver Paul Hubbard is a size and speed marvel, measuring in at 6’ 3” 221 pounds and running a 4.46 forty.

Indiana’s jumbo receiver James Hardy (6’ 5” 217 lbs) was extremely productive on the football field in 2007, recording 1,125 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. The scouts were saying he didn’t have break-away speed. Well he proved them all wrong by running an impressive 4.47 forty. That is quite a feat for a man that is almost 6 foot 6 inches tall.

Another small school star that has definitely gotten the attention of the NFL scouts is Coastal Carolina’s Jerome Simpson. He ran an impressive 4.47 forty, which is good for a prospect measuring in at 6’ 2” 190 pounds, but his broad jump was an all-time combine best of 11’ 4” and his vertical jump was 2nd best at 37.5”.

Jordy Nelson is a receiver that continues to climb up the draft boards, after an impressive senior Bowl performance, Nelson came into the combine and ran a 4.49 second forty. This is a big receiver at 6’ 2” 213 pounds and he was a monster on the football field. He finished 2007 ranked #2 in the nation in receiving yards with 1,606 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The small school players did very well this year at the combine, a player that is just flying up the draft boards is Pierre Garcon. This WR out of Mount Union (Div. 3 college in Ohio), ran a decent 4.48 forty and finished tied for third in the Bench Press with 20 reps. He also finished 3rd best in the vertical jump at 36.6” and in the top 10 in the Broad Jump with a jump of 10' 5 ". He also did well with a 6th place time of 4.19 in the 20 yard shuttle. Garcon was not even considered draftable a few months ago, but he could now hear his name called in the later rounds of the 2008 NFL Draft.

One of the top ranked receivers for te 2008 NFL Draft and almost sure to be selected in the first round is Texas receiver Limas Sweed. Sweed missed most of the season with a wrist injury, but came to the combine and ran an impressive 4.46 second forty yard dash. Impressive for a big (6' 3" 215 lbs) receiver.

Last but not least is receiver Harry Douglas from Louisville. Douglas had the best 3-cone time of 6.57 and the 3rd best 20 yard shuttle run of 4.12. Douglas is no stranger to success; he finished 2007 ranked 3rd in the nation in receiving yards with 1,159 and an additional 7 TDs. Douglas, even without the normal weight of a receiver makes defenders miss with his blazing speed which includes a second gear that seems to come out of nowhere. Douglas is yet another receiver that could be 3rd-4th round steal.

Special thanks to Clevaland Brown columnsit Paul Sink for assistance on this post.

Running Backs at the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine

The 2008 NFL Scouting Combine is in full swing and up until today there weren't a lot of fireworks to report. A little disclaimer here, all 40 times are courtesy of the NFL Network and are unofficial, I counted maybe 15 people down on the field with stopwatches and another 40 or so in the stands, so you will see a lot of different quoted times come out. The official electronic times will be released next week.

The receivers ran this morning and California WR DeSean Jackson measured in at only 5' 9" 167 pounds, but he ran a 4.31 forty yard dash. One of my sleepers prospects from Appalachian State, WR Dexter Jackson was actually the fastest receiver running a 4.27 forty. The other prospect that I have to mention without delay is small school quarterback Josh Johnson from San Diego, during the passing drills today I thought his arm was as good as anybody's, I like his quick release and his balls get on the receiver very fast, but what really got my attention was his speed, he ran a 4.40 forty, yes that's not a typo, he is blazing fast. Remember Johnson, he was the star of the East-West Shrine game.

