2011 Senior Bowl: Some Under the Radar Names To Know At the Game

For many collegiate football players with NFL dreams, Senior Bowl Week in Mobile, Alabama is a chance for them to add some additional momentum to their march and millions to their bank accounts. For others, it's a chance to rebuild their reputations and re-shine their falling stars. For an even smaller number, it's a chance to introduce themselves to the nation.

Every year, the Senior Bowl practices give the draft gurus new names to put into their mock drafts and more hours of game film to analyze. Last year, Austen Lane and Vlad Ducasse created a stir. This year, there are a few under the radar prospects that are hoping to keep that tradition going. Some of them play at big schools, but haven't been getting the same media attention as their counterparts and others are small school prospects getting their first chance on the big stage.

The guy likely to get drafted highest amongst the group is Baylor offensive tackle, Danny Watkins. Seen by many scouts as a guard at the next level, Watkins is a terrific athlete and a brutally physical blocker, tallying over 100 pancake blocks on the season. The most intriguing thing about him is the fact that the Canadian native and former firefighter just recently started playing football. At 26-years old, his age might hurt him come draft time, but he has plenty of room to improve and should start right away for an NFL team at RT or OG.

Watkins' teammate, nose tackle Phil Taylor, is an equally big prospect and an even larger man. Standing 6'3" 337 pounds, Taylor looks the part of a natural nose tackle, however he has never been able to put all the pieces together at Baylor. As he showed during his senior bowl weigh-in, he is an athletic player who is not just a large, flabby body. If he can learn to display some consistency in his pass rush, he could be very valuable to 3-4 teams in need of a NT.

Another under the radar player from a power conference is Washington is OLB, Mason Foster. One of my favorite prospects, Foster constantly gets over-looked because of his lack of ideal height and the public's belief that nobody on Washington besides Jake Locker has any real football talent. It's a slight that Foster doesn't deserve. He's a solidly built player with incredible instincts and a real nose for the football. After finishing second in the nation in tackles, a solid Senior Bowl Week will prove that he is a real talent.

Keeping up the trend of solid defenders from big-time programs is Rashad Carmichael, the cornerback from Virginia Tech. At 5'11" 186, Carmichael has great size for an NFL corner to go along with quick feet and solid re-direction skills. Virginia Tech always puts out a strong defense, but with many elite CB prospects in this draft, Carmichael is a player that nobody seems to be talking about.

Rounding out the players from BCS automatic qualifiers is Rutgers safety, Joe Lefeged. After an up and down career at Rutgers, Lefeged could use a solid week to prove that he can be a starting safety at the next level. Likely a strong safety, Lefeged is a skilled athlete and a strong tackler who projects as a good in the box defender. If he can show the same ability to make plays on balls in the air, then he could see a serious inflation of his stock.

Moving on to small school prospects, the most intriguing name is Southern Utah cornerback, Curtis Marsh. Likely sidelined for the game with a hamstring injury, Marsh has been flying up draft boards after showing a real jump in production during his second season at corner after switching from runningback. He was second in the WAC in pass break-ups, handled the bump and run scheme employed at Utah State with ease and has the 4.4 speed that NFL teams love.

Another skill position player from a small school that could see a huge jump in his stock is Abilene Christian WR, Edmund Gates.  At just under 6'0" and 190 pounds, he is not a huge target, but has the size and strength to hold up in the NFL. Scouts knew about his 4.4 speed, but on the first day of practice he also showed soft hands, consistently catching the ball away from his body and securing it with consistency.

But Gates isn't the only WR who could improve his stock, San Diego State's Vincent Brown could be a real sleeper in this years class. Not blessed with track star speed or impressive size, Brown tends to slip under the radar with physically blessed prospects like AJ Green, Julio Jones, Jon Baldwin and Torrey Smith leading this years class. But Brown is a technically sound WR, who is a smart route runner and a tremendous pass catcher. He might be the most consistent WR after Green. 

Rounding out the unheralded prospects in the game are two physical players on either side of the trenches. Representing perhaps the smallest school, Slippery Rock center Brandon Fusco is set to drive up his stock in a relatively weak class. Fusco is a sound technician in the pivot and an intelligent center who could rise into the second day if he is able to prove that he can block with the strength that he displays in the weight room.

On the other side of the ball, Southern Arkansas defensive end Cedric Thornton is all physicality and brute strength. At 6'3" 300 pounds, Thornton doesn't have the quickness of high profile ends like JJ Watt or Da'Quan Bowers, but he is a ferocious competitor and high energy lineman who could find a home as an end in a 3-4 scheme.

As the practices start to play out, expect one or more of these players to begin to separate themselves from the rest of the pack and join the group of rising stars.