The Capital One Bowl: The Most NFL Draft-Rich Bowl Game

The NFL season has only two weeks left, and the playoff picture is far from being set in stone. Almost half of the AFC is still in the mix for the post season, and the NFC could have an exciting last couple weekends as well.

Meanwhile, college football is inching closer to New Year's Day, when the nation works its way out of a hangover by spending 20 hours in front of a television watching some of the best teams, and most talented players, lace it up as an amateur for the last time.

If you're a fan of the NFL or NCAA version of football, or both, you know that the only time of year better than now is when the two worlds collide at the NFL Draft.

For the fans of teams already eliminated from the NFL post season (you reading, St. Louis?), and even for those teams that will play in February, it's worth watching the bowl games over the next couple weeks to see tomorrow's great players in action. There are so many bowl games, though, that it's hard to know which one has the most pro talent on the field.

Which is where Bleacher Report comes into play.

Obviously, the BCS National Championship game has a great deal of pro talent playing; if the best players weren't on the field, Texas and Alabama probably wouldn't be playing for the expensive hardware. But that might not be the game with the most prospects worth watching.

On Jan. 1, at 1 PM EST, the Capital One Bowl kicks off in Orlando between Penn State of the Big Ten and LSU of the SEC. If you want to see hard-hitting, fast-paced action with a lot of kids that will, someday soon, be in the NFL, my recommendation is to watch this game closely.

Penn St. coach Joe Paterno, the leader of Linebacker U, has as strong a tradition of putting studs into the NFL on defense as any coach out there; it helps when you've been coaching longer than many NCAA coached have been alive, but recent history suggests Paterno can still turn out good professional football players.

This year's crop at Penn St. looks as good as any year in recent memory. Led by outside linebacker Navorro Bowman, there are three players on the Nittany Lions' roster that could be taken as high as the first round this spring.

Bowman is a lock for the early first round. At 6-2 and 235 pounds, he's an imposing linebacker that will be one of the first two or three linebackers selected this year. Inside linebacker Sean Lee projects more as a second round pick, but could slide into the first with a strong performance on New Year's Day. Bowman and Lee could present a lot of headaches for LSU's coaches.

In front of Bowman and Lee will be Jared Odrick, a 6-4, 310 pound defensive tackle that could be a first round pick as well. LSU's offense will have its hands full trying to come up with a way to beat the three legit pro prospects, but they won't be coming to this gun fight with knives.

LSU's top rated offensive prospect for the NFL Draft is receiver Brandon LaFell. At 6-2 and 210 pounds, he's a big target that could be a first round selection. LaFell is one of the top five receivers entering this year's draft, and has the size to be an impact receiver at the next level early.

LaFell has a few other players on LSU's offense that could find their way into the middle rounds of the draft this spring that could be exciting playmakers on Sunday.

One player who has been special his entire college career despite being listed at only 5-5 and 160 pounds is Trindon Holliday. Holliday is one of the fasted track sprinters in the country, and has been a scary thought for special teams coaches and secondaries all over the SEC for four years. Because of his size, he likely won't be an early draft pick, but there aren't many players in the NFL that can run with Holliday. He could be an impact returner next year.

On defense, LSU features one of the top safeties in this year's draft. While Eric Berry of Tennessee and Taylor Mays of USC have been the headline-grabbing safeties that could have been high draft picks last year, teams in the later first round of the draft could be very happy to see Chad Jones available. Jones has pretty good size and could be start for someone on Sunday next year.

With these six players all bringing special talent to the field on New Year's Day, great rosters surrounding them and a lot more pro talent working its way up through each program, the Capital One Bowl could be an exciting game to watch both for football fans and NFL scouts. If you're interested in seeing a lot of players on a Saturday before they're getting paid to play on Sunday, I suggest watching the Capital One Bowl.