Enough about the receivers and quarterbacks, I will cover them in more detail tomorrow. Today I want to cover the running backs and all I can say is WOW. This class of running backs will probably go down in history as the all time best to ever enter the draft. After RB Darren McFadden ran two sizzling 40 yard dashes of 4.27 and 4.33, all the talk was the report by the NFL Networks' Adam Schefter that the Dallas Cowboys are trying to work out a trade to acquire McFadden, this an old rehashed story that I reported on almost three months ago on my Dallas Cowboys NFL Team Column. This time Schefter is saying the Cowboys will throw in RB Marion Barber in the deal. McFadden's size (6' 1" 211 lbs), speed and production makes him a prime target for someone to trade up and get, but Barber is a Pro Bowl running back. It would probably take Barber, both of the Cowboys first round picks and maybe a 3rd or 4th rounder thrown in to get into that top spot that is currently owned by the Miami Dolphins.

I am not going to cover all the running backs, but here is a snapshot of some of the top dogs. The fastest running back was East Carolina RB Chris Johnson who ran two very fast forties: 4.24 and 4.29. Johnson is not huge at 5' 11" 197 pounds, but he is also an excellent receiver. If Johnson lasts until round two, he will be steal. The other two running backs that absolutely solidified a selection in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft are Illinois RB Rashard Mendenhall (5' 10" 225 lbs) and Oregon RB Jonathan Stewart (5' 10" 235 lbs). Both of these guys are big, muscular prospects with breathtaking speed. Mendenhall ran two 40s of 4.37 and 4.43 and Stewart ran twice at 4.44 and 4.49 seconds.

There are a few other prospects that in most years would easily by first round draft picks, however, in this deep running back class they emerge as late first/early second round prospects. I really like Texas RB Jamaal Charles and Central Florida RB Kevin Smith. Charles finished the season very strong and didn't disappoint at the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine, at 5' 10" 200 pounds, he has decent size and his two 40 times of 4.36 and 4.39 shows that he has home run speed. Smith is a long strider at 6' 1" 217 pounds, but he led the nation in rushing with 2,567 yards and 29 TDs. His speed was in question coming into the combine, but he ran his first 40 at a blistering 4.43 seconds. His second run was only 4.56, but he had a bad start. The other RB from Arkansas Felix Jones (5' 10" 207 lbs) had a very good NFL Combine, his two 40 times were 4.44 and 4.47 seconds. There is nothing wrong with that time, however being talked about as a "speed guy" I thought he would run under 4.40.

Rutgers RB Ray Rice is another interesting prospect, he might slip into the 3rd round due to his size (5' 8" 199 lbs), but his production in college can't be ignored, only a junior, he scored 44 touchdowns in his last two years at Rutgers. At the combine his first 40 yard dash was an impressive 4.44 seconds, but he injured his hamstring and only ran once. West Virginia RB Steve Slaton, this time last year I had him rated as a first round NFL Draft Pick. Slaton only a junior, is a little small at 5' 9" 197 pounds and he didn't have as good of a junior year as he did as a sophomore and subsequently has seen his draft stock plummet. Slaton, however, ran pretty good at the combine, running two 40s of 4.44 and 4.45 seconds. Little known RB Chad Simpson from Morgan State made some money at the combine. His is a tad small at 5' 9" 200 pounds, but his 4.38 second forty got the attention of NFL scouts.

Not all was positive at the combine for running backs, Michigan's RB Mike Hart was a bit of a disappointment running twice at 4.67 and 4.69 seconds. One of my favorite small school prospects from Northwest Missouri State, RB Xavier Omon, didn't run real well, he ran twice at 4.59 seconds. Here are some times for a few other running backs and fullbacks:

RB Anthony Alridge: 4.33
RB Matt Forte: 4.51
FB Jerome Felton: 4.75
RB Chad Simpson: 4.38
FB Jacob Hester: 4.60
RB Jalen Parmele: 4.54
RB Dantrell Savage: 4.50

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The Best NFL Draft Websites of 2007

It’s time for my annual review of the best NFL Draft Web Sites on the internet. Last year was my first year doing this when I rated the Best NFL Draft Web Sites for 2006. I had such tremendous feedback I thought I would make this an annual event. So now with another year under my belt I thought I would rate the top NFL Draft Web Sites for 2007. This year I decided to try to make it a little more scientific. I am letting the two main search engines on the internet, Google and Yahoo, help me with the rankings this year as I am using their search results as part of my evaluation criteria. I am ruling out sites that make you pay to read their content as well as sites that branch heavily into other areas besides the NFL Draft, like fantasy football or sports betting.

