November 30-December 1
Championship week preview ... There's some good, some bad and
some downright ugly in this weekend's slate of conference championship
games. And if its championship weekend, figure there are plenty of 2013
draft hopefuls looking to leave a positive impression on pro scouts
before the break until the bowl schedule starts in December. Here's a
quick preview of players to watch in this weekend's conference title
games. (Note: Rankings refer to BCS ranking)
SATURDAY
SEC
Championship Game; Atlanta; 4 PM ET; CBS
#2 Alabama (11-1) vs #3 Georgia (11-1) ... The
Good! The SEC got it right this year with a conference title game that
is in effect a national championship semi-final as the
winner will move on to play Notre Dame in the BCS Bowl in Miami on January 7th.
In fact, that drooling sound is the BCS folks salivating over a
potential match-up of defending national champion Alabama against the
Irish.
Whether Alabama can repeat or not, the Tide which
again will likely be a
dominant force at the at the upcoming draft. Indeed, Alabama could have
as many
as 5 potential first rounders this year including offensive linemen C
Barrett Jones (#75, 6-5, 305), OG Chance Womack (#65, 6-3, 320) and
massive junior RT D.J. Fluker (#76, 6-5, 335), along with junior CB Dee
Milliner (#28, 6-0, 200) and junior MLB C.J. Mosley, while junior RB
Eddie Lacey (#42, 5-11, 220),
DT
Jesse Williams (#54, 6-3, 320), FS Robert Lester (#37, 6-1, 210),
TE Michael Williams (#89, 6-5, 270) and LB Nico Johnson (#35, 6-2,
245) aren't all that far behind. Meanwhile, DEs Damion Square (#92,
6-2, 290) and Quinton Dial (#90, 6-5, 305) are solid 5-tech 3-4 DEs,
while PK Jeremy Shelley (#90, 5-10, 165) is one of the most consistent
kickers around. Just for fun - and future reference - freshman RB T.J.
Yeldon (#4, 6-1, 215) is one of the most dynamic runners in the
country, but won't be draft-eligible until 2015.
For its part, Georgia looked like it was
down and out after a dismal loss at South Carolina last month, but UGA
has won five straight since to get back in the running for the
national championship. And like Alabama, Georgia figures to be a major
player at the 2013 draft where junior
OLB Jarvis Jones (#29, 6-2,
245), a dynamic edge rusher with 10.5 sacks this fall despite missing
time with an ankle in jury, is expected to be a 5-10 pick, while
massive DT John Jenkins (#6, 6-3, 355) appears to have a
mid-first round potential. Jenkins anchors a huge UGA
defensive line which also includes junior DT Kwame Geathers (#99, 6-5,
350) and DE Cornelius
Washington (#83, 6-3, 260) and is backed up by LB Alec Ogletree (#9,
6-2, 235), a junior with top 100 potetial) and veteran Christian
Robinson (#45, 6-1, 230). The secondary is also strong with safeties
Shawn Williams (#36, 6-0, 220) and Bacarri Rambo
(#18, 6-0, 220) and CBs
Branden Smith (#1, 5-10, 175) and
junior Sanders Commings (#19, 6-1, 215), although each has some kind of
issue. Georgia's recent run of success has been keyed by
more consistent play from junior QB
Aaron Murray (#11, 6-1, 215), who
dropped off the raft radar after a dreadful game against South
Carolina, but still reminds a lot of scouts of the Saints’ Drew Brees
with his ability to
spread the ball and could opt to enter this year's draft given the
relatively weak outlook for the position this spring. Murray has a
couple of solid receivers in Tavares
King (#12, 6-0,
195) and Marlon Brown (#15, 6-4, 225). The guys who make the UGA
offense go, though, are true freshman RBs Todd Gurley (#3, 6-0, 220)
and Keith Marshall (#4, 5-10, 215) both of whom are averaging around 7
yards per carry so far this season.
Big Ten Conference
Championship; at Indianapolis;
8 PM ET; Fox
Wisconsin (7-5) vs #12 Nebraska (10-2)
... The Bad! Nebraska is probably a worthy representative on
one side of the Big Ten title game, but 5-loss Wisconsin hardly
qualifies as either a 'leader' or a 'legend'. In fact, Wisconsin, one
of the most disappointing teams in the country this fall, had only the
6th best record in the Big Ten this fall and actually finished third in
their division, but advance to the league final because both Ohio State
and Penn State were ineligible for the post-season. And that leaves
unranked Wisconsin just one win away from a spot in the Rose Bowl
despite the fact that the Badgers lost three of their last four games -
although all were in OT - and that their lone 'signature' win on the
season was a two-pointer over Utah State! The good news for the Badgers
is
that star RB Montee Ball (#28, 5-10, 215) is back in form after getting
off to a
slow start as a result of a concussion suffered in an off-field
incident prior to the
start of the season. Indeed, Ball ran for over 1,600
yards in the regular season and scored 18 TDs which gave him the NCAA
all-time career
mark for scores. Pro scouts will also be focused on the Wisconsin
offensive
line led by LT Ricky
Wagner (#58, 6-5, 320) and junior G/C Travis Fredrick (#72, 6-3, 330),
both of whom have top 100 physical tools, but have generally
undeachived this year. Meanwhile, LBs Mike Taylor (#53, 6-1, 225) and
junior Chris Borland (#44, 5-11, 245) are both tackling machines who
can find the ball, while CB Devin Smith (#10, 5-10, 185) heads an
experienced secondary that also includes CB Marcus Cromartie (#14, 6-0,
185) and FS Shelton Johnson (#24, 5-11, 190).
