I remember back in high school when I discovered Final Fantasy 7 and my life changed forever. 10 years later I’m better than all my friends at riding chocobos and using potions. Hooray. I suppose we could compare my gargantuan accomplishment with Brian Orakpo’s if I try really hard. Seems Orakpo started as a mere basketball star, and by the time he matriculated, had discovered he was in fact one of the best defensive football players in the country. Big whoop.

Facetiousness aside, it takes a hell of a lot of work to reach the level that Orakpo has, especially in so short a time. According to Orakpo’s high school teammate Drew Kelson in an article on Inside Texas.com:

“Freshman football was merely about playing in front of all your classmates right on the campus football field. Simply having a uniform and getting a chance to play was cool.”

That is not the kind of atmosphere I have been led to expect from Texas high school football. Shame on you Friday Night Lights. No, I take it back; I can’t stay mad at you.

So Orakpo spent his first couple of seasons at Lamar High School in Houston impressing the ladies and looking good. Not too shabby. But there came a time for the young Orakpo when he realized that he could actually make something out of this football thing, perhaps a big something. By the time high school was over, Orakpo had been recognized throughout the country as a defensive prospect and had been recruited to play for the University of Texas.

Now Orakpo really gets serious. Red-shirting his freshman year, Orakpo hit the weight room with a vengeance, adding muscles onto his muscles and generally becoming enormous. By the time his time for active duty rolled around, he was ready.

In his first collegiate appearance, Orakpo had a pressure, two tackles, and forced a fumble. He would go on to play in every game that season, starting once. He earned a spot on The Sporting News Freshman All-American 1st team and was voted defensive freshman of the year by the same outlet.

As a sophomore his numbers continued to go up. He was awarded the Lowe’s Most Improved Defensive Player of the Year and helped the University of Texas to a 3rd place rank for least rushing yards allowed per game.

2007 was going to be the year Orakpo arrived as a true defensive phenom. He was in the starting lineup and was ready to tear up the field, that is until injuring his right knee during UT’s first regular season game. Orakpo was sidelined for the next four games, returning against Oklahoma, but appearing on the field for only 17 plays (though he did record a sack). Despite his shortened playtime, Orakpo worked himself back to his previous form. In fact, when Texas played Arizona State in that year’s Alamo Bowl, Orakpo had a sack, a pressure on the quarterback, and even posted career highs in tackles and tackles for losses (six and three, respectively).

OK, now it’s Orakpo’s time. He’s healthy, experienced, and can bench more than 500 pounds. Orakpo was a force to reckoned with last year, let’s go through the numbers a bit: 42 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 30 pressures, and 11.5 sacks (a number that led his team and was sixth in the nation). Orakpo also helped his team to a 12-1 record, and thrust Texas into the top spot in the Big 12 in scoring and rushing defense, total defense, and a second place spot in pass efficiency defense.
Orakpo won just about every trophy available: The Lombardi for the country’s best lineman, the Hendricks Award for best defensive end, and The Nagurski Trophy for the nation’s top defensive player. He was 1st team All-American on pretty much everyone’s list and was the Big 12 Player of the Year. Also, let’s keep in mind that he earned all this acclaim even with limited playing time for one game against Kansas due to injury.

So we begin the speculation, is Orakpo a first round pick? Definitely. Almost certainly in the top ten. But, despite all his accomplishments, teams may be wary of him for a couple of reasons. He’s got nearly everything a coach or scout would want to see in a defender: speed off the snap, great jumping ability for blocking passes, and of course enough strength to tear a quarterback in half, but let’s remember those injuries he’s had over his career. During the NFL Combine he even tweaked a hamstring and couldn’t complete all the drills. While he still dominated the Combine in the events he participated in, and the injury wasn’t serious, it may hint at a larger problem down the road. Only time will tell if Orakpo can endure longer seasons in the NFL while staying injury-free. All the weight-training in the world won’t be enough to reverse time.

