Hopefully you have been following my practice reports all week and have some ideas of what to watch for this afternoon. But at the risk of shooting myself in the foot let me start the gameday coverage with some projections and other last minute observations. The good news for most fans is that I still expect both Head… Read More »
It was a crisp and windy morning in St. Pete Tuesday with temps in the low 40’s as the East practice began. Being almost on the bay meant the wind was coming in crisply across the cold Winter water of Tampa Bay. I ran into PACKERS GM TED THOMPSON entering the field area. When I asked him how… Read More »
Deadline day for underclassmen … Underclassmen have until the end of business later this afternoon to file paperwork with the NFL in order to be eligible for the 2016 draft. In fact, almost all the big-name juniors and redshirt sophomores who had been expected to consider entering this year’s draft have already announced in one way or another… Read More »
Rolling thru my Bowl Game tapes and the final Bowl Games I have a dozen player thumbnails and other than a few of them, many of these guys may have not been on your radar yet. THat is what I am here to do. Bringing guys to your attention that aren’t on everybody’s lists is my duty in… Read More »
Star game roster updates … Maryland junior DT Quinton Jefferson and Kansas State FB Glenn Gronkowski, a pair of 4th year juniors who have already graduated, along with Michigan State DE Lawrence Thomas and North Dakota State OT Joe Haeg have been added to the Senior Bowl roster, while Wisconsin OT Tyler Marz and Texas State CB David… Read More »
CSU Rams’ WR enters draft … Seems we neglecfed to mention that Colorado State junior Rashard Higgins has entered the 2016 draft where he figureds to be a late third or early 4th round pick. The 6-1, 190-pound Higgins averaged 80 receptions per in his three years at CSU including a record-setting 96 catches for 1.750 yards and… Read More »
With the regular season of the NFL over, many of the teams that failed to get into the post-season are already looking ahead to the 2016 Draft. However, with so many picks for each team, they must feel like they are playing the pokies when it comes to choosing who they want. The similarities between gambling and the… Read More »
CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP; #1 CLEMSON (14-0) vs. #2 ALABAMA (13-1); 8:30 PM ET; ESPN The prelims are done and the stage is set for what could be a very good CFP national championship game between unbeaten, top-ranked Clemson and perennial power Alabama in Glendale Santa Clara later Monday evening. Despite its one loss, Alabama comes in as the… Read More »
Wild card weekend settles four more picks … With this weekend’s 4 wild card games now in the books, four more picks in the opening round of the 2016 draft have been secured. Washington, which lost late this afternoon to Green Bay, will have the 21st pick on April 28th, while Houston will pick 22nd, Minnesota 23rd and… Read More »
‘Other’ star weeks kicks off … The major post-season all-star games do not get underway for another week, but this is a big week for second-tier prospects for the upcoming draft. For starters, the College Gridiron Showcase starts today in Bedford, Texas. This a four-day event running through the 13th in which players go through individual and team… Read More »
Bonus coverage … For those looking for a little football fix before this weekend’s NFL wild-card playoff games – not to mention Monday night’s national collegiate championship game between Alabama and Clemson – the FCS championship game between North Dakota State and Jacksonville State is on ESPN2 as we speak. And NDSU, which is going for its 5th… Read More »
Jags to join Cowboys coaching at senior Bowl … For the 3rd year in a row, Jacksonville will be coaching one of the two teams at this year’s Senior Bowl. The Jaguars staff will join the Dallas staff in Mobile with the Cowboys under Jason Garrett to run the North team, while Gus Bradley and the Jags coaches… Read More »
Three more juniors enter draft … With the day almost done, three more juniors have been added to the list of underclassmen who have declared in one way or another for the 2016 draft including LSU OT Jerald Hawkins, Auburn OT Shon Coleman and West Virginia RB Wendell Smallwood. Hawkins has second-day potential for this year’s draft, while… Read More »
Noles’ CB; Bucks’ WR enter draft … Florida State junior CB Jalen Ramsey and Ohio State junior WR Mike Thomas are the latest underclassmen to have announced that they will be entering the 2016 draft. Ramsey is a top 5 prospect for the upcomig draft, while Thomas, the 8th Ohio State underclassman to have announced they will be… Read More »
Vandy OLB enters draft … Vanderbilt OLB Stephen Weatherly is the latest underclassman the officially announce that they will be entering the 2016 draft. While Weatherly isn’t exactly a household name, he’s an intriguing later-round prospect as a 3-4 edge-rushing OLB prospect; at 6-4, 250, he has excellent size, pretty good athleticism, and a nice motor, although scouts… Read More »
Irish confirm injury to star LB ‘significant’ … Updating the story on Notre Dame junior LB Jaylon Smith, a top 10 prospect who some teams actually have rated as the best player overall in the 2016 draft class, who had to be helped off the field with a potentially nasty knee injury during the Irish’s loss to Ohio… Read More »
Two more juniors enter … A couple of more underclassmen announced earlier today that they would be entering the 2016 draft. No surprise, for example, that Indiana junior RB Jordan Howard decided to head to the pros after just one season with the Hoosiers. Howard, who transferred from Alabama-Birmingham last year when the UAB football program was shut… Read More »
RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL; BAYLOR (9-3) vs. NORTH CAROLINA (11-2); 5:30 PM ET; ESPN Both of these teams had Final Four aspirations in November but BAYLOR lost its top 2 QBs and UNC had to face Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. But this still looks like a very attractive match-up to watch which probably deserves to be played… Read More »
MILITARY BOWL: PITTSBURGH (8-4) vs NAVY (10-2); 2:30 PM; ESPN … Pitt and Navy will play in the Military Bowl in Annapolis in a renewal of an old-time eastern football rivalry. What makes this version of Pitt-Navy a bit unusual is that it is the 10-2 Midshipmen, who came within a game of possibly qualifying for a January… Read More »
All-star game roster tweaks … The Senior Bowl added another 11 players including veteran QBs Dak Prescott of Mississippi State, Southern Cal’s Cody Kessler and Stanford’s Kevin Hogan. Penn State DE Carl Nassib, the unanimous All-American who won the Lombardi Award awarded to the nation’s best lineman after he lead the country with 15.5 sacks and 6 forced… Read More »
Huge USC OT to return … Southern California junior OT Zach Banner has announced via twitter that he intends to remain in school for his senior campaign. There had been some speculation that the 6-8, 360-pound son of former NFL OT Lincoln Kennedy was leaning toward leaving school early.
Browns’ win brings top pick back in play … Just when one thought that Cleveland was about to wrap up the #1 pick at the 2016 draft, the Browns played one of their best games of the year in the process of knocking off San Francisco 24-3. And with Tennessee getting crunched by the Jets in New York,… Read More »
Buckeye DT suspended from bowl … After being charged with solicitation earlier this week, Ohio State DT Adolphus Washington, a second day prospect for the 2016 draft, has been suspended from the team’s Fiesta Bowl date with Notre Dame on January 1st. Turns out Washington was also carrying a gun, but did have a carry permit. Washington is… Read More »
Browns reclaim top pick … With Tennessee holding off Jacksonville in a 42-39 thriller earlier today, Cleveland left nothing to chance by losing 37-3 to Cincinnati -at home – to move back into the proverbial #1 pick were the 2016 draft to be held this week. Tennessee, which was in a statistical dead heat with the Browns for… Read More »
Lions lose again; keep top week for another week … Detroit remains the lone winless team in the NFL after the Lions were trampled by Arizona at home on Sunday. As a result, the Lions would have the #1 pick were the draft held this week. On the other hand, the rest of the top 10 early picks… Read More »
