Top College Prospects Heading to the Pros

[eagle eye]

So far the only underclassmen who say they are definitely going pro in 2014, the upper echelon players that is, is Teddy Bridgewater and Jadaveon Clowney. With Houston and St Louis holding the first two picks you have to wonder if these two players are on the Texans and Rams radar. Houston needs a QB but will new head coach Bill O'Brien want Bridgewater? The guy is a damn good player and he makes good decisions and he doesn't turn the ball over. He's 6'3 and right at 200 lbs. The NFL will put some weight on him but the one stat that jumps out at you is his TD to INT ratio. In his freshman year the delta was 14/12. As a sophmore the split was 27/8 and as a junior he had 31 TDs to 4 picks. Four. That's ridiculous. He also began his career at Louisville with a 64.5 completion percent and finished with a 71%. By all accounts Bridgewater should transition to the NFL and do well especially under an experienced offensive coach live O'Brien who moulded Raiders QB Matt McGloin and unearthed freshman QB Christian Hackenberg. Will Houston take Bridgewater or trade down for more picks?

 

If you look at Jadaveon Clowney's career you can see a player who has tremendous talent. He does have those who question his work ethic and his dedication to the sport but nobody denies his potential. A guy like Jeff Fisher may be the best of the best at getting the best out of his players. Will St Louis use the pick to go defense? Or will they trade down for picks the way they did two years ago when they got a buttload of picks from the Redskins by trading down so Washington could draft RGIII? You can't go by stats in judging Clowney because he spent the past season being double and triple teamed but he still made his presence known each and every Saturday for South Carolina.

 

The wild card so far is Johnny Manziel but if you saw his post game comments after A&M beat Duke Tuesday night you would swear Manziel is going stay in College Station for one more year. Everyone has been saying Manziel is definitely going to the NFL this year but his post game comments make you stop and think he might have changed his mind.

 

What do you think about who is available and what the top 5 teams should do?

[KABrother88]

I'm married into an Aggie family with practically every one of my in-laws having went to A&M. I have been telling my wife for the last few weeks I have a guy feeling that Johhny is coming back...I say this because it seems like every comment he's made in reference to declaring has been that he feels like he's ready and if he wasn't projected to go so high then he would come back...to me he seems like a guy who would set all of this up just to do the opposite and get a rise out of everyone...we are going to see Lamar take on A&M next season and I hope to see him still roaming Kyle Field because hes been such a pleasure to watch the last 2 seasons and I'd like to see it live (even though he'll probably be done by halftime). If he goes you can't blame the guy though...next season will have the possibility of Marriota and Winston coming out so he would more than likely fall behind those 2 in the pecking order

[eagle eye]

Here's a list of underclassmen who have declared themselves elibible for this year's NFL draft according to ESPN.com. This includes grades for the players from Scouts.com. The only player not on the list is Oregon RB De'Anthony Thomas. Thomas is listed at 5'9" and 170 lbs and he is very fast. He also ran track for Oregon on the 4X100 relay team. Thomas is also a very accomplished kick returner. He has had a very productive career at Oregon as he leaves as the third leading running back in yards in school history. His 5,345 total yards is behind only LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner. Thomas also has school records for kickoff returns at 1,885 and punt return average at 17.1 yards per return.

 

 

 

http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2014/story/_/id/10223480/underclassmen-declarations

[KABrother88]

Welp add John Football to the list. ESPN is confirming reports that Johnny has submitted his paperwork declaring himself eligible for the draft...now begins all the Johnny to Houston discussion

[eagle eye]

The latest colligian to declare for the NFL draft is Fla State WR Kelvin Benjamin. The last play of his college career was catching the game winning TD pass to secure the National Championship for the Seminoles. He has decided to forego his final two years of eligibility to go for the big bucks in the NFL. At 6'5" and 234 lbs NFL teams should be drooling over this guy. It will be interesting to see how he does at the scouting combine.

 

Johnny Manziel's entry to this year's NFL draft is no surprise but what NFL.com has reported is that Manziel became friends with LeBron James after the difficulties he ran into after winning the Heisman Trophy last year. Manziel and James traded texts frequently this past year and now it looks like they could be business partners. Manziel is looking to sign a deal with Mav Carter who is James' business partner as Manziel looks to market himself as he moves out from under the NCAA's thumb. BTW, on Mike and Mike this morning the boys asked former Cowboy Darren Woodson about Manziel and he says that Johnny F is a lot more even keeled than he's given credit. In fact Woodson said that because of his self awareness and maturity he reminds Woodson of Seattle's Russell Wilson which is high praise for a kid who has been bashed pretty hard in the past year.

[eagle eye]

Alabama safety Vinnie Sunseri is going to declare for the 2014 NFL draft. The 6'0" 205 lb DB has been a good player for 'Bama but he is recovering from a torn ACL which could effect his draft position.

 

The guy with the best name declaring for the draft is Sunseri's teammate, fellow safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Clinton-Dix along with teammates DL Jeoffery Pagan and LB Adrian Hubbard all announced their intentions to enter the draft after the Crimson Tide's loss to Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.

[eagle eye]

A few more names can be added to the list of underclassmen heading to the NFL.

 

Arizona RB Ka'Deem Carey has declared after leading the nation in rushing in 2012 and was a finalist for the Doak Walker Award this past season.

 

LSU RB Jeremy Hill is heading to the NFL as is his teammate OG Trai Turner. Both will leave with 2 years of elibility remaining. Hill and Turner join teammates Ego Ferguson, Anthony Johnson, Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham and 4 other players who enter the draft early meaning LSU is losing 11 total underclassmen to the pros.

 

Stanford guard David Yancy will forego his final year of eligibility to go pro. Yancy is regarded as one of the best players at his position heading into the draft. He was a consensus All American in 2012 and a unanimous All American in 2013 and he was on the teams who went to consecutive BCS Bowl appearances, the 2011 Fiesta Bowl and the 2012 and 2013 Rose Bowls. In 2012 he earned All America honors as a left tackle. Being totally selfish I am hoping Dallas continues to build their O-line with this guy. A top lineman who is a proud member of the Stanford Nerd Nation meaning he's smart on top of good.

[eagle eye]

The last day for college underclassmen to declare themselves eligible for the NFL draft was yesterday. There were a couple of surprises involving players who DIDN'T declare like Oregon's Marcus Mariota. Here's a link to an article from ESPN.com about the winners and losers by conference who will lose the most players to the NFL draft and who will retain the most players. There was a total of 98 players who will make the jump to the NFL--they hope--it's interesting who those winners and losers are.

 

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10303206/oregon-pac-12-winners-lsu-sec-losers-nfl-draft-early-entries