NFL DRAFT BEGINS THURSDAY
April 27, 2011 08:27 AM | General
Several West Virginia University football players will be paying close attention to their television sets when the NFL draft begins Thursday night in primetime. The Mountaineers had 11 players work out at Pro Day earlier this spring in Morgantown, and six, Noel Devine, Jock Sanders, Chris Neild, J.T. Thomas, Robert Sands and Brandon Hogan, were invited to this year’s NFL scouting combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
But just how many of them will be taken later this week remains to be seen.
Of West Virginia’s draft-eligible players, Brandon Hogan got the highest grade from ESPN.com, the cornerback ranking No. 100 overall and 13th at his position. Hogan got an exceptional grade for durability, an above average grade for run support and production, and average grades for height-weight-speed, instincts-recognition, cover skills and ball skills. The only low grade he received was for intangibles.
Robert Sands, a junior, was rated the 173rd-best player in the draft by ESPN.com. He got exceptional grades for durability and intangibles, and an above average grade for production.
Linebacker J.T. Thomas, the No. 242 overall player by ESPN.com, was rated the 16th-best outside linebacker in the draft, while Noel Devine was rated No. 289 overall and 27th among running backs.
A total of 255 players were taken in last year’s seven-round draft.
Nose tackle Chris Neild, whose interest will most likely come from teams that run a 3-4 defense, wasn’t rated highly by ESPN.com, but others have him a little higher on their draft boards.
CNNSI.com has Neild as West Virginia’s second best pro prospect behind Sands, rating them as potential starters in the league. Sands got a 2.50 rating while Neild was 2.48, which according to their rating system, means both are “good athletes that must learn to be football players or ‘overachievers’ that are quality prospects with long-term potential.”
CNNSI.com has Devine, Sanders, Thomas and Hogan in the practice squad category, meaning a “late-round draft pick or priority free agent that must develop his talents on the practice squad.”
Two other rating services, SidelineScouting.com and NFLDraftScout.com, both consider Hogan and Sands West Virginia’s two top prospects.
SidelineScouting.com has Sands the No. 5 free safety in the draft while Hogan is rated the No. 21 corner. NFLDraftScout.com has Sands rated No. 118 in the draft and Hogan 14 spots below him at 132. That would place both in the fifth-round range. Neild, at 223, and Thomas, at 246, were slotted in seventh round territory (Keep checking because the ratings keep changing).
Last year, Selvish Capers was the only WVU player taken in the draft, the tackle going in the seventh round to the Washington Redskins. He is now a member of Washington’s practice squad.
WVU had three players taken in the 2009, 2008 and 2005 drafts, and 14 overall since 2003. West Virginia has had a player drafted in each of the last three years and six out of the last seven. The only year since 2003 that the Mountaineers didn’t have a player taken was 2007.
The draft will begin at 8 p.m. on Thursday and will be televised by ESPN and the NFL Network. The second round on Friday will begin at 6 p.m. and the final day of the draft on Saturday will start at noon.
This year’s draft will once again take place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
Mountaineers in the Draft Since 2000
2010, Selvish Capers, 7th, Washington Redskins
2009, Pat White, 2nd, Miami Dolphins
2009, Ellis Lankster, 7th, Buffalo Bills
2009, Pat McAfee, 7th, Indianapolis Colts
2008, Steve Slaton, 3rd, Houston Texans
2008, Owen Schmitt, 5th, Seattle Seahawks
2008, Ryan Mundy, 6th, Pittsburgh Steelers
2006, Dee McCann, 6th, Detroit Lions
2005, Adam Jones, 1st, Tennessee Titans
2005, Chris Henry, 3rd, Cincinnati Bengals
2005, Rasheed Marshall, 5th, San Francisco 49ers
2004, Quincy Wilson, 7th, Atlanta Falcons
2003, Lance Nimmo, 4th, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2003, James Davis, 5th, Detroit Lions
2000, Anthony Becht, 1st, New York Jets
2000, Jerry Porter, 2nd, Oakland Raiders
2000, Barrett Green, 2nd, Detroit Lions
2000, Marc Bulger, 6th, New Orleans Saints
But just how many of them will be taken later this week remains to be seen.
