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’08 DRAFT NOTES!

A compendium of off -- and on -- the field notes for the 2008 NFL Draft, which starts at 3:00 PM ET this Saturday at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall:

HEY, POP!: Two players this weekend can become part of an exclusive NFL club. Virginia defensive end CHRIS LONG and UCLA safety MATT SLATER can become the fifth and sixth sons of Pro Football Hall of Fame players to be drafted into the league. Chris can follow his father HOWIE (HOF, 2000) and Matt his father JACKIE (HOF, 2001). The Hall of Fame father/drafted son rundown:


SELECTED DAD/SELECTED SON

HALL OF FAME FATHER (Year Inducted)
DRAFTED SON (Team, Year)

RB Tony Dorsett (1994)
CB Anthony Dorsett (Houston, 1996)

QB Bob Griese (1990)
QB Brian Griese (Denver, 1998)

RB-DB/Coach Don Shula (1997)
QB Mike Shula (Tampa Bay, 1987)

TE Kellen Winslow (1995)
TE Kellen Winslow (Cleveland, 2004)

PIGSKIN & SHEEPSKIN: An impressive number of players who will be drafted this weekend already have earned their college degrees, with majors ranging from international business to history.

“These guys should be applauded for what they did,” says Oregon offensive coordinator CHIP KELLY, who coached quarterback DENNIS DIXON, a sociology graduate. “They’re exactly what’s right about college football.”

A list of 25 draft-eligible players who already boast their college degrees:

TE Cole Bennett
Auburn
Management Information Systems

QB Colt Brennan
Hawaii
Communications

TE John Carlson Notre Dame
History

T Gosder Cherilus
Boston College
Communications

RB Tashard Choice
Georgia Tech
History, Technology and Society

TE Brad Cottam
Tennessee
International Business

QB Dennis Dixon
Oregon
Sociology

LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar
Boston College
Communications

OL Robert Felton
Arkansas
Criminal Justice and Sociology

DE Wallace Gilberry
Alabama
Telecommunications

LB Tavares Gooden
Miami
Liberal Arts and Criminology (Double major)

S Marcus Griffin
Texas
Government Studies (Minor in Liberal Arts)

LB Quentin Groves
Auburn
Criminology

CB-S Jonathan Hefney
Tennessee
Political Science

QB Chad Henne
Michigan
General Studies (3.5 years)

DT Trevor Laws
Notre Dame
Marketing and Sociology

CB Patrick Lee
Auburn
Criminology

LB Jeremy Leman
Illinois
Speech Communications (3 years)

OT Jake Long
Michigan
General Studies

DT Frank Okam Texas
Sports Management (3.5 years)

DT DeMario Pressley North Carolina State
Sports Management

QB Matt Ryan
Boston College
Communications

WR Limas Sweed
Texas
Youth and Community Studies

TE Jacob Tamme
Kentucky
Integrated Strategic Communications (3 yrs.)

C Cody Wallace
Texas A&M
Sports Management


FLACCO TAKES NO FLAK: Division I-AA quarterback JOE FLACCO of Delaware is aware that playing on that level may lead some people to question his ability. Only two Division I-AA players (CB RASHARD ANDERSON by Carolina and WR SYLVESTER MORRIS by Kansas City, both first-round selections out of Jackson State in 2000) have been drafted in the top 30 selections in the past 10 years.

But Flacco doesn’t let that hinder his confidence. “I feel like I’m the best quarterback in the draft,” he says. “Hands down.”

A former Delaware quarterback, SCOTT BRUNNER, who led the Fightin’ Blue Hens to the 1979 Division II championship and played six years in the NFL, believes that Flacco has all the tools. “Without a doubt, he’ll play at the next level,” says Brunner, now a banker in New York City. “He’s one of the top five quarterbacks in the country. It’ll be fun to have another Blue Hen quarterback to root for.”

