crawfish
01-20-2008, 09:51 PM
(Source: Rivals.com)
Before anyone gets too worked up over which players have entered the NFL Draft and which have stayed for their senior seasons, we offer the following note of caution. At this time last year, we hailed Michigan and Louisville as two of the teams that gained the most after the early entry deadline. We pointed out that Michigan was returning its top three offensive weapons – tackle Jake Long, quarterback Chad Henne and tailback Mike Hart – and noted that quarterback Brian Brohm's decision to come back to school should boost Louisville's national-title hopes.
Louisville went on to finish 6-6 as one of the nation's most disappointing teams, while Michigan's senior-laden offense couldn't prevent the Wolverines from opening the season with back-to-back losses to Appalachian State and Oregon. We also indicated that Ohio State was one of the teams hurt the most by early entries after tailback Antonio Pittman and wide receivers Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez left after their junior seasons. The Buckeyes still found a way to reach the BCS Championship Game for a second consecutive season.
But that hasn't stopped us from once again listing five teams with reason to feel optimistic and five teams with causes for concern after the passing of the NFL early-entry deadline. A quick look at the names on the early-entry list and the notable omissions make it seem as though the rich are getting richer. Four of the top five teams in the season-ending Associated Press poll now should have even more reason to feel good about themselves.
Reasons to hope
1. Ohio State
After enduring back-to-back losses in the past two championship games, Buckeyes fans can at least take consolation in the idea that those painful defeats may have helped motivate their top juniors to return to school. Ohio State's top-ranked defense featured three juniors who could have been taken in the first round: end Vernon Gholston, linebacker James Laurinaitis and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins. Gholston was the only one who chose to enter the draft. The return of Laurinaitis, Jenkins, OT Alex Boone and WR Brian Robiskie should help the Buckeyes join USC and Georgia atop the major preseason polls.
2. USC
Linebacker Rey Maualuga could have made his brilliant Rose Bowl effort his last performance in a Trojans uniform. Maualuga instead decided to return for his senior season, which should allow him to improve his consistency while strengthening his reputation as one of the nation's hardest-hitting linebackers. LB Brian Cushing also chose to return, which should assure that USC again has one of the nation's top linebacking corps - even without the departed Keith Rivers.
3. LSU
Defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey gave defensive end Tyson Jackson and linebacker Darry Beckwith quite an example to follow. Dorsey could have been drafted in the first round last year, but he chose to stay for his senior season. The decision helped Dorsey win a championship ring while making himself perhaps the top overall pick in the upcoming draft. Jackson and Beckwith aren't in Dorsey's class, but they certainly could boost their stock by having big senior seasons. That's particularly true of Jackson, whose sack total dropped from 8.0 in 2006 to 3.5 this season.
4. Nebraska
In a year when just about all the top junior running backs decided to enter the draft, Marlon Lucky represented a notable exception. Lucky decided to return for his senior year after rushing for 1,019 yards and catching 75 passes for 705 yards last season. That's good news for Lucky, who gets out of a draft class loaded with talented running backs and immediately establishes himself as one of the nation's top returning players at his position. It's even better news for new Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, who needed a quality running back to help make a smooth transition from the West Coast offense to more of a run-oriented attack.
5. Missouri
QB Chase Daniel's relative lack of height could prevent him from ever becoming an elite NFL prospect, but finishing fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting could have persuaded him to leave early. Daniel instead is returning for his senior season and should enter 2008 as one of the Heisman front-runners. Tight end Chase Coffman also returns and could spend the season competing with Wisconsin's Travis Beckum for the John Mackey Award that goes to the nation's top tight end. The return of Daniel and Coffman coupled with the early entries by a few top Oklahoma juniors should make Missouri the preseason Big 12 favorite.
Reasons to mope
1. Arkansas
Bobby Petrino should have the Razorbacks contending for Southeastern Conference Western Division titles relatively soon, but he's going to have quite a challenge in his first season now that two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden and Felix Jones have left the backfield. Each of the two potential first-round picks rushed for at least 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Arkansas now must hope it achieves the balance that was missing from its offense the past few years because of a suspect passing attack. At least Michael Smith, Brandon Barnett or whoever steps in for McFadden and Jones should benefit from the return of Rimington Trophy-winning center Jonathan Luigs.