Overall, Orakpo is still a hot prospect and promises to make an impact on whatever team may choose him. Currently, it seems the Cleveland Browns are the most interested, and with the 5th pick in the draft the most likely to get him. He’s been working out and running drills for them on numerous occasions and they have all but given him a key to the locker room. Ah, but then, there’s a lot of teams below the Browns that would love to wheel and deal Orakpo, or at least the 5th pick, over to them, notably the Packers at the 10 spot.

All in all, Orakpo is an explosive player with a work-ethic that’ll aid him a lot in the years to come, adding 50 pounds of muscle over his college career attests to that. Injuries notwithstanding, Orakpo is an awesome natural athlete. Let’s try not to worry overly much about his durability either, when Brian Orakpo sets his mind to something, he’ll be sure to impress.

Latest on Orakpo
Peforming in linebacker drills during the Texas Pro Day, Orakpo blew away the onlookers with a dominating performance. One of the most interested of the NFL reps was Green Bay Packers GM Ted Thompson…

Career
Brian Orakpo Profile CBSSports.com
A listing of awards and accomplishments from high school onward.

News and Commentary
NFLDraftScout Brian Orakpo Player Profile
Combine and Pro Day statistics.

Brian Orakpo DraftCountDown Scouting Report
No-nonsense report on Orakpo’s strengths and weaknesses.

Kelson’s Breakdown: Brian Orakpo at InsideTexas.com:
Interesting insider-perspective from teammate Drew Kelson.

Orakpo says
On possibly moving to outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme

“I’m not the guy that can potentially play the position, I’m the guy that can play the position — and I have the film to prove it.”

Posted on: CBSSports.com

Sources and Links

CBSSports.com
InsideTexas.com
NFLDraftScout.com
DraftCountDown.com

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.

During high school Maclin was a two-sport athlete, garnering praise as a football and basketball player at Kirkwood High School. He couldn’t be held down to one position as a football player either, playing, and excelling, as a safety, punt returner, receiver, and running back.

By the end of his high school career, Maclin racked up quite a list of honors: 1st team all-state as a wideout, all-conference as a safety, was listed as the country’s 24th best wide receiver prospect by Rivals.com, and 3rd best prospect overall in the state of Missouri.

Naturally, Maclin ended up dealing with his fair share of recruiters, eventually confirming his intent to attend the University of Oklahoma. He wound up going to Missouri, however. According to Maclin, his reason for switching to Missouri was based on the “family-atmosphere” of the school and athletic program.

Now begins Maclin meteoric rise to fame, free of difficulties and setbacks. After all the work and dedication it must have taken for him to evolve as a threat from anywhere on the field, nothing bad could happen, right? If you answered positively to that I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Arriving to a training session early for his upcoming season as a true freshman, Maclin tore his ACL, which is one of the more damaging injuries a player could sustain.

It must have looked as if Maclin had hit the spiral of decline before ever playing in a college game; he certainly was off the active list for the duration of his first season. Even if he started playing again he’d probably end up like Danny Manning, a shell of his former potential.

Jeremy Maclin wasn’t having it. He spent the off-season training to be stronger and faster than ever. His freshman year redux in 2007 was historic.

Maclin proved himself a dangerous weapon at multiple positions even at the collegiate level, returning punts and kickoffs, running the ball, and receiving. I haven’t the space to list everything he did here, but the highlights are as follows: He was the only player that season to score a touchdown from four different positions, broke numerous records for total all-purpose yards, becoming the leader all-time among freshman in Division 1A and 5th all time among everybody with 2,776, named a consensus 1st team All-American, and even scored as a passer during a two-point conversion.

There were some heavy expectations laid (being named to the Playboy Pre-season All-American team being one of them) on Maclin after that, and by all accounts in 2008 he surpassed them. Maclin finished his second college season ranked 6th in total receptions with 102 for 1,260 yards as well as becoming only the second player in NCAA history to gain more than 2,000 career yards for receiving and kick-returning.

