NFL Draft Preview: Cam Newton and 15 College Stars Who Face Draft-Day Free Falls
Each and every year, the NFL Draft is littered with prospects who were stars in college but get snubbed by the pros.
The Heisman winners, like Oklahoma's Jason White and Nebraska's Eric Crouch, whose performance at the college level earned them the highest honors of the their sport but whose skills and physical tools didn't translate to the NFL.
The uber-productive yardage and scoring machines, like, oh, every quarterback who played at Texas Tech under Mike Leach, whose offensive systems make feeble arms look like cannons on paper.
The upcoming draft will be no different, with productive college players being overlooked in favor of physical specimens and combine stars.
So which stars of the college game today are bound for draft day free falls?
Read on to find out.
Cam Newton, Auburn
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It's tough not to look at Cam Newton as a football player and not think he'll get passed over by most teams, perhaps even multiple times each.
Newton dominated the college game this year like few have ever done before, winning the Heisman trophy in a landslide for leading Auburn to a 13-0 record and accumulating 48 touchdowns and nearly 4,000 total yards of offense.
However, Newton is unlikely to be taken high in the draft for a number of reasons.
Some teams will likely question his maturity in light of allegations surrounding Newton's academic improprieties while at Florida.
Most will look at Newton's physical tools—his size (6'6" and 250 pounds), his speed (4.4 in the 40-yard dash) and his arm strength—and drool, but few will be willing to risk a first-round pick on someone as raw as Newton.
Newton clearly has the ability to one day be a solid, if not spectacular, quarterback in the NFL. However, teams tend to look for players in the first round who are more polished, more prepared to make an instant impact on the field.
And, frankly, Cam Newton just isn't one of them right now.
Jake Locker, Washington
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Like Newton, Washington's Jake Locker is the type of specimen to whom scouts attach the dangerous labels of "potential" and "upside".
At 6'3" and 230 pounds, Locker has the size to run through a linebacker, the fleetness of foot to run around one and the arm strength to throw over everyone.
Unlike Newton, however, Locker never quite managed to put it all together on the field.
In his defense, Locker never played on a good team like Newton did, but he did have receivers like Jermaine Kearse and D'Andre Goodwin, who aren't exactly slouches.
Hence, however far Locker falls on draft day will likely be predicated on how teams feel about a guy of Locker's ability being able to put it all together at the pro level without really having done so in college.
Jurrell Casey, USC
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To Locker's credit, he did lead Washington to wins over USC in each of his last two seasons.
On each of those Trojans teams was Jurrell Casey, a feisty defensive tackle who recently declared that he'd be entering the NFL Draft as a junior.
On the one hand, scouts have to be impressed by Casey's speed and tenacity at the defensive tackle position, from which he was able to rack up 67 tackles—an unusually high total for an interior lineman—and five sacks this season.
On the other hand, Casey is significantly undersized for the position in the pros, at a mere 6'1" and 305 pounds.
Thus, while Casey may turn out to be a productive player on the professional level, his lack of size at a position that so demands it will likely result in a drop for Casey into the second or third round, if not lower.
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Ronald Johnson, USC
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Opposite Casey on the practice field, but in the same boat in terms of draft positioning, is Trojan wide-out Ronald Johnson.
"RoJo" capped off his career at USC with his best statistical output—64 catches, 692 yards and eight touchdowns.
However, as good as Johnson was, he could have been even better but was overshadowed part way through the season by freshman phenom Robert Woods.
Hence, Johnson's draft day drop won't be due to any poor performance on his part but rather the spectacular play of a younger teammate.
Rahim Moore, UCLA
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Across town, UCLA's Rahim Moore will likely jump into the draft as a junior along with fellow Bruin Akeem Ayers.
And though Ayers will likely be taken early in the first round, Moore may have to wait a bit longer before his name is called.
Moore has terrific size for a safety, at 6'1" and 196 pounds and was good enough at his position as a sophomore that he led the nation in interceptions with 10.
Thus, one may rightfully attribute his decline in picks this year to the fact that quarterbacks just weren't throwing his way.
While there is certainly plenty of validity to that claim, Moore just did not look like his sophomore self on the field this season. At times, he looked a step slow or was out of position to make score-saving tackles.
Granted, Moore's 77 tackles this season are rather impressive for a safety, but context makes a big difference.
And too many of those tackles were the product of dragging and clawing rather than straight on hitting and form tackling.
Janoris Jenkins, Florida
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Like Moore, Florida safety Janoris Jenkins will likely enter the NFL Draft as a junior—a 22-year-old junior at that.
Jenkins possesses terrific speed for his position and was fairly productive while in Gainesville, accounting for eight interceptions, two forced fumbles and 106 tackles in three seasons.
That being said, Jenkins has two big knocks against him at this point.
First of all, at 5'11" and 184 pounds, Jenkins has more the size of a cornerback than that of a safety but not the pure speed or coverage skills to match at that position.
Secondly, and more importantly, Jenkins enters the draft with an arrest to his name, which may serve as a red flag to those teams looking for smart players and good citizens first and great athletes second.
Greg McElroy, Alabama
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Some would contend that Alabama's Greg McElroy wasn't exactly a college star in the strictest sense of the word.
After all, he had terrific talent around him while with the Crimson Tide, including Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram in the backfield and the gifted Julio Jones on the out route.
That being said, McElroy qualifies as a "college star" for being a winner, with 23-3 record as a starter and a BCS National Championship to his name.