2. Hawaii
Has any program in the nation endured a worse month? First the Warriors lost the Sugar Bowl. Then they lost their coach. Now they've lost 1,000-yard receivers Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullins, who combined to catch 356 passes for 4,628 yards over the past two seasons. New coach Greg McMackin did an admirable job as the Warriors' defensive coordinator last season, but he faces a major task rebuilding Hawaii's offense without Colt Brennan, Bess and Grice-Mullins.
3. Michigan
If any team has had a tougher month than Hawaii, it's these guys. The departures of WRs Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington along with the transfer of QB Ryan Mallett will force first-year coach Rich Rodriguez to rely on plenty of untested players. The losses of senior Long, Henne and Hart already were going to force Michigan to retool its offense. Now that the Wolverines have lost Henne's heir apparent and their top two receivers from 2007, they have an even bigger rebuilding process.
4. Oklahoma
Laurinaitis won the Butkus Award and Penn State's Dan Connor captured the Bednarik Award, but perhaps no linebacker had a better all-around season than Oklahoma's Curtis Lofton. His decision to leave will give OU coaches headaches during the offseason as they attempt to find a way to replace the 157 tackles he provided in 2007. The Sooners also must replace outstanding CB Reggie Smith and WR Malcolm Kelly, who was playing at an All-America level during the first half of the 2007 season before slumping down the stretch. Standout OT Phil Loadholt and two-time Rivals.com All-America G Duke Robinson decided to stay, but the early entries of Lofton, Smith and Kelly still throw a serious wrench in the Sooners' national-title hopes.
5. UCF
The Knights only lost one player to early entry, but that one guy might have been the most valuable player in college football this season. TB Kevin Smith carried the ball 450 times for 2,567 yards to lead the nation in both categories. With Smith in the backfield, UCF would have entered the 2008 season as the favorite to win its second consecutive Conference USA title. Without him, the Knights could have a tough time. The loss of Smith proved particularly heartbreaking for UCF fans because he initially held a news conference announcing his intent to return to school before changing his mind three weeks later.
Before anyone gets too worked up over which players have entered the NFL Draft and which have stayed for their senior seasons, we offer the following note of caution. At this time last year, we hailed Michigan and Louisville as two of the teams that gained the most after the early entry deadline. We pointed out that Michigan was returning its top three offensive weapons – tackle Jake Long, quarterback Chad Henne and tailback Mike Hart – and noted that quarterback Brian Brohm's decision to come back to school should boost Louisville's national-title hopes.
Louisville went on to finish 6-6 as one of the nation's most disappointing teams, while Michigan's senior-laden offense couldn't prevent the Wolverines from opening the season with back-to-back losses to Appalachian State and Oregon. We also indicated that Ohio State was one of the teams hurt the most by early entries after tailback Antonio Pittman and wide receivers Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez left after their junior seasons. The Buckeyes still found a way to reach the BCS Championship Game for a second consecutive season.
But that hasn't stopped us from once again listing five teams with reason to feel optimistic and five teams with causes for concern after the passing of the NFL early-entry deadline. A quick look at the names on the early-entry list and the notable omissions make it seem as though the rich are getting richer. Four of the top five teams in the season-ending Associated Press poll now should have even more reason to feel good about themselves.
Reasons to hope
1. Ohio State
After enduring back-to-back losses in the past two championship games, Buckeyes fans can at least take consolation in the idea that those painful defeats may have helped motivate their top juniors to return to school. Ohio State's top-ranked defense featured three juniors who could have been taken in the first round: end Vernon Gholston, linebacker James Laurinaitis and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins. Gholston was the only one who chose to enter the draft. The return of Laurinaitis, Jenkins, OT Alex Boone and WR Brian Robiskie should help the Buckeyes join USC and Georgia atop the major preseason polls.
2. USC
Linebacker Rey Maualuga could have made his brilliant Rose Bowl effort his last performance in a Trojans uniform. Maualuga instead decided to return for his senior season, which should allow him to improve his consistency while strengthening his reputation as one of the nation's hardest-hitting linebackers. LB Brian Cushing also chose to return, which should assure that USC again has one of the nation's top linebacking corps - even without the departed Keith Rivers.