To back up Flacco’s feeling of confidence, look at this stat: three non-BCS quarterbacks finished in the top 10 in passer rating in the NFL in 2007:

SMALL SCHOOL/BIG RATING

QUARTERBACK
COLLEGE
2007 PASSER RATING/RANK

Tony Romo, Dallas
Eastern Illinois
97.4/No. 5


Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay
San Jose State
94.6/ No. 7


Kurt Warner, Arizona
Northern Iowa
89.8/No. 10

-- ’08 NFL DRAFT --
GHOLSTON’S GOAL: Ohio State defensive end VERNON GHOLSTON, a sure first-round choice, can be the first this weekend in what the Buckeyes hope will be an onslaught of draft picks that will retain their No. 1 ranking as the school with the most selections over the past 10 years (since 1998):

Top Ten
Ohio State
67

Georgia
55

Florida State
64

Nebraska
48

Miami (Fla.)
64

Michigan
47

Tennessee
64

USC
46

Florida
58

Notre Dame
45


-- ’08 NFL DRAFT --

UCONN PLANTS A BRANCH: The highest Connecticut has had a player chosen in the draft in the past 10 years was No. 82 overall (LB ALFRED FINCHER by New Orleans in 2005). That could change this weekend, thanks to cornerback-safety TYVON BRANCH, who last year became the only Husky in history to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same season.

At the NFL Scouting Combine this past February, Branch earned another distinction that only five other players have achieved in the past five years, according to NFL.com draft expert GIL BRANDT. Branch joined the unique quintet comprised of players who weigh at least 200 pounds, ran the 40 in under 4.4 seconds and lifted 225 pounds at least 15 times. Four of the five were starters in 2007:

CLASS OF THE COMBINE

CB DeAngelo Hall *
2004
Atlanta/1

S Bob Sanders *
2004
Indianapolis/2

CB Karl Paymah
2005
Denver/3

S Michael Huff *
2006
Oakland/1

S LaRon Landry *
2007
Washington/1

CB-S Tyvon Branch
2008
???
* 2007 starter


TIDBITS: Ten Interesting notes on the draft class of 2008:

DID YOU KNOW THAT…

Hawaii QB COLT BRENNAN
Backed up Arizona QB MATT LEINART in high school (Mater Dei in Santa Ana, California).

Oregon QB DENNIS DIXON
Graduated with a 3.27 GPA in sociology.

LSU DT GLENN DORSEY
Gets himself revved up for a game by listening to PHIL COLLINS’ soft-rock classic In the Air Tonight (“I can feel it coming in the air tonight…”).

Ohio State DE VERNON GHOLSTON
His high school football coach thought the 6-2, 205-pound sophomore walking the hallways was a parent. When he realized he wasn’t, he cajoled Gholston into coming out for football.

Virginia DE CHRIS LONG Could be chosen higher in the draft than his DT Hall of Fame father HOWIE (Second round, 48th overall by Oakland out of Villanova in 1981).

Michigan T JAKE LONG Had two penalties his whole college career: a holding penalty as a freshman and a false-start as a senior.

Arkansas RB DARREN MC FADDEN
Arkansas faculty member JANET FORBESS, who has had McFadden in several classes, says his fame has not changed him: “As he has gotten more and more famous, he doesn’t change in the classroom.”

Rutgers RB RAY RICE Partook in the NFL’s High School Player Development program that emphasizes life skills in preparing athletes for college.

Boston College QB MATT RYAN Won the 2008 Manning Award, the only QB award that considers a candidate’s bowl performances, and is voted upon by ARCHIE, PEYTON and ELI MANNING and the media.

Kansas CB AQIB TALIB
The youngest of four children, his first name (ah-KEEB tah-LEEB) translates to “last to come.”

-- ’08 NFL DRAFT --

MIAMI IS HOT: Miami (Fla.) safety KENNY PHILLIPS is expected to be a first-round selection this Saturday. If he and any other Hurricanes are, they would continue the school’s impressive streak.

Miami has had at least one first-round pick in the last 13 NFL Drafts (since 1995, DT WARREN SAPP, No. 12 overall by Tampa Bay), the longest such active streak of a school in the draft.

Schools with the best active streaks of most consecutive years with a first-round pick:

HURRICANE CONDITIONS


Miami (Fla.)
13 (Since 1995)

Oklahoma
6 (Since 2002)

LSU
4 (Since 2004)

Texas
4 (Since 2004)

Florida State
3 (Since 2005)





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