Category: College Football (Page 176 of 296)

      Dolphins targeting Rey Maualuga?

      April 7, 2009 /

      According to the Palm Beach Post, the Dolphins have set their targets on USC middle linebacker Rey Maualuga in the first round.

      Rey MaualugaUSC inside linebacker Rey Maualuga, the 2008 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, is projected by many draftniks to be selected in the late teens, at worst. But even if he doesn’t fall to the mid-20s, Bill Parcells and Co. might consider moving up to grab him.

      Maualuga will be visiting South Florida Tuesday so the Dolphins can get to know him better, according to an NFL source.

      One NFL insider believes Maualuga, an unrelenting linebacker in the mold of former Trojan Junior Seau, is the Dolphins’ target during the first round of April 25-26 draft.

      But ask 10 experts who Parcells and Jeff Ireland covet with pick No. 25 and you might get more than a half-dozen different answers … Illinois CB Vontae Davis, North Carolina WR Hakeem Nicks, USC LB Clay Matthews, Connecticut CB Darius Butler, Northern Illinois’ Larry English and so on.

      Maualuga doesn’t seem to fit the team’s most acute needs, cornerback or wide receiver. He isn’t the big outside linebacker with pass-rushing skills who could give Joey Porter some help – especially given Cameron Wake could need a good bit of time to adjust from the CFL to the NFL – and maybe eventually replace Porter, 32.

      But Maualuga could be the kind of big (6-2, 255), physical linebacker Parcells won’t be able to pass up, considering his eye for game-changing players at the position.

      Prospects slip all the time in the first round, but I highly doubt Maualuga falls to No. 25, meaning the Dolphins would definitely have to move up to get him. I have a hard time believing that the Lions would pass on him at No. 20.

      College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

      Athlete Profile: Jeremy Maclin

      April 6, 2009 /

      Fight or flight? Offense or defense? Burger or burrito? The duality of man is something I certainly haven’t the space to discuss here. But there is an interesting example of it in the person of Jeremy Maclin. Here we have a man enveloped in occupying two roles, and not just athletically, one who has throughout his life been straddling the border between two worlds, begging the question, “Why not both?”

      Let’s start at the beginning: Maclin was born and raised in Chesterfield, Missouri and grew up in Kirkwood, which are both St. Louis suburbs. Maclin was raised by a single mom who had to work tireless hours to maintain a decent life for him and his two brothers. Fortunately, she eventually got some help from the coach of his youth league football team, Dr. Jeff Parres, who had a son the same age as Maclin.

      Years of sleepovers and rides home eventually led to Maclin moving in with the Parreses during high school. They even bought him a car so he could drive to school. Maclin is still on good terms with his mother, but considers himself to have two families.

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      College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

      Athlete Profile: B.J. Raji

      March 31, 2009 /

      B.J. Raji has never had much trouble with offensive linemen, quarterbacks, or even running backs. It’s those associate deans he’s had to watch out for.

      Prior to his 2007 season at Boston College, he was assured by an associate dean that he only had to complete two summer courses to be academically eligible to play that season.

      Unfortunately, he actually needed three — which meant that Raji would be academically ineligible for the 2007 season.

      Raji was devastated when told the news by then-BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski. But instead of sitting around and feeling sorry for himself, he went to work: dominating for the Eagles’ scout team and hitting the gym hard every day.

      Then, back on the field in 2008, he took all the frustration out on his opponents, exploding for 42 tackles and seven sacks from his defensive tackle position.

      Given how well everything has ended up working out for Raji, it must be hard for him to stay mad at the associate dean who contributed to his missing the 2007 season. Raji currently stands poised to become a top-10 pick in April’s NFL Draft, with a very good shot at going in the top 5.

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      College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

      Michael Crabtree an option for Browns?

      March 30, 2009 /

      The Cleveland Plain Dealer notes that Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree is a viable option for the Browns at No. 5 in next month’s NFL draft.

      Hey, Tony: What are the Browns going to do about the WR position now? Do you see us taking Michael Crabtree in the first and then using our multiple second-round picks on LBs? — Jeff Smith, Naples, Fla.

      Hey, Jeff: Crabtree is a viable option now at No. 5 for the Browns. I’m usually not an advocate of taking a receiver so high, however.

      Hey, Tony: Well, we have to ask the question, what do we do in Stallworth’s absence? Free agency? Draft? — Todd Hollis, Massillon

      Hey, Todd: The Browns signed David Patten, who will be 35 by the season opener. I’m sure they’ll add more receivers, pending Stallworth’s legal process.

      Before he had foot surgery to repair a small stress fracture, some felt as though Crabtree was the best prospect in the draft. With all due respect to Aaron Curry, Matthew Stafford and Jason Smith, Crabtree might still be the best prospect, especially considering his foot injury isn’t expected to be a reoccurring problem.

      Speculation has it that the Browns have been or are willing to trade Braylon Edwards, whose contract expires at the end of the season. If Cleveland could swing a deal with a team like the Giants and wind up trading Edwards, then there will be an obvious need for a receiver, especially considering Donte Stallworth’s pending situation. The Browns would love to add an outside linebacker (they seemingly solved their inside linebacker quandary with free agent Eric Barton) and they have needs at safety as well. At No. 5, there isn’t an outside 3-4 linebacker worthy of taking that high. So unless they can trade down, Crabtree makes sense and is definitely top 5 material. He would also allow the Browns some flexibility with Edwards, who Cleveland wouldn’t necessarily have to trade right away or worry about doling out a new contract to a player that quite frankly hasn’t been worth it.

      College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

      Athlete Profile: Jason Smith

      March 27, 2009 /

      Jason Smith often reminisces about his only collegiate touchdown.

      He was playing tight end for Baylor University during his redshirt freshman season in a 2005 matchup against Oklahoma. The Bears were on the Sooners’ 2-yard line when quarterback Shawn Bell called the play Spartan-22. Smith knew what that meant. When his defender bit on the running back who had run out into the flat, Smith broke free in the end zone before hauling in Bell’s pass for the touchdown.

      “I remember everything about that play,” he said in an interview with Scout.com.

      Smith’s time as a skill position player was short-lived, however, as the Bears’ coaching staff decided after the season to switch the big man from tight end to offensive tackle.

      It’s safe to say that the move has turned out to be a wise decision.

      Smith, an agile 6-5, 310-pounder, now finds himself as one of the highest rated prospects in this April’s NFL draft.

      While his time as a tight end was brief, that experience helped him in his switch to the offensive line. Scouts and teams have raved about Smith’s athletic ability, and see him as equal parts lock down pass protector and a playmaking pulling lineman in the running game.

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      College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

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