3. LSU
Defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey gave defensive end Tyson Jackson and linebacker Darry Beckwith quite an example to follow. Dorsey could have been drafted in the first round last year, but he chose to stay for his senior season. The decision helped Dorsey win a championship ring while making himself perhaps the top overall pick in the upcoming draft. Jackson and Beckwith aren't in Dorsey's class, but they certainly could boost their stock by having big senior seasons. That's particularly true of Jackson, whose sack total dropped from 8.0 in 2006 to 3.5 this season.
4. Nebraska
In a year when just about all the top junior running backs decided to enter the draft, Marlon Lucky represented a notable exception. Lucky decided to return for his senior year after rushing for 1,019 yards and catching 75 passes for 705 yards last season. That's good news for Lucky, who gets out of a draft class loaded with talented running backs and immediately establishes himself as one of the nation's top returning players at his position. It's even better news for new Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, who needed a quality running back to help make a smooth transition from the West Coast offense to more of a run-oriented attack.
5. Missouri
QB Chase Daniel's relative lack of height could prevent him from ever becoming an elite NFL prospect, but finishing fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting could have persuaded him to leave early. Daniel instead is returning for his senior season and should enter 2008 as one of the Heisman front-runners. Tight end Chase Coffman also returns and could spend the season competing with Wisconsin's Travis Beckum for the John Mackey Award that goes to the nation's top tight end. The return of Daniel and Coffman coupled with the early entries by a few top Oklahoma juniors should make Missouri the preseason Big 12 favorite.
Reasons to mope
1. Arkansas
Bobby Petrino should have the Razorbacks contending for Southeastern Conference Western Division titles relatively soon, but he's going to have quite a challenge in his first season now that two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden and Felix Jones have left the backfield. Each of the two potential first-round picks rushed for at least 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Arkansas now must hope it achieves the balance that was missing from its offense the past few years because of a suspect passing attack. At least Michael Smith, Brandon Barnett or whoever steps in for McFadden and Jones should benefit from the return of Rimington Trophy-winning center Jonathan Luigs.
2. Hawaii
Has any program in the nation endured a worse month? First the Warriors lost the Sugar Bowl. Then they lost their coach. Now they've lost 1,000-yard receivers Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullins, who combined to catch 356 passes for 4,628 yards over the past two seasons. New coach Greg McMackin did an admirable job as the Warriors' defensive coordinator last season, but he faces a major task rebuilding Hawaii's offense without Colt Brennan, Bess and Grice-Mullins.
3. Michigan
If any team has had a tougher month than Hawaii, it's these guys. The departures of WRs Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington along with the transfer of QB Ryan Mallett will force first-year coach Rich Rodriguez to rely on plenty of untested players. The losses of senior Long, Henne and Hart already were going to force Michigan to retool its offense. Now that the Wolverines have lost Henne's heir apparent and their top two receivers from 2007, they have an even bigger rebuilding process.
4. Oklahoma
Laurinaitis won the Butkus Award and Penn State's Dan Connor captured the Bednarik Award, but perhaps no linebacker had a better all-around season than Oklahoma's Curtis Lofton. His decision to leave will give OU coaches headaches during the offseason as they attempt to find a way to replace the 157 tackles he provided in 2007. The Sooners also must replace outstanding CB Reggie Smith and WR Malcolm Kelly, who was playing at an All-America level during the first half of the 2007 season before slumping down the stretch. Standout OT Phil Loadholt and two-time Rivals.com All-America G Duke Robinson decided to stay, but the early entries of Lofton, Smith and Kelly still throw a serious wrench in the Sooners' national-title hopes.
5. UCF
The Knights only lost one player to early entry, but that one guy might have been the most valuable player in college football this season. TB Kevin Smith carried the ball 450 times for 2,567 yards to lead the nation in both categories. With Smith in the backfield, UCF would have entered the 2008 season as the favorite to win its second consecutive Conference USA title. Without him, the Knights could have a tough time. The loss of Smith proved particularly heartbreaking for UCF fans because he initially held a news conference announcing his intent to return to school before changing his mind three weeks later.