When Maclin officially declared himself a part of the NFL Draft, he was expected to be picked somewhere in perhaps the high teens. His performance at the recent combine, as well as fairly poor showings by other receivers (read Michael Crabtree), has significantly raised his value and place in line. His breakaway speed is stunning and he’s got great hands. In fact the only real doubt as to his ability is in his ability to adapt to an NFL system of route-running.

A lot of teams could use the receiving and utility-player prowess Maclin brings to the table. Of particular note are the Cincinnati Bengals who gave up receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh to Seattle recently. A selection by them would boost Maclin into the top ten, as Cincinnati has the 6th pick overall.

Will Maclin be returning kicks next season? That remains to be seen, though it’s unlikely he’d pull double duty very often. However, if his past work is any indication, living on both sides of the coin isn’t something he’d back away from.

Latest on Maclin

Maclin has visited several pro teams already, including the Cincinnati Bengals. His stay with them, barring some disaster, would seem a fairly likely sign that he’s going to be wearing orange and black next season. Of course, it’s still entirely possible that a team in the top 5 might not pick him. Stranger things have happened.

Career

Player Bio: Jeremy Maclin – Missouri Official Athletic Site
An exhaustive listing of Maclin’s statistics and awards.

News and Commentary

Jeremy Maclin Zone
Official fan site devoted to all things Maclin.

ESPN: Chat with Jeremy Maclin – SportsNation
Recent interview with Maclin fielding questions from internet posters.

Jeremy Maclin 2009 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile
Listing of Maclin’s combine statistics and recent Maclin news.

Maclin Says
On his strengths and weaknesses:
“My biggest strength is my playmaking ability. I feel every time I touch the ball I can make a big play. A lot of scouts do not like the fact that I have not played outside receiver, but it’s something I think I can step in and do, so I would not really call it a weakness.”
As posted on: ESPN SportsNation

Sources and Links
MUTigers.com
ESPN.go.com
MaclinZone.com
NFLDraftScout.com

As a society, we’re always trying out the next new thing; well, not so much “new” as a combination of the old stuff we already like. They don’t always work out (Mustardayonnaise? Sparks Malt Beverage?), but we can get a great hybrid off the line every once in the while.

Most people get a look at Everette Brown’s size and speed and see what could be the first true defensive end/ linebacker to make it in the NFL. Take something more than a glance at the man, and you’ll see a hybrid of a different kind: a top-tier athlete who graduated early and still found time to do endless volunteer work. That kind of work ethic is going to be what makes him something special in the pros, and it’s that same thing that has gotten him this far already.

So where did he start out? Well, Brown was born in the small town of Stantonsburg, NC, and went to Beddingfield High School. While there, Brown started compiling some serious numbers and by his senior year he was the top defensive lineman in North Carolina, the third weakside defensive end in the country, and was ranked 78th in the nation overall. His senior year alone, Brown has 16 sacks and 120 tackles. But rather than rest on the bench, Brown iron-manned it as a tight end, catching 40 passes for 770 yards with 10 touchdowns.

Naturally, Brown was high on any recruiters’ list that year, being courted by Georgia, Florida State, North Carolina State, Penn State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and UNC. Seems Brown felt a lot more comfortable in the small, college town atmosphere of Tallahassee and settled on Florida State.

Redshirted during his freshman year, Brown spent the time volunteering, studying, and bulking up. His first year of active play proved that sitting out a season had been a great idea. Brown played in all 13 games, starting in three of them and recording a tackle in all but one of them, as well as blocking a field goal attempt in a game against Troy. Not entirely outstanding stats, but considering the caliber of those working around him and their respective ages, Brown was certainly no slouch.

The promise he showed in his first season continued into 2007 where Brown became a regular starter as a defensive end. That year Brown really started to shine. He had a career high 37 tackles (with seven tackles coming in one game against Virginia Tech), two sacks in one game against Alabama, a sack in four straight games at one point, and led the team in overall QB takedowns with 6.5.