Nebraska, which edged Wisconsin 30-27
during the regular season, comes into the conference final as the
favorite, but doesn't have the quite the same level of talent for the
upcoming draft. Like Wisconsin, though, Nebraska has a senior RB who
can dominate a game in Rex Burkhead (#22, 5-10, 210), a plugger who was
limited by injuries this fall, but averaged 7.5 yards a carry when he
did play. The Huskers also have a couple of solid TE prospects in Kyler
Reed (#25, 6-2, 230), the receiving specialist, and Ben Cotton (#81,
6-5, 265), while junior QB Taylor Martinez (#3, 6-0, 200), junior RB/KR
Ameer Abdullah (#8, 5-9, 185) and sophomore WR Kenny Bell (#80, 6-0,
185) provide the big plays. The Huskers also feature a number of
mid-to-late round prospects on defense including LBs Will Compton (#51,
6-1, 230), Sean Fisher (#42, 6-5, 235) and Alonzo Whaley (#45, 6-0,
230), along with safeties Damion Stafford (#3, 6-0, 205) and P.J. Smith
(#13, 6-1, 210) and DE Cameron Meredith (#34, 6-3, 265). The Black
Shirts top prospect, though, may ultimately be emerging tweener DE Eric
Martin (#46, 6-2, 255) who has 9 sacks this fall.
ACC
Championship Game; Raleigh; 8 PM ET; ESPN #13 Florida State (10-2) vs
Georgia Tech (6-6) ... The Ugly! No make that really downright
butt ugly as Georgia Tech may be the worst team ever to play in a major
conference final. Indeed, the Yellow Jackets won only one game against
an opponent with a winning record this fall, lost home games to BYU by
24 points and by 21 to Middle Tennessee State of the Sun Belt, and
topped it off with a rousing 42-10 loss last week to Georgia. And like
Wisconsin, Georgia Tech actually only finished third in their division,
but advance to the conference title game because neither of North
Carolina nor Miami are eligible for the post-season. In fact, Georgia
Tech wouldn't even be technically bowl eligible at all if they lose to
Florida State in the conference final, but mercifully got a waiver from
the ACC. Yet in the wondeful world of the BCS, Georgia Tech stands just
an upset win away from a spot in a BCS bowl! Certainly, the folks down
at the Orange Bowl have to be positively salivating over the very real
possibility of a Georgia Tech-Louisville match-up in their game.
Georgia Tech also doesn't have much in the way of prospects for the
upcoming draft although rugged OG Omoregie Uzzi (#77, 6-2, 305) could
get some late second-day consideration. Same for junior OLB Jeremiah
Attachaochu (#45, 6-2, 240) an aggressive edge-rusher who has 8 sacks
on the year. Meanwhile CB Rod Sweeting (#6, 5-11, 190) and massive DT
T.J. Barnes (#90, 6-6, 345) could attract some free agent interest.
The ACC had hoped that Florida State would
give the struggling conference a boost heading into the post-season
when the Seminoles hosted SEC power Florida last weekend, but in the
end it turned out to be yet another stumble for the conference in a
37-26 win for the Gators. Florida State, though, should still be a
major force at the upcoming draft. Junior DE Bjoern Werner
(#95, 6-3, 275), who didn’t play
football until his junior in high school when he took up the game as an
exchange student from Germany, for example, appears to have moved into
the top
10, while junior
CB Xavier
Rhodes
(#27, 6-1, 210), a full-sized cover corner with excellent ball-skills,
has late opening round potential. Meanwhile, veteran QB E. J.
Manuel (#3, 6-5, 240) has seen his stock drop in recent weeks, but
still figures to get some second-day looks this coming April. At
the same time, DT
Everett Dawkins (#93, 6-2,
305) and PK Dustin Hopkins (#18,
6-2, 190) are later-round types, while DT Anthony McCloud (#92, 6-2,
305), rangy WR Rodney Smith (#84, 6-5, 220), OLB Nick Moody (#10, 6-1,
240), MLB Vince Williams (#11, 6-0, 250), and FB Lonnie Pryor (#24,
5-11, 230) are potential fee agents. Pro
scouts will also be watching several FSU juniors for future reference
including FS Lamarcus Joyner (#20, 5-7, 190), RT Menelik Watson (#71,
6-5, 320), C/T Brian Stork (#52, 6-4, 315) and RB James Wilder (#32,
6-10, 220).