I am also using only full featured NFL Draft Sites, so all these mock Draft databases only, are out. I have nothing against them, I have a Mock Draft Database myself and I frequently visit Hailredskins.com, they are hugely popular, I am just not including them in this evaluation. Some of the other criteria I utilize is content, I want to see quality, original content. If the site doesn’t have updated, quality information, no matter how high it ranks in Google, it is worthless.

I also took into account ease of use, I like web sites that open up fast, are easy to navigate and don’t have a lot of fancy java script and flash on them, less flare and more substance, that’s what I like. Last but not least this year I tried to limit my selection to NFL Draft Sites that have been around a while, so if you are brand new and don’t have any page rank yet, keep working and I will take a look at your site next year. So if I missed anybody, don’t take it personnel, my staff and I worked long and hard at this, but decided to narrow it down to only the top ten NFL Draft Web Sites of 2007.

1. NFL Draft Countdown:
The NFL Draft champion for the second consecutive year. Scott Wright does a magnificent job in web design, content and marketing. He actually traveled to the Senior Bowl himself and provided his readers with live reports from Mobile, Alabama. He was also featured on CSTV at halftime of the Texas vs. Nation All Star game. He does put some annoying pop-ups on his site still, but outside of that, NFL Draft Countdown brings a lot of credibility to the table, and when it’s all said and done, that’s what really matters. Scott’s annual Mock Draft is widely considered the industry standard.

2. Walter Football:
Site owner Walter Cherepinsky has done a fantastic job with this site. Walter football has ranked very well in Google all year and is probably not far behind NFL Countdown as far as traffic goes. He and his staff have put together a ton of great content and Walt himself is quick to answer emails if you have any questions or comments about his site. Walt is nipping on the heels of NFL Draft Countdown and it’s amazing how far his site has progressed in such a short time. Walt is always putting together great content, like his recently released NFL Free Agency Rankings.

3. Draft Daddy:
An excellent NFL Draft Web site with a lot of great content. I especially like their NFL Draft Blog, while it isn’t totally originally, it brings you a ton of updated NFL Draft information from around the internet. Draft Daddy started in 2003 and the publisher, Matt Bitonti, has done a great job keeping Draft Daddy a free site with quality, updated draft news and information.

4. Great Blue North report (GBN Report)
Colin Lindsay is the editor and publisher and they are headquartered in Canada. I don’t think he does much as far as marketing because he doesn’t rank very well in the search engines, but GBN still gets a lot of traffic. He gets the nod here because of content; they always seem to get the breaking news, which I enjoy. He doesn’t have a ton of content, but it is quality and his home page is run kind of like a blog with new entries pushing down the older ones. He provided his readers live coverage at the 2008 Senior Bowl this year, which was an impressive feat.

5. The Football Expert:
As long as Michael Abromowitz is running “The Football Expert” they will remain as one of the elite NFL Draft Sites. He and his staff are at the top of their game and they come out with a vast amount of original content almost on a daily basis. Michael has put together an impressive three round 2008 NFL Mock Draft. He has a huge staff with 22 other writers helping him and they are all pretty talented, especially Brian Dietzler, who is one of the hardest working writers in this industry, Brian also writes my Chicago Bears NFL Team Column.

6. NFL Draft Dog:
I tried not to rank my own web site to high, but NFL Draft Dog has come along way in only one year. We have worked tirelessly building content, marketing and promoting, and are subsequently one of the top ranked NFL Draft Web sites on Google and Yahoo. We have the usual Top 100 list, player rankings and Mock Drafts, but we also have one of the most extensive Draft Boards on the internet, profiling the potential prospects’ draft value for all seven rounds, by position. The other area that has really exploded are the NFL Team Columns, we have beat writers for almost all 32 NFL teams now. I don’t mean to leave anybody out, but NFL Draft Dog now has two senior writers, Bryan Dietzler and Daryl Breault.  Draft Dog also ties nicely in with this NFL Draft Site-Blog.

