2012 NFL Draft: 80 College Players to Start Learning More About

The 2011 NFL Draft is now history. NFL teams have ranked the undrafted rookie free agents and will be calling them as soon as the free agency ban is lifted. While the NFL teams and fans will be focused on free agency and trying to fix any holes that weren't addressed at the draft, NFL scouts will prioritize who they will need to scout in preparation for the 2012 NFL draft.

So, with that thought in mind, here are 80 names of prominent college players that are starting to appear on radar screens and 2012 mock drafts. Some will get hurt, or be suspended, or have a "Jake Locker-esque" drop in production that will ultimately cause their stock to plummet. We feel good that you will find these names being discussed regularly as we approach the 2012 NFL draft next April.

If you have some other players you feel strongly about, please include them in the comments section.

Quarterbacks

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LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 22: Quarterback Kellen Moore #11 of the Boise State Broncos warms up before playing against the Utah Utes in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas at Sam Boyd Stadium December 22, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Boise State Won 26-3. (Photo by Et

Quarterbacks: (2010 statistics, QB passer rating, passing yards, completion percentage, and touchdowns to interceptions ratio)

Kellen Moore (Boise State) 182.6 rating, 3,845 yards, 71.3 percent and ratio of 35 to 6.

Andrew Luck (Stanford) 170.2 rating, 3,338 yards, 70.7 percent and ratio of 32 to 8.

Matt Barkley (USC)  141.2 rating, 2,791 yards, 62.6 percent and ratio of 26 to 12.

Ryan Lindley (San Diego State)  149.4 rating, 3,830 yards, 57.7 percent and ratio of 28 to 14.

Landry Jones (Oklahoma)  146.3 rating, 4,718 yards, 65.5 percent and ratio of 38 to 12.

Nick Foles (Arizona) 140.9 rating, 3,191 yards, 67.1 percent and ratio of 20 to 10

Kirk Cousins (Michigan State) rating of 150.7, 2,825 yards, 66.9 percent and ratio of 20 to 10

Terrelle Pryor (Ohio State) - rating of 157.9, 2,772 yards, 65 percent and ratio of 27 to 11. Note on Pryor is that he will be serving a five game suspension in 2011.

No doubt the 2011 NFL draft was unique, where everyone witnessed how crazy the quarterback position is being treated. We do not anticipate any issues holding up free agency in 2012, so for teams that still have not identified their franchise quarterback, they will be jockeying for Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley.

Based on how Christian Ponder zoomed above other quarterbacks, you need to be aware of most of these guys, and see how they do during the regular college season. Then of course there will be the bowl games, the combines and the all-star games where they start leap-frogging over each other.

Wide Receivers

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COLUMBIA, SC - OCTOBER 9: Wide receiver Alshon Jefrey #1 of the South Carolina Gamecocks grabs a sideline pass against the Alabama Crimson Tide October 9, 2010 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images

Wide Receivers: 2010 Statistics: Catches, Receiving Yards, Average Yards Per Catch, Touchdowns

Alshon Jeffrey (South Carolina)  88 catches, 1517 yards, 17.2 average and 9 touchdowns

Michael Floyd (Notre Dame)  79 catches, 1025 yards, 13.0 average and 12 touchdowns

Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State)  111 catches, 1782 yards, 16.1 average and 20 touchdowns

Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma) 131 catches, 1622 yards, 12.4 average and 14 touchdowns

Juron Criner (Arizona)  82 catches, 1283 yards, 15.0 average and 11 touchdowns

Jeff Fuller (Texas A&M) 72 catches, 1066 yards, 14.8 average and 12 touchdowns

Dwight Jones (North Carolina) 62 catches, 946 yards, 15.3 average and 4 touchdowns

Devier Posey (Ohio State) 53 catches, 848 yards, 16.0 average and 7 touchdowns

The wide receiver class for 2012 appears to be headed up by the quartet of Jeffrey, Floyd, Blackmon and Broyles. As the NFL continues to pass more and rush the ball less, there will be a demand to add more receivers to rosters so that teams have quality people to use in their four and five wide receiver sets. 