FRIDAY
Mid-American Conference
Championship; at Detroit; 7 PM ET; ESPN2
#17 Kent State (11-1) vs #21 Northern Illinois (11-1) ... Hard
to remember the last time a MAC game of any kind had any kind of BCS
bowl implication, but that will be the case when Kent State plays
Northern Illinois in the conference title game in Detroit. Both are
one-loss teams that are ranked in the Top 25. And according to BCS
rules, if a champion from a conference without an automatic bid, such
as the MAC, ranks in the top 16 of the final BCS standings and is
ranked higher than a champion from one of the BCS leagues, then that
champion is guaranteed a spot in the BCS. Kent State, which
ironically hasn't been to a bowl of any kind since the 1972 Tangerine
Bowl, would appear to have the best shot at a BCS game. The Golden
Flashes are currently ranked 17th in the BCS standings and figure to
move ahead of several of the losers in other conference finals.
Meanwhile, Louisville, which won the Big East title last night
wasn't ranked at all heading into the week. For its part, NIU isn't
exactly out of the BCS picture, but would appear to need a little
divine intervention to move up from #21.
While the BCS folks will be holding their breaths during the
MAC championship game - I mean who hasn't dreamed of the possibility of
a Florida State-Kent State Orange Bowl - pro scouts will also be
paying close attention as Kent State LT Brian Winters (#66, 6-5, 310)
is one of the rising stars along the offensive line for the 2013 draft.
Kent State also has one of the more intriguing players on the other
side of the ball in junior DT Roosevelt Nix (#5, 5-11, 245) who is
built more like a stumpy LB, but has unusual quickness and a great
motor. Indeed, Nix has 26 tackles for loss over the last couple of
seasons including 9.5 sacks. The Golden Flashes also have a true
'thunder and lightning' RB duo in junior scatback Dri Archer (#1, 5-8,
175), who has rushed for over 1,300 yards and is averaging 9.7 yards a
pop this fall, and sophomore grinder Trayion Durham (#34, 5-11, 250),
who is closing in on 1,200 yards himself. Meanwhile, other KSU seniors
who should get some free-agent consideration include QB Spencer Keith
(#3, 6-2, 215), RT Kent Cleveland (#65, 6-3, 305), C/G Josh Kline (#61,
6-2, 305), LBs Jake Dooley (#51, 6-1, 240) and Luke Batton (#30, 5-11,
225), CBs Norm Wolfe (#11, 5-8, 165) and Sid Saulter (#21, 5-10, 180)
and FS Leon Green (#3, 5-11, 200). On the other hand, Northern Illinois
likely won't have anyone drafted this coming April, although veteran DE
Sean Progar (#95, 6-2, 255) and productive possession WR Martel Moore
(#1, 5-11, 185) could get some free-agent interest. The star of
the NIU show, though, is junior QB Jordan Lynch (#6, 6-0, 216) whom the
school is touting as a dark-horse Heisman Trophy candidate after a
season in which he ran for over 1,600 yards and 16 scores, while
throwing for another 2,750 yards and 23 TDs against just 4 picks.
PAC-12 Conference
Championship: 8 PM ET; Fox
#16 UCLA (9-3) at #8 Stanford (10-2) ...
If nothing else the loser of the Pac-12 championship isn't going to be
able to complain that they didn't have time to prepare as the two teams
played just 6 days ago in a game won by Stanford 35-17. However,
the Cardinals desperately needed a win last week to earn a berth in
this week's conference final, whereas UCLA had already guaranteed
a spot in the Pac-12 championship game so figure that the Bruins should
be a little more focused with a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line.
Both
teams have a number of prospects with at least
second-day potential including Stanford LBs Chase Thomas (#44, 6-3,
240) and
Shayne Skov (#11, 6-2, 245), RB Stepfan Taylor (#33, 5-10,
210), along with junior TEs Zach Ertz (88, 6-5, 245) and Levine
Toilolo (#11,
6-6, 265). Same story for UCLA which is led by junior RB
Johnathan Franklin (#23, 5-10, 195), who has run for almost
1,400 yards so far this season, along with DE Datone Jones (#56, 6-3,
275) and TE Joseph Fauria (#8, 6-6, 255), while CBs Sheldon Price (#22,
6-1, 180) and
Aaron Hester (#21, 6-0, 205), OLB Damien Holmes (#43, 6-2, 250) and OG
Jeff Baca (#60, 6-3, 295) are later round or free agent candidates. At
the same time, junior OLB Anthony Barr (#11, 6-4, 240), the guy who
knocked USC QB Matt Barkley out of the Notre Dame game, is also
starting to attract some attention from pro scouts as a potential
mid-round sleeper.