7. Draft King:
Lou Pickney is still running Draft King as before and it hasn’t changed much from last year. It still has quality, updated material. I take my hat off to Lou; he is one of the few that has attempted a 2009 NFL Mock Draft this early. Draft King is a professional looking web site and his key feature has been fan interaction, where fans email him NFL Draft questions and he answers them on his web site.

8. New Era Scouting:
The design of the site has completely changed, with an orange Halloween looking theme, but it works, and it is well laid out and organized. It doesn’t rank very well at all in the search engines, but none the less, it has excellent content. I don’t think site owner Matt Miller puts much effort into marketing and promotion, but he is a football guy and has been a well known “draftnik” for quite a while. Matt has a lot of inside sources in the NFL Draft world and has a keen eye for talent. He also has a nice blog called: Mocking the Draft, which ties in nicely with New Era Scouting.

9. The War Room Report:
Rob Tribbett is the president; I always find that title amusing. How do they get to be president? Are there elections or can you just assign that title to yourself willey nilley? Just joking Rob. Anyway, President Tribbett runs an excellent web site. Like Draft Dog, it is fairly new, but he has been steadily improving all year. He doesn’t have a huge staff, it looks like just four, but they are talented. Impressively, they have ranked the top 300 prospects for the 2008 NFL Draft. The site is kind of run in a blog format, but it looks good and is well executed.

10. Footballs Future:
A commercial type web site, I can’t find an owner’s name on it anywhere, so the content doesn’t seem real authentic, but they don’t charge a fee, they cover primarily the NFL Draft, they have a huge forum with over 31,000 registered posters and they rank very well in both Google and Yahoo. They get a lot of forum members to post their mock drafts and they subsequently have a nice mock draft database.

Small School NFL Scouting Combine Invitees

Image: WR Pierre Garcon, Mount Union

Every year around this time of year thousands of college football players from around the country are waiting anxiously for the NFL Scouting Combine list to be published. For most of the top division 1 players, the list is uneventful, already assured of selection in the early rounds, some won’t even bother to attend the NFL Scouting Combine. The elite players are worried that an mediocre performance might hurt their already lofty draft status and maybe they are worried about an injury. But for the lesser known prospects and especially the small school prospects (non division 1), the Combine is a huge deal that might make or break their chance of being drafted. The NFL Draft Scouting Combine is scheduled for February 20-26 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The players are selected by a committee made up of directors of both the National and BLESTO scouting services, along with members of various NFL Scouting departments. There were approximately 333 college prospects selected to attend the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine this year which include 46 juniors, out of that 333 players, only about 30 were from small school (non division 1). I always find it interesting to identify the small school college football stars every year and I have been tracking most of these small school prospects for a few years like: DE Kendal Langford from Hampton, OT Heath Benedict from Newberry or CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from Tennessee State. By the way, a player that wasn’t invited that should have been was DE Brian Johnston from Gardner-Webb. You can see my Top 50 Small School Prospects here. But here are nine relatively unknown prospects that were invited to the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine that slipped through the cracks, players that I was previously unfamiliar with:

TE Kolomona Kapanui, 6’ 4” 270 lbs. West Texas A&M
Played very well at the Hula Bowl and Mel Kiper has Kapanui rated very high, just under Louisville’s Gary Barnidge in his tight end rankings. Kapanui was originally recruited to play at USC in 2002, but decided to transfer due to a hip injury. Born in Hawaii, he transferred to West Texas and was very productive. He finished 2007 with 39 receptions for 481 yards and 7 touchdowns which earned him AP and d2football.com All-America honors. Similar to last year’s small school tight end Kevin Boss, who was a late season star for the New York Giants during their super bowl run. He is not as fast as Boss, but has good hands and a with a good combine performance, he could be a late round draft pick.