Everette Brown started the 2008 season with a lot of expectations riding on his shoulders. The kind of pressure a player feels at this point could break somebody, yet Brown didn’t stop tearing through offensive lines. It seems almost unbelievable that he could find time to volunteer while still keeping his grades up, but go down the list of places he’s helped out (Riley Elementary and Speight Middle School, The Able Trust, The Tallahassee Seminole Club, The Dick Howser Center for Childhood Services, Read Across America, and so on and on) and we quickly find that not only was he able to do exactly what he wanted, he also exceeded expectations. His season on the field was no different.

Brown became one of the premier defensive players in NCAA football last year.

Starting all 13 games at right defensive end, he was named runner-up for both the ACC defensive player of the year and the ACC overall player of the year, was a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award as the best defensive player in the country, was third in the nation with 13.5 total sacks and was the only player in college football to rank in the top 4 for both sacks and tackles for loss.

How is Brown able to bust through offensive lines so often? Because of his speed off the snap, even from a three-point stance, Brown was and is able to blow by the offensive line before they can even react. Once the play starts, Brown also has some great moves to get around guys and his ability to stay low while running makes him tough to keep out.

All this speed though, comes at a price. Scouts’ major concern about Brown is his size. When running up against NFL-sized double teams, Brown, listed at the NFL combine at 256 lbs., would be more or less manhandled.

Fortunately for Brown, his size is something that can still be improved. While a bit short for the NFL, he has space on his frame to pack on more muscle – something he’s already proven by increasing his weight significantly before the combine.

Another problem arises not so much from Brown’s ability, but his overall experience. The Florida State defense is widely known for its simple, straightforward style of play and while it can often be effective, a player like Brown may not have had the chance to practice more complicated defensive schemes and thus exchanging a quarterback rush for trying to guard against the pass might be a difficult leap for him initially.

But if anything, Brown’s dedication to improvement is his defining characteristic. He may struggle in his new roles on defense at first, but more than likely it won’t be for very long.

Everett Brown’s got a lot going for him, while not at the top of the list for most scouts, he is nevertheless vying for the position. In terms of the draft, Brown’s got skills that make him a wise decision for any team and his adaptability and work ethic are sure signs of a successful career to come. Oh, and while a lot of people may think that quitting college to play in the pros is not wise down the road, Brown graduated early.

Latest on Brown
While initially thought to be selected behind Andre Smith, recent behavior on Smith’s part has dropped him down the rankings, while good combine times by Brown have helped him. A lot of teams could use a player like Brown and so hammering out a lock for who will pick him is difficult. Some mock drafts have him as high as number one with the Lions trying to solidify their defense, or as low as 10 to the 49ers.

Career
Player Bio: Everette Brown Florida State Official Athletic Site
Brown’s Bio at the FSU official site has career stats and complete listing of awards.

News and Commentary
Florida’s DE Brown to go pro
Word on his official announcement to enter the draft.

Mock Draft: Everette Brown climbs to the top
Recent Mock Draft from Yahoo Sports.

Exit Interview: Everette Brown
Article on Brown by the Seminoles official fan blog.

Everette Brown: The Sack Machine
Profile on Brown by TheBleacherReport.

Brown says
On why he would be a good pick for any team
“I can bring the whole package as far as a guy who can get up the field quickly and will also study the playbook every day and work hard.”
Posted in TomahawkNation.com

Sources and Links
Scout.com
Tomahawknation.com
Bucem.com
FFToolbox.com
ESPN.com
Florida State Offcial Athletic Site

What do you dream about? NBA Finals Game 7 with five seconds left, you catch the pass at the top of the key and…swish. Lottery numbers dropping into place on your winning ticket while you sip a martini next to Minka Kelly? Not Michael Crabtree. He doesn’t dream about being the next big NFL star or driving a Ferrari around Milan.

Michael Crabtree dreams of routes, pass coverages, and catching, catching, catching.

Growing up in Dallas, Texas, Crabtree has always had an intensity bordering on the surreal. Because of his size and physicality, Crabtree’s father chose to have him play football in leagues above his age.

