COLIN LINDSAY'S
COLIN LINDSAY'S
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NEWS AND INFORMATION ON THE NFL DRAFT |
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OFFENSIVE LINE August
27, 2007
by Colin Lindsay Offensive tackle: If the OT class isn't the strongest position at the 2008 draft it wil be close. And if Michigan OT Jake Long isn't the top player overall in this year's draft class, he'll be close. Indeed, Long could be the best OT prospect to come along in the 2000s. Long, for example, has the athleticsm of former Wisconsin OT Joe Thomas, the third player taken at the 2007 draft, as well as the physicality of former Penn State LB Levi Brown, the 5th player selected this past April. USC's Sam Baker also has top 15 potential, although pro scouts would like to see him play with more of an attitude. The 2008 OT draft class could be something special, though, if juniors Alex Boone, Ryan Clady of Boise State and Michael Oher of Mississippi opt to leave school early and enter the upcoming draft. Each has the size and athleticism to be to be at least top 20-25 prospects, with the physical potential to go even higher. There should also be plenty of depth at OT this year with players like Boston College road-grader Gosder Cherilus, John Greco of Toledo, Kirk Barton of Ohio State, Barry Richardson of Clemson, Tony Hills of Texas and Eric Young Tennessee heading a deep group of second-tier OTs with later first-day potential. In fact, there is large group of other OTs who could just as easily have been included on the list of Top 20 players at the position including veterans like Shannon Boatman of Florida State, Chris Clark of Southern Miss, Brian Stamper of Vanderbilt, Pedro Sosa of Rutgers, Corey Clark of Texas A&M, Tyler Luellen of Missouri, Kyle Cunningham of Louisiana-Monroe and Mike Gyetvai of Michigan State. On the other hamd, it doesn't look like it will be a top year for OTs from non-DIA schools, although what the group lacks in quantity it makes up for with quality as Newberry's Heath Benedict, a one-time Tennessee recruit, has first-day potential. Top 20 OT Prospects
Offensive guard: The OGs won't have the same impact on this year's opening round as their OT counterparts, however, the position is relatively talented compared with other years. Veteran OGs Shannon Tevaga of UCLA, Jordan Grimes of Purdue and LSU's Will Arnold, for example, all carrying solid mid-first day grades. Meanwhile, Oregon State junior road grader Jeremy Perry could be the best pure OG prospect since former Michigan star Steve Hutchinson was selected 17th overall by Seattle back in 2001. Meanwhile,like at OT, there is some solid depth at OG with several other big physicalplayers on the board including Kraig Urbikof Wisconsin, Oregon State's Roy Schuening, and 330-pound Robert Felton of Arkansas who helps clear the road for star Hogs' RB Darren McFadden. On the other hand, it does not appear as if there will be as much draft potential at the C position as compared to the other two offensive line spots. Indeed, there isn't a consensus top prospect at the position at this time, although players like Cody Wallace of Texas A&M, Kory Lichtensteiger of Bowling Green, Doug Legursky of Marshall and John Sullivan of Notre Dame will be in the hunt for the honors. However, none is all that big with Lichtensteiger and Legursky the biggest at around 310 pounds. In fact, in the end the top-rated C could end up being Pitt's Mike McGlynn, a 325-pound OT. Meanwhile, juniors Jonathan Luigs of Arkansas and Antoine Caldwell of Alabama could also factor in at the top of the 2008 C class,although again neither is all that big. Top 10 OG Prospects Top 10 C prospects
Sleeper file: He's actually only played two games at OT at the collegiate level, but 6-6, 320-pound Illinois OT Charles Myles made a nice adjustment to the position after switching over from defense late last fall to have pro scouts wanting to see more. Meanwhile, Newberry's Heath Benedict could very well be the only non-D1A offensive lineman, selected this this year, however, several other small-school players should get some free-agent consideration including OTs 325-pound Cody Balogh of Montana, Northern Iowa's Chad Rinehart (6-5, 310), Weber State's David Hale (6-5, 305) and Nate Safe (6-5, 305) of North Dakota State, along with 325-pound Henderson State OG Kurt Kutscher. Future file: As good as a prospect as Michigan 's Jake Long is, there is more than one NFL team out there that would be tempted to take 350-pound Alabama super sophomore OT Andre Smith ahead of the big Wolverine if given the chance. Smith, in fact, is one of two SEC sophomore OTs who appear to NFL ready already as LSU's Ciron Black is almost as good. Same story at OG where 320-pound Virginia Tech sophomore Sergio Render is already one of the best players in the country at the position. Meanwhile, the top redshirt freshman OTs are Big 10 prospects Dominic Alfred of Minnesota and Michigan's Stephen Schiller, while 6-8 Josh Oglesby is the top-rated incoming freshman OT with 6-6, 350-pound Anthony Davis of Rutgers a close second. And even if junior OTs like Boone, Clady and Oher leave school early this fall and enter the upcoming draft, there still should be plenty of depth at the position at the 2009 draft where emerging stars like Max Unger of Oregon, Andrew Gardner of Georgia Tech, 6-8, 360-pound Oklahoma JC transfer Phil Loadholt, Eugene Monroe of Virginia, and Eric Vanden Heuval of Wisconsin, and 355-pound Franklin Dunbar of Middle Tennessee State. There are also some solid junior OGs around the country including 335-pound Matt Slausen of Nebraska, Steve Rehring of Ohio State, George Robinson of Oklahoma, Dallas Reynolds of BYU, 6-7 Branden Albert of Virginia, Curtis Crouch of NC State, Chris DeGeare of Wake Forest, Louis Vasquez of Texas Tech, Cole Popovich of Fresno State, Robert Conley of Utah, and Trevor Canfield of Cincinnati. Meanwhile, California junior Alex Mack is also right up there among the best Cs in the country while fellow junior Eric Wood of Louisville is also a good one. If you have comments or suggestions, e-mail the Editor, Great Blue North Draft Report. The GBN can also be reached by phone at (613) 727-3388; by fax at (613) 951-0387;or regular mail at P.O. Box 5282, Merivale Depot, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K2C 3H5. Great Blue North Draft Report Privacy Policy. The GREAT BLUE NORTH DRAFT REPORT is a division of SQUITERLAND ENTERPRISES, Ottawa, Ontario,Canada |