WR Pierre Garcon, 6’ 0” 205 lbs. Mount Union
The only Division III guy invited to the combine I believe. Garcon really caught my eye at the Texas vs. Nation All Star game, he returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown in the game. In 2006 Garcon caught 59 passes for 1,096 yards and 15 for touchdowns for Mount Union. Garcon averaged nearly 20 yards and was voted the “receiver of the year” in the Ohio Athletic Conference. He drew constant double teams this year (2007), but still managed 40 catches for 564 yards and 8 touchdowns. Very strong, stocky, shifty and quick, Garcon has great hands and is adept at fielding punts and kicks. He reminds me of Dallas Cowboys WR Patrick Crayton, who was a small school (NAIA) star in his own right. Garcon is Mount Union's all-time leader in receptions with 202 and the Ohio Athletic Conference career leader in touchdown catches with 47.

DE Marcus Dixon, 6’ 4” 296 lbs. Hampton
Dixon is starting to emerge as a better NFL Draft Prospect that team-mate Kendall Langford. Hampton must have had quite a defensive line last year as both of their defensive ends were invited to the combine, which is no small feat for division 1AA Hampton. Arguably Dixon even had better stats than Langford in 2007 and is more versatile because he has played defensive tackle and End. In 2007 Dixon finished ranked 3rd on his team in tackles with 58, he also recorded an impressive 16 tackles for loss, 6 sacks and 8 QB hurries. His size, quickness and versatility will make him an interesting prospect for an NFL team that plays the 3-4 defense.

DE Curtis Johnson, 6’ 3” 242 lbs. Clark Atlanta
2007 D2Football.com All-American Curtis Johnson is a little undersized for a defensive end. He will be converted to outside linebacker in the NFL and if he can successfully make that transition he has a chance. Johnson was voted SIAC Defensive Player of the Year two years in a row (2006-2007). Johnson led the SIAC in two defensive categories this past season. He was first in sacks with a total of 13.5, and he was the conference leader in tackles for loss with a total of 27. The Daktronics All-America Candidate also finished second in the conference in tackles with a total of 112. Johnson has decent speed and is a good special teams player, which will give him a good chance to “stick” on an NFL roster.

OT David Hale, 6’ 5” 313 lbs. Weber State
Hale has nice size and quick feet. He was named First Team All-American Division 1AA (FCS) by the American Football Coaches Association, and was selected as a second Team All-American by The Associated Press. He earned four varsity letters playing in 42 career games and was a starter in 36 straight games dating back to his first season (2004). Hale signed with Weber State in 2001 and sat out the year as a red-shirt. He then left to serve a two-year LDS Church mission to the Dominican Republic returning in the spring of 2004 to resume his career. He earned Honorable Mention All-Big Sky honors both his freshman and sophomore seasons, and was named First Team All-Big Sky his junior and senior seasons.

WR Shaheer McBride, 6’ 2” 200 lbs. Delaware State
McBride has very nice size, speed and production. He is the first Delaware State Hornet (DSU) since 1992 and the fifth in DSU football history to be invited to the Combine. McBride was instrumental in the Hornets school best record 10-2 season, the MEAC championship and their first post season in the FCS national playoffs. He finished the 2007 season with 50 receptions for 586 yards and nine touchdowns. He also had 17 punt returns for 122 yards and one kickoff return for 17 yards, giving him 725 all-purpose yards. The Chester, PA native broke or tied three DSU records finishing with 201 career receptions, for 3,007 yards and 33 touchdowns. In 2006 he was an All-MEAC First Team selection and ranked second in the MEAC, with 852 receiving yards, which ranked him 22nd among all Division I-AA players in receiving yards.