“I actually cried the few times he made me play against people my age,” Crabtree said. “I was like, ‘Dad, I don’t want to hurt those little kids.”

After dominating the youth leagues, Crabtree continued showing his phenomenal ability at Carter High School by playing both basketball and football. In fact, his first scholarship offer from Texas Tech, his future university, came in the form of a basketball scholarship. In his senior year, Crabtree averaged more than 20 points a game. This is not to say he was slacking on football during his high school career. He was one of the best football players in the state as a quarterback. As a matter of fact, he only had one reception his senior year, but rushed for 646 yards and nine touchdowns on 100 total carries. He also added an interception, as well.

After high school, Illinois, Michigan State, and Kansas all offered him scholarships as a quarterback. It was Crabtree’s decision to accept the scholarship to Texas Tech after coming to the conclusion that wide receiver was a better fit. With hands nine inches across and a 34-inch vertical, he seemed to have made the right choice.

Crabtree’s style of play was perfect for head coach Mike Leach’s spread offense at Texas Tech. With four or five receivers on any given play, it’s natural that there would be a lot of passes, and that a hefty number of those would be flying towards Crabtree. Over the course of just two seasons in a Tech uniform, Crabtree had 231 receptions for 3,127 yards and 41 touchdowns. He averaged 120.3 yards and 1.6 touchdowns per game. Although he decided to enter the draft after his sophomore year, there would have been a pretty good chance that he’d have broken almost every major reception record in the NCAA. His numbers for the first two seasons alone were enough to net him a pile of awards and accolades, among them were the Biletnikoff award (for the best collegiate receiver) for two straight years, All Big 12 first team, All-American, and the Scout.com Freshman of the Year award.

Despite these incredible accomplishments, Crabtree’s best asset is his playmaking ability – something that shines through in any offense. It was this same ability that led him to make one of college football’s biggest plays last season. The play in reference was the game-winning touchdown reception he had against rival Texas at home late in the year. A game between the No.1 (Texas) and No. 2 ranked teams in the country. Crabtree caught an outside pass on the edge of the field, tip-toed along the sideline, broke two tackles, and ran into the end zone with a single second remaining in regulation. Needless to say, Tech fans went wild.

It’s that kind of clutch play that really makes Crabtree a valuable commodity. Entering the upcoming draft, most invision Crabtree as a top 10, if not top 5, selection. Only his top end speed and blocking ability have been questioned. And while speed is hard to dramatically increase, the latter can be remedied by a good pro coaching staff.

So look out NFL – here comes Michael Crabtree. People don’t often have dreams simple enough to accomplish on a daily basis like Crabtree – nor do they have the arena to change the humdrum to amazing. Crabtree has been doing it for years at the most crucial times in the biggest games. But don’t ask him about those pressure moments, heated rivalries, and upcoming games. As he said recently after a game, “I just see balls in the air.”

Latest on Michael Crabtree

Crabtree’s Stock is Dropping
It seems that despite prior announcements, Crabtree was unable to run at the NFL combine. His ranking in the top 10 picks for the draft appears to be falling.

Career

WikiCollegeFootball Michael Crabtree
For a complete list of career statistics, awards, and personal information.

News and Commentary

70 Receptions, 17 Touchdowns and 2 Sports
A great article about Michael Crabtree

Crabtree Zone
A frequently updated website devoted entirely to Michael Crabtree.

Michael Grabtree Grabs His Second Biletnikoff
The first player to ever receive the award twice.

Crabtree Says

On not competing in the Texas State Championship while in high school
“From my years in high school, I feel like I didn’t give it all I could give,” Crabtree said. “I feel like I could have gone to state if I would have given it my all. I didn’t want to feel like that again – should’ve, could’ve, would’ve. I’m at that time right now that I’m remembering that, so every time I go on the field, it’s like I’m giving it my all because I’m not going to feel that same way I felt in high school. I don’t want any regrets.”