Wide receivers don't have to be drafted to make an impact on a NFL team. Case in point were the Buffalo Bills in 2010, who wound up with three undrafted wide receivers that all wound up on the Bills roster last year. They were David Nelson (Florida), Donald Jones (Youngstown St.) and Naaman Roosevelt (Buffalo).

Running Backs

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TUSCALOOSA, AL - SEPTEMBER 11: Trent Richardson #3 of the Alabama Crimson Tide rushes against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 11, 2010 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Running Back 2010 Stats: number of rushes, yards gained, average yards per rush, touchdowns scored

Trent Richardson (Alabama)  112 rushes, 700 yards, 6.3 average and 6 touchdowns

Knile Davis (Arkansas)  204 rushes, 1322 yards, 6.5 average and 13 touchdowns

LaMichael James (Oregon)  294 rushes, 1731 yards, 5.9 average and 21 touchdowns

Brandon Bolden (Mississippi)  163 rushes, 976 yards, 6.0 average and 14 touchdowns

Onterio McCalebb (Auburn)  95 rushes, 810 yards, 8.5 average and 9 touchdowns

Isaiah Pead (Cincinnati)  157 rushes, 1029 yards, 6.6 average and 6 touchdowns

The early buzz on running backs centers around a quartet of backs that seem to be the head of the class for 2012. The four are: Trent Richardson (Alabama), Knile Davis (Arkansas), LaMichael James (Oregon) and Brandon Bolden (Mississippi). Richardson is looking to be the main star after Mark Ingram left for the NFL.

It will be interesting to see if these running backs are largely ignored in the first round in 2012, as they were in 2011, when Mark Ingram became the first back off the board with the 28th overall pick.

Tight Ends

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LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 30: Tight end Michael Egnew #82 of the Missouri Tigers attempts to haul in a pass in front of safety Courtney Osborne #12 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers during second half action of their game at Memorial Stadium on October 30, 2010 in

Tight end 2010 stats, total catches, yardage gained, average yards per catch and touchdowns scored.

Michael Egnew (Missouri)  90 catches, 762 yards, 8.5 average and 5 touchdowns.

Dwayne Allen (Clemson)  33 catches, 373 yards, 11.3 average and 1 touchdown

Orson Charles (Georgia)  26 catches, 422 yards, 16.2 average and 2 touchdowns

The tight end class was not very strong in 2011. For 2012, the tight ends that seem to be garnering acclaim are Michael Egnew (Missouri), Dwayne Allen (Clemson) and Orson Charles (Georgia). Egnew had very strong production at Missouri in 2010, while Charles is more of a stretch the defense type of tight end with his strong average of over 16 yards per catch.

Tackles

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LOS ANGELES - NOVEMBER 29: Matt Kalil #75 of the USC Trojans looks on against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on November 29, 2008 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. USC won 38-3. (Photo by Jeff Golden/Getty Images)

Once again, there seems to be a fairly long list of tackles that appear to be ready to take their game to the next level. The top tackles right now appear to be:

Matt Kalil (USC)

Matt Reynolds (BYU)

Nate Potter (Boise State)

Jonathan Martin (Stanford)

Riley Reiff (Iowa)

Andrew Datko (Florida St.)

Levy Adcock (Oklahoma St.)

Mike Adams (Ohio St.)

Bobby Massie (Mississippi)

Matt Kalil figures to go in the first round. He has NFL bloodlines and is so good that he kept Tyron Smith at right tackle.

Interior Linemen

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COLUMBUS, OH - OCTOBER 23: Michael Brewster #50 of the Ohio State Buckeyes prepares to snap the ball to quarterback Terrelle Pryor #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ohio Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. (Phot

In the early going, the three interior linemen to watch are Michael Brewster (Ohio State), Kelechi Osemele (Iowa State) and Kevin Zeitler (Wisconsin).