WR Jaymar Johnson, 6’ 0” 185 lbs. Jackson State
Johnson played very well at the Texas vs. Nation All Star game. He looked quick and shifty catching 2 passes for 46 yards during the game. A little small, but Johnson has great speed and balance; you can see some of his game film here. In 2007 Johnson recorded 36 passes for 613 yards and 7 touchdowns. He can also return punts and kicks, in 2006 he accumulated 527 receiving yards, 241 punt return yards and 55 kickoff return yards for 886 total yards.

WR Arman Shields, 6’ 2” 186 lbs. Richmond
The speed daemon Shields becomes the first Richmond Spider to earn a spot in the NFL Combine since current Houston Texans linebacker Shawn Barber in 1998. In the 2007 season opener against Vanderbilt Shields amassed 107 yards, but then went down with a knee injury in the next game, which caused him to miss the rest of the season. Shields finished his career second all-time in catches (160), sixth in yards (1,930) and tied for eighth in touchdowns (13). He surpassed the 100-yard receiving mark seven times in his 37-game career. Shields however, will have to prove he is healthy and showcase some impressive speed at the combine if he wants to get selected in the 2008 NFL Draft.

CB Antwaun Molden, 6’ 1” 192 lbs. Eastern Kentucky
Molden is another prospect that played very well in the Texas vs. Nation All Star game. He finished the game with three solo tackles, including one tackle for a loss of three yards. Molden led Eastern Kentucky with nine pass break-ups in 2007 while finishing fifth on the team with 70 total tackles. Against Eastern Illinois on Oct. 6, Molden held Micah Rucker, a 2006 third team All-American and 2007 first team All-OVC pick, to just two catches for 13 yards. Molden started every game as a senior while recording interceptions in wins over Southeast Missouri (Oct. 13) and Tennessee State (Oct. 20). Molden has very nice size and speed, he is a track star finishing second in the 60-meter dash at the 2007 OVC Indoor Championships. Molden is a very solid developmental NFL prospect.

Get more NFL Draft information on my Squidoo NFL Draft page.

Texas vs. Nation College Football All-Star Game

A little known college All Star Game, Texas verses Nation was played on 2 February 2008. The game was broadcast nationally on CSTV, and I have provided a detailed game report. The best college football players from the other 49 states besides Texas played against the best players from Texas. It doesn't sound like a fair fight but you can tell by the score the selection committee tries to keep the rosters competitive. Texas can also use players that played high school football in Texas. The Texas All Stars destroyed the Nation's 41-14 in front of 26,821 fans at the Sun Bowl in El Paso Texas. The Texas All Stars forced six turnovers and limited the Nation team to a paltry 189 yards in total offense.

Running Back Xavier Omon from Northwest Missouri State (Maryville Missouri) was selected as the game's MVP and he was clearly the best player on the field. By the way, how did a prospect that played college football in Missouri and high school football in Beatrice, Nebraska end up on the Texas' Team? Oh well, it doesn't really matter, this was nothing new for Omon, who has dominated at every level of play. Omon was the leading rusher and second-leading scorer in Division II this past season, rushing for 2,337 yards and scoring 38 touchdowns. A five-time All-American, Omon is the first player in NCAA history to rush for 1,500 yards in four seasons. In the game, the 5' 11" 220 pound Oman rushed 9 times for 95 yards with 1 TD and an impressive 10.1 yards per carry average. Omon reminds me of the Cowboy's RB Marion Barber, he (Omon) runs low to the ground, displays excellent balance and strength and breaks a ton of tackles. Similar to Barber, Omon could be a 4^th round steal in the 2008 NFL Draft.

A few of the other players that impressed at the game for the Texas team were wide receiver Danny Amendola from Texas Tech. He was the game's leading receiver catching 3 passes for 77 yards including a beautiful over the shoulder TD pass. He caught a ton of passes for Texas Tech last season: 103 receptions for 1,177 and 5 touchdowns. He is a small (5' 11" 180 lbs), shifty, quick, underneath slot receiver. Amendola reminds me a little of the Patriots' Wes Welker.