Sources and Links

Rivals.com
WikiCollegeFootball.org
NFL.com
ESPN.com

What should you know about Matthew Stafford? Well according to him, “I can dunk.” Stafford’s calm, amiable demeanor on and off the field has played an important part in his rise to the upper echelons of college football. Now that he’s on the verge of becoming, at the very least, a top 10 draft pick, those easy-going manners will be put to the test. Stafford should be able to take it though, because he’s certainly had to adapt before.

Born in Tampa, Florida, Stafford moved to Dunwoody, Georgia while his father completed a graduate degree at none other than Matthew’s own future college: The University of Georgia. But before he ever got there, his father finished school and the whole family moved to Dallas.

Getting uprooted again and bustled into the big city, however, certainly had its advantages.

In an odd stroke of coincidence, Stafford was childhood friends and little league teammates with, Clayton Kershaw, one baseball’s rising star pitchers (currently with the Dodgers). Up until high school, Stafford was pulling a solid Bo Jackson by playing baseball (as a shortstop) and football. Prior to starting his senior year though, Stafford gave up baseball in order to focus on football. Focus for Stafford being something we lesser mortals can only dream of.

During his senior year at Highland Park High, Stafford led the team to its first 15-0 record while compiling more than 4,000 yards passing, 38 touchdowns, and only six interceptions over the course of the season. Naturally, Stafford’s team went on to win the state championship in their division, which was the school’s first title in nearly 50 years. Awards immediately followed: The 2005 Parade Magazine All-America Team, the USA Today Pre-Season Super 25, and the 2005 EA Sports National Player of the Year.

Stafford was definitely on the fast track from there.

Following his senior season, he graduated early and enrolled in his father’s alma mater, the University of Georgia. While not initially the starting quarterback, he was awarded the role before his freshman year was out and struggled a little before finding his rhythm the following season. As a sophomore, anyone who hadn’t been paying attention to the new powerhouse in the SEC woke up and heard the name Stafford. By the end of the year, Stafford had chalked up an average of 194.1 passing yards per game, 19 TDs, and a couple of rushing touchdowns just for good measure.

Stafford’s final year of collegiate sports started with the University of Georgia Bulldogs finding themselves atop both the AP and USA Today polls for the first time in the school’s history. While the Bulldogs were unable to follow through on the consensus prediction, Stafford still had a stellar season, breaking his own records time and again. 2008 saw the star quarterback first throw for a then career-high 275 yards against Georgia Southern University. That performance was soon followed by 310 yards against the Volunteers, 376 against Kentucky, and 408 yards in a losing effort against Georgia Tech. Georgia went on to defeat Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl and Stafford was named the game’s MVP.

Stafford’s stats do nothing to belie the fact that he is one of the great pocket passers in college football. While his ability to scramble has some room for improvement, he possesses reliable speed and can adapt when the play breaks. His long range passing, the cornerstone of his talent, helps make up for his faults as well, sending bullets in for first downs or bombs out to the end zone. Completing around 60 percent of his passers last year tells us of the accuracy of his artillery as well.

After that great last season, sportswriters across the country began making predictions. What do you suppose would happen if Matthew Stafford dropped out and entered the draft? When would he be selected? It’d have to be #1 right? The rumor mill was in full swing. What teams would be interested in a quarterback with good decision-making abilities and a freakishly powerful arm? Rather than finish his degree, upon completion of his junior year Stafford opted to find out. Stafford’s been all over TV lately, getting asked the same questions over and over again, being told barely amusing anecdotes in the 10 minute preamble to the recitation of his own personal FAQ, and trying his best to be excited about whatever team it seems is interested in him at the time without possibly offending the others that might be his new best friend come April.

Whether or not Stafford becomes the next mega-star quarterback in the NFL remains to be see. It could certainly be true. Besides, even if the fickle luck of the NFL changes on him, he made not have a degree to fall back on, but he can still dunk.