Defensive Tackles

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EVANSTON, IL - OCTOBER 23: Jerel Worthy #99 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates a defensive play against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 23, 2010 in Evanston, Illinois. Michigan State defeated Northwestern 35-27. (Photo by Jonatha

Defensive linemen dominated the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, and the class of 2012 looks to have quite a few interesting players as well.

Jerel Worthy (Michigan State)

Quinton Couples (North Carolina)

Jared Crick (Nebraska)

Kawann Short (Purdue)

Billy Winn (Boise State)

John Jenkins (Georgia)

Marcus Forston (Miami Fla)

Quinton Couples is showing up already in mock drafts fro 2012 as a top five draft pick. Jared Crick is as well, but not as often as Couples is.

Defensive Ends

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TAMPA, FL - NOVEMBER 28: Defensive end Andre Branch #40 of the Clemson Tigers celebrates a sack against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the 2009 ACC Football Championship Game December 5, 2009 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Al

The defensive ends are subjected to the "are they a defensive end or are they an outside linebacker question" whenever it is time to project how well they would fare in the NFL. Some of them will be on the defensive end list, while others will appear on the linebacker list. As long as you know that they are being considered now, that is the main thing.

Andre Branch (Clemson)

Devin Taylor (South Carolina)

Tydreke Powell (North Carolina)

Jacquies Smith (Missouri)

Bruce Irvin (West Virginia)

Brandon Lindsey (Pittsburgh)

Donte Paige-Moss (North Carolina)

Linebackers

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GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 01: Travis Lewis #28 of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts at the end of the game against the Connecticut Huskies during the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl at the Universtity of Phoenix Stadium on January 1, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Ro

We have assembled our linebackers in to one big group, because let's face it, it is up to the scheme of the NFL team that drafts them where they will be playing. I was plugging Martez Wilson to go the Bills as an inside linebacker in my mock drafts, but he winds up going to the New Orleans Saints as an outside linebacker. So, it is easier to put them all together and know that this collection will be a fun group to follow in the 2011 NCAA season. Best NFL name from 2012 class - Tank Carder.

Travis Lewis (Oklahoma)

Zach Brown (North Carolina)

Courtney Upshaw (Alabama)

Vontaze Burflict (Arizona State)

Manti Te'o (Notre Dame)

Vinny Curry (Marshall)

Nigel Bradham (Florida State)

Tank Carder (TCU)

Luke Kuechly (Boston College)

Don'ta Hightower (Alabama)

Brandon Jenkins (Florida State)

Keenan Robinson (Texas)

Cornerbacks

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GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 10: Terrell Zachery #81 of the Auburn Tigers runs against Cliff Harris #13 of the Oregon Ducks during the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game at University of Phoenix Stadium on January 10, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by

As long as the NFL continues to throw the ball with greater frequency, cornerbacks will be in high demand. The upcoming class already has 10 players I wanted to feature, and I am sure that more will be coming to the forefront throughout the year.

Cliff Harris - Oregon

D'Andre Kirkpatrick (Alabama)

Chase Minnifield (Virginia)

Stephon Gilmore (South Carolina)

Alfonzo Dennard (Nebraska)

Omar Bolden (Arizona State)

Desmond Trufant (Washington)

Coryell Judie (Texas A&M)

Jayron Hosley (Virginia Tech)

Janoris Jenkins (Florida)

Safeties

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EL PASO, TX - DECEMBER 30: Running back Cierre Wood #20 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is tackled by Ray-Ray Armstrong #26 and Micanor Regis #54 of the Miami Hurricanes at Sun Bowl on December 30, 2010 in El Paso, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Gett

There are six safeties that I am hearing about already, with more to come later. For now, tuck these six names away for the 2011 season.

Ray-Ray Armstrong (Miami Fla.)

Robert Lester - (Alabama)

T.J. McDonald - (USC)

Delano Howell (Stanford)

Mark Barron (Alabama)

Eddie Whitley (Virginia Tech)

Kenny Tate (Maryland)