But, again, scouts will attribute his success at Alabama not to his own ability—McElroy doesn't have a particularly strong arm and isn't exactly a physically-imposing figure—but instead to the immense talent around him.
Hence, he'll be perfect fodder for those teams looking for a backup quarterback either in the later rounds or in the market of undrafted free agents.
Andy Dalton, TCU
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TCU's Andy Dalton, like McElroy at 'Bama, was a winner at the college level, through and through.
Dalton spent four years as the starter for the Horned Frogs, during which time he racked up 41 wins—a school record—along with more than 10,000 yards passing and 70 touchdowns.
Not bad for a guy who improved each and every season while leading TCU to two consecutive BCS bowl berths from a non-AQ conference.
That being said, Dalton's chances of getting drafted at all, much less being picked on the first day of the draft, seem slim at best at this point; Dalton doesn't exactly stand out among the crowd of productive college quarterbacks as a guy with the physical ability to hang in the NFL.
Hence, the upcoming Rose Bowl may, in fact, be the pinnacle of Dalton's football career.
Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin
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Dalton won't be the only quarterback in the 2011 Rose Bowl who could go undrafted.
Fair or not, Wisconsin's Scott Tolzien doesn't exactly project as an NFL prospect at this point.
In two seasons as the starting quarterback for Bret Bielema's Badgers, Tolzien, this year's Johnny Unitas Award winner, accumulated just over 5,000 yards along with 32 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
Not exactly eye-popping numbers for pro scouts to peruse, especially when factoring Tolzien's slender 6'3", 205-pound frame and the massive offensive line he has in front of him.
Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin
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Those responsible for protecting Tolzien at Wisconsin will likely get much more draft love than him, though some, like tackle Gabe Carimi, may take a hit on draft day.
Carimi is an imposing 6'7" and 327 pounds, and with the 2010 Outland Trophy at the top of a long list of accolades he's earned, has an impressive resume to boot.
In most years, Carimi's litany of awards would suggest that he's a top-10 draft prospect, if not higher.
However, some scouts have expressed concern over his footwork and lack of athleticism, particularly at a position as demanding as offensive tackle.
That being said, it would still be a huge surprise if Carimi fell anywhere outside of the first round.
Noel Devine, West Virginia
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Once in the pros, the massive Carimi could very well end up blocking for a tiny tailback like West Virginia's Noel Devine.
Devine came out of high school in Fort Myers, Florida as an elite running back prospect, a star-in-the-making whose YouTube highlights took the recruiting world by storm.
Even with considerable hype coming in, Devine managed, more or less, to live up to expectations in Morgantown, running for 4,267 yards and 29 touchdowns in his Mountainerr career.
Stats aside, teams may love Devine's incredible speed and shiftiness, but they are likely to shutter at his lack of size, at a miniscule 5'8" and 180 pounds.
And while some may compare Devine favorably to Jacksonville Jaguars Pro Bowler Maurice Jones-Drew, Devine isn't quite the bowling ball that MoJo is and thus may have much more difficulty with longevity in the NFL.
Colin Kaepernick, Nevada
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As in the case of WVU's Devine, Nevada's Colin Kaepernick proves that speed and college productivity isn't exactly the name of the game when it comes to the NFL Draft.
Kaepernick finished his career in Reno with 9,906 yards and 81 touchdowns passing to go along with more than 4,000 yards and 59 touchdowns running.
Impressive totals in both categories, to be sure, but certainly not enough to get Kaepernick a spot on the first-day draft board.
Much of the knock against Kaepernick's numbers will come as a result of him having accumulated them against weak competition in the Western Athletic Conference.
Regardless, some team somewhere is bound to take a flier on a guy who is 6'6" and 225 pounds, is light on his feet and knows how to win.
Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma
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From those who throw passes to those who catch them, Oklahoma's Ryan Broyles comes to mind as one of the nation's best collegiate wide receivers.
Though only a junior, Broyles has seemingly been around Norman forever while accounting for 253 receptions, 3,259 yards and 34 touchdowns in three seasons.
Broyles' impressive year in 2010—118 catches, 1,452 yards, 13 touchdowns—has him exploring his early entry options, as he recently submitted a formal request to the NFL Advisory Board for an official assessment of his draft stock.
He may not be too pleased by the results.
A number of early draft predictors have Broyles being picked up anywhere between the third and sixth rounds, thanks in part to his lack of size at 5'11" and 183 pounds.
That's not to say that Broyles won't be a productive receiver in the NFL but rather that he doesn't exactly warrant a high draft pick.
Michael Floyd, Notre Dame
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Like Broyles, Notre Dame's Michael Floyd will undoubtedly play in the NFL.
The 6'3", 227-pound junior from Minneapolis has racked up 165 catches for 2,430 yards and 26 scores in his career as a member of the Fighting Irish.
Chances are, someone will draft Floyd, just not as early as he might like because of his lack of elite speed at the wide receiver position.
Marvin Austin, North Carolina
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North Carolina's Marvin Austin presents an interesting and somewhat unusual case for draftniks to predict.
On the one hand, Austin has, at 6'3" and 310 pounds, the look of a potentially dominant defensive tackle in the NFL, not to mention the speed, strength and tenacity to push opposing offensive linemen back on their heels.
On the other hand, Austin didn't play a single down for the Tar Heels this year after being one of several players from Chapel Hill who accepted improper benefits through former assistant coach John Blake.
Hence, it's practically impossible for scouts to predict how well Austin would fare on the field today, thereby suggesting the drop of a sure-fire, first-round talent into the second and third rounds of the draft.
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