Latest on Stafford

The Lions, having the first pick in this year’s draft, are the favorites to get Stafford. He has even publicly stated his favorable opinion of working with the team from the ground up. However, recent comments by Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz indicate a distinct possibility that the Lions will be looking to reconstruct their team from the offensive and defensive lines first, rather than placing all their aspirations on a star quarterback. The scouting combine last week has done nothing to dissuade that opinion either, though nothing is as of yet confirmed.

Career

Matthew Stafford Bio at Georgiadogs.com
Matthew Stafford Bio at Georgiadogs.com has season and career stats.

News and Commentary

’09 NFL Draft: Top 10 QB Prospects
Matthew Stafford named one of the top 10 QB prospects by Sports Illustrated.

Stafford Named To Davey O’Brien Award Watch List
Stafford Named Semifinalist For 2008 O’Brien Quarterback Award

Stafford nominated for the award for best quarterback of 2008.

UGA Sports Player of the Week – Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford named player of the week for 8/31/08.

Stafford Says

On becoming a Detroit Lion
“I’d love to be a part of something like that. I’m a competitive guy and love a challenge, and that would definitely be a fun situation for me.”

Sources and links:

About.com
Online Athens Blogs
Wikipedia

Wells once told his father that he wanted to be the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. Though this did not come true, Wells was a true freshman in his first year at Ohio State, playing in all 13 games. Even though he was just one player on a talented offense, Wells still finished second on the team in rushing with 576 yards on 104 carries.

By his second year, the spotlight was officially on Wells, and he was voted Most Valuable Player by his teammates. Wells rushed for 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns, which ranked him fourth among all-time OSU single-season running backs and first among sophomore rushers.

But a memorable 38-24 loss to LSU in the 2008 BCS title game still haunts Wells and the Ohio State campus. In his third (and likely final) college season, Wells is projected by many to win the Heisman. Along with quarterback Todd Boeckman and an outstanding defense, Wells is expected to lead the Buckeyes to yet another BCS national championship.

An Ohio boy through and through, Wells was raised by his parents in Akron, Ohio along with his ten siblings. Ohio State was always the first choice for Wells, who was scouted by many prestigious schools after his time at Akron Garfield High School. It’s only been two years at OSU, but former Buckeye and two-time Heisman Trophy Winner Archie Griffin is already comparing “Beanie” to Jim Brown.

Obviously, this young man has boundless potential. If he can get over his nagging ankle and wrist injuries, he’ll likely fulfill it.

Wells on the Web

Ohio State Buckeyes: Official player page for Wells
Find career stats, highlights and a bio on Wells at OSU’s official player page.

ESPN.com player profile page for Wells
Find game by game stats, scores and a small bio on Wells at ESPN.com.

Rotoworld player page for Wells
Check out all the latest player news on Wells at Rotoworld.com.

The best Chris Wells fansite
A fansite dedicated to Chris “Beanie” Wells.

Latest on Wells

Wells will return for his junior year at Ohio State. Based off his phenomenal sophomore year— rushing for 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns—he is a likely candidate to win this year’s Heisman Trophy.

News and Commentary

Sports Illustrated.com: 2008 Heisman candidate breakdown
SI.com expects Wells to be among one of the leading vote-getters for the Heisman in 2008.

Is Wells the next Jim Brown?
The Cleveland Plain-Dealer discusses whether or not Wells is the next Jim Brown, a legendary runner for the Browns.

Beanie says ankle injury nothing to worry about
Even though Wells is expected to compete for the Heisman Trophy in 2008, he does have a history of injuries.

Wells Says

On his nickname

“I got the nickname because when I was a baby, I came out and my big brother said I had a bean head.”

On Americans being fed up with Ohio State

“We don’t have to prove ourselves to anyone. We just go out there, play our game, and move on.”

On Archie Griffin comparing him to Jim Brown

“It’s just incredible to even be mentioned in the same sentence as Jim Brown, let alone have Archie Griffin, a two-time Heisman Trophy winner, say it.”

On how often he thinks about winning the Heisman

“All the time.”