A couple of other talented receivers were Joe West from right there at UTEP and Jaymar Johnson from Jackson State. West has nice size (6' 2" 210 lbs) and consistently got open catching 3 passes for 54 yards and Johnson, a little smaller ( 6" 0" 180 lbs) looked explosive catching 2 passes for 46 yards. He didn't do much in this game, but RB Alley Broussard is an interesting NFL Draft Prospect. Nice size and speed at 6' 0" 230 pounds. Broussard was once a highly prized recruit who signed and played with LSU. He got caught behind Joseph Addai and transferred to Missouri Southern. Offensive tackle Brandon Keith blotted out the sun for team Texas. Keith is a massive tackle with great feet from Northern Iowa. At 6' 5" 337 pounds NFL scouts will be taking a hard look at him for the 2008 NFL Draft.

On defense the best player from team Texas was Oklahoma State's Roderick Johnson. He has very nice size for the NFL at 6' 3" 250 pounds and comes up in a hurry to lay the lumber. He was team Texas's leading tackler with 5 tackles.

Even though Texas pulverized the Nation on the score board it looked like Nation had the most NFL Draft Prospect. If you are looking for a return man in the latter part of the NFL Draft look no further than Darnell Blackman from NC State. Blackman is an electrifying returner, he accumulated 232 total kick-off return yards including a spectacular 97 yarder for a touchdown. Wide receiver/punt returner Pierre Garcon from small school Mount Union opened up some eyes at the game. He totaled 62 yards on punt return including an exciting 47 yard punt return for a touchdown in the game. Garcon was also the leading receiver for the team Nation with 3 catches for 23 yards. Stocky, (6' 1" 205 lbs) quick and good hands, he really improved his chances of being drafted in this game.

Speaking of small school receivers, Bruce Hocker from Duquense University made a nice 13 yard reception. NFL Scouts like his potential due to his size (6' 4" 205 lbs) and athletic ability. On the offensive line, offensive tackle Demetrius Bell (6' 6" 295 lbs) from tiny Northwestern State LA performed very well in pass protection for the most part. Punter Michael Dragosavich from North Dakota State will likely be one of the only punters in the nation to be selected in the 2008 NFL Draft. Yep he is that good; at 6' 4" 215 pounds he has a huge leg and can consistently boom the ball 50 yards. In this game he had 4 punts with a 50 yard average.

The Nation team had a lot of talented defenders on the roster. I liked Tulane's defensive tackle Frank Morton. He disrupted a lot of plays with his penetration. He recorded 4 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 tackles for loss in this game. He is huge at 6' 2" 316 pounds and made some plays for Tulane this past season, recording 16 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Inside linebacker Danny Lansanah from Connecticut was the leading tackler in the game with 6 tackles and 2 tackles for loss. A little short at 6' 0" 240 pounds and not real fast, but he could be one of those undrafted free agents that makes an NFL roster by excelling on special teams. Rutgers Eric Foster hasn't received much interest from NFL Scouts because of his size, too small at 6' 2" 270 pounds to play defensive tackle, but he made some nice plays in this game, he uses his hands very well and recorded 3 tackles and 1 sack. He might have a chance at defensive end in the NFL.

Another interesting NFL Prospect that played for team nation was defensive end Marcus Dixon from Hampton, NFL scouts like his size (6' 4" 288 lbs) and speed around the edge. Dixon had a fantastic season in 2007 recording 58 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 6 sacks and 8 QB hurries.

Three defensive backs for Team Nation really stood out in this game. The Buck Buchanan Award Finalist Corey Lynch from Appalachian State made a fabulous interception where he ran half way across the field to get his hands on the ball. Coach Buddy Ryan singled Lynch out during the practices leading up to this game. Kareem Moore (6' 0" 210 lbs) from Nicholls State and Antwaun Molden (6' 1" 190 lbs) from Eastern Kentucky made some very nice plays on the ball and improved their chances of being drafted.