Saturday 7 November 2009

Saturday's highlights


Four games are on my schedule today, with thoughts on all before the end of the weekend. Here are the games I'll be watching and what I'll be looking out for:

Northwestern vs Iowa
Another chance to watch Bryan Bulaga, a junior offensive tackle who could declare for the 2010 draft. He'll be coming up against another potential first round pick - defensive end Corey Wootton. My initial thoughts were that Bulaga projects as a better right tackle prospect in the NFL, we'll see if today changes that opinion.

LSU vs Alabama
How does Tigers wide out Brandon LaFell perform against the Crimson Tide defense? He hasn't been helped by inconsistent quarterback play this year. He could be a first round pick but he didn't have much of an impact last time I watched LSU against Florida. There are a few other pro-prospects to watch in this game.

Ohio State vs Penn State
Seattle won't take a linebacker in the first round next year, but one prospect who's moving up draft boards is the Nittany Lions' Sean Lee. This should be a battle of defenses and by no means a pretty game of football and for the first time in a while, there aren't any big name Buckeye's expected to go in round one.

Oklahoma vs Nebraska
It's all about defensive tackles. My #1 overall prospect (Ndamukong Suh) against my #2 overall prospect (Gerald McCoy). It's a chance to watch two guys with pro-bowl potential. Scouts will be heavily in attendance and whoever performs the best could get an edge in terms of draft stock. It's also worth keeping an eye on Suh's DT partner Jared Crick who's also flashed potential at times this year, none more so than last week when he recorded 13 tackles and five sacks against Baylor.

7 comments:

1stHill said...

If anyone is watching the Washington vs. UCLA game, here are a few players to keep an eye on;

Washington players
QB #10 Jake Locker (junior) - I’m sure everybody knows about Locker.
RB #1 Chris Polk (red shirt freshman) -Polk has a great combination of speed and power. He gets a ton of yards after contact. He might be the best pro prospect at the RB position in the Pac-10.
LB #9 Mason Foster (senior) - Foster is a playmaker for the Husky defense. He should be a late round pick.

UCLA players
DT #92 Brian Price (junior) - He has a quick first step, plays with great leverage, & lives in opposing teams backfield. He reminds me of our own Brandon Mebane. Price should be a 1st round selection either this year or next year.
FS #3 Rahim Moore (sophomore) - Great ball hawking safety.

Patrick said...

Rob, you know how much I admire Jahvid Best and that was absolutely terrible. Here's hoping everything is alright and he comes out of this all ok.

Rob Staton said...

Completely agree Patrick. They just cut away from Nebraska v Oklahoma to show the injury and I can only hope they were just being ultra-careful with Best because otherwise it looked quite serious. Still waiting for further information but fingers crossed.

1stHill said...

The game announcers just passed along an update on Best, they said he has a concussion and has movement in all his extremities. It sounds positive. When they took him off the field on a stretcher, he was not moving and he looked horrible. I’m glad it’s not a spinal injury.

Rob Staton said...

The fact his helmet flew off may have made it look a little worse than it was - even still it was a nasty fall. Let's hope it is just a concussion and not a spine or back injury.

Patrick said...

I absolutely Agree. Finding updates has been pretty difficult so far, but his ability to move his extremedies is a very encouraging sign. I was watching the game and immediatly after he scored, the camera showed him on the ground absolutely still. I honestly believed he was doing a celebration and pretending to sleep. I was horribly wrong and now I just hope he is alright.

Rob Staton said...

The messages at the moment are saying concussion and the fact he can move around instantly suggests it isn't a serious neck or spine injury - something that had to be feared when you watch how badly he landed on the turf.

It sounds positive so far, fingers crossed.