Of West Virginia’s draft-eligible players, Brandon Hogan got the highest grade from ESPN.com, the cornerback ranking No. 100 overall and 13th at his position. Hogan got an exceptional grade for durability, an above average grade for run support and production, and average grades for height-weight-speed, instincts-recognition, cover skills and ball skills. The only low grade he received was for intangibles.
Robert Sands, a junior, was rated the 173rd-best player in the draft by ESPN.com. He got exceptional grades for durability and intangibles, and an above average grade for production.
Linebacker J.T. Thomas, the No. 242 overall player by ESPN.com, was rated the 16th-best outside linebacker in the draft, while Noel Devine was rated No. 289 overall and 27th among running backs.
A total of 255 players were taken in last year’s seven-round draft.
Nose tackle Chris Neild, whose interest will most likely come from teams that run a 3-4 defense, wasn’t rated highly by ESPN.com, but others have him a little higher on their draft boards.
CNNSI.com has Neild as West Virginia’s second best pro prospect behind Sands, rating them as potential starters in the league. Sands got a 2.50 rating while Neild was 2.48, which according to their rating system, means both are “good athletes that must learn to be football players or ‘overachievers’ that are quality prospects with long-term potential.”
CNNSI.com has Devine, Sanders, Thomas and Hogan in the practice squad category, meaning a “late-round draft pick or priority free agent that must develop his talents on the practice squad.”
Two other rating services, SidelineScouting.com and NFLDraftScout.com, both consider Hogan and Sands West Virginia’s two top prospects.
SidelineScouting.com has Sands the No. 5 free safety in the draft while Hogan is rated the No. 21 corner. NFLDraftScout.com has Sands rated No. 118 in the draft and Hogan 14 spots below him at 132. That would place both in the fifth-round range. Neild, at 223, and Thomas, at 246, were slotted in seventh round territory (Keep checking because the ratings keep changing).
Last year, Selvish Capers was the only WVU player taken in the draft, the tackle going in the seventh round to the Washington Redskins. He is now a member of Washington’s practice squad.
WVU had three players taken in the 2009, 2008 and 2005 drafts, and 14 overall since 2003. West Virginia has had a player drafted in each of the last three years and six out of the last seven. The only year since 2003 that the Mountaineers didn’t have a player taken was 2007.
The draft will begin at 8 p.m. on Thursday and will be televised by ESPN and the NFL Network. The second round on Friday will begin at 6 p.m. and the final day of the draft on Saturday will start at noon.
This year’s draft will once again take place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
Mountaineers in the Draft Since 2000
2010, Selvish Capers, 7th, Washington Redskins
2009, Pat White, 2nd, Miami Dolphins
2009, Ellis Lankster, 7th, Buffalo Bills
2009, Pat McAfee, 7th, Indianapolis Colts
2008, Steve Slaton, 3rd, Houston Texans
2008, Owen Schmitt, 5th, Seattle Seahawks
2008, Ryan Mundy, 6th, Pittsburgh Steelers
2006, Dee McCann, 6th, Detroit Lions
2005, Adam Jones, 1st, Tennessee Titans
2005, Chris Henry, 3rd, Cincinnati Bengals
2005, Rasheed Marshall, 5th, San Francisco 49ers
2004, Quincy Wilson, 7th, Atlanta Falcons
2003, Lance Nimmo, 4th, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2003, James Davis, 5th, Detroit Lions
2000, Anthony Becht, 1st, New York Jets
2000, Jerry Porter, 2nd, Oakland Raiders
2000, Barrett Green, 2nd, Detroit Lions
2000, Marc Bulger, 6th, New Orleans Saints
College Basketball Crown Recap
Thursday, April 16
Andrew Powdrell | April 15
Thursday, April 16
Coach Pat Kirkland | April 15
Thursday, April 16
Coach Rich Rodriguez | April 15
Thursday, April 16
