2012: A look ahead at the prospects

[clyde_carbon]

With college football season coming soon, I thought I'd list some of the higher-profile prospects for people to keep an eye on. The italicized names are the players that are eligible to return to school. They are listed alphabetically by position.

QB:
- Matt Barkley, USC
- Kirk Cousins, Michigan St.
- Nick Foles, Arizona
- Robert Griffin III, Baylor
- Landry Jones, Oklahoma
- Ryan Katz, Oregon St.
- G.J. Kinne, Tulsa
- Case Keenum, Houston
- Ryan Lindley, San Diego St.
- Andrew Luck, Stanford
- Kellen Moore, Boise St.
- Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M
- Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech
- Jeff Tuel, Washington St.
- Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma St.
- Tyler Wilson, Arkansas


RB:
- Edwin Baker, Michigan St.
- Montee Ball, Wisconsin
- Bryce Brown, Kansas St.
- Andre Ellington, Clemson
- Cyrus Gray, Texas A&M
- Boom Herron, Ohio St.
- LaMichael James, Oregon
- Doug Martin, Boise St.
- Christine Michael, Texas A&M
- LaMarr Miller, Miami
- Bernard Pierce, Temple
- Chris Polk, Washington
- Trent Richardson, Alabama
- Ed Wesley, TCU
- David Wilson, Virginia Tech


WRs:
- Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma St.
- Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma
- Greg Childs, Arkasas
- Juron Criner, Arizona
- Michael Floyd, Notre Dame
- Jeff Fuller, Texas A&M
- Alshon Jeffery, South Carolina
- Dwight Jones, North Carolina
- Jermaine Kearse, Washington
- Tavarres King, Georgia
- Marquis Maze, Alabama
- Marvin McNutt, Iowa
- Chris Owusu, Stanford
- DeVier Posey, Ohio St.
- Chris Rainey, Florida
- Mohamed Sanu, Rutgers
- Nick Toon, Wisconsin


TEs:
- Dwayne Allen, Clemson
- Orson Charles, Georgia
- Michael Egnew, Missouri
- Coby Fleener, Stanford
- Ladarius Green, Lousiana-Lafayette
- David Paulson, Oregon


OTs:
- Levy Adcock, Oklahoma St.
- Mike Adams, Ohio St.
- Andrew Datko, Florida St.
- Blake DeChristopher, Virginia Tech
- D.J. Fluker, Alabama
- Matt Kalil, USC
- Jonathan Martin, Stanford
- Bobby Massie, Ole Miss
- Brandon Mosley, Auburn
- Xavier Nixon, Florida
- Nate Potter, Boise St.
- Riley Reiff, Iowa
- Matt Reynolds, BYU
- Ricky Wagner, Wisconsin


OGs/C:
- Mike Brewster, Ohio St.
- David DeCastro, Stanford
- Cordy Glenn, Georgia
- Dalton Freeman, Clemson
- Khaled Holmes, USC
- Barrett Jones, Alabama
- Ben Jones, Georgia
- Peter Konz, Wisconsin
- Lucas Nix, Pittsburgh
- Kelechi Osemele, Iowa St.
- Chance Warmack, Alabama
- Brandon Washington, Miami
- William Vlachos, Alabama


DT:
- Josh Chapman, Alabama
- Jared Crick, Nebraska
- Marcus Forston, Miami
- Dave Kruger, Utah
- Dontari Poe, Memphis
- Kheeston Randall, Texas
- Kawann Short, Purdue
- Baker Steinkuhler, Nebraska
- Devon Still, Penn St.
- Alameda Ta'amu, Washington
- Brandon Thompson, Clemson
- Jerel Worthy, Michigan St.


DEs:
- Andre Branch, Clemson
- Jack Crawford, Penn St.
- Quintin Coples, North Carolina
- Vinny Curry, Marshall
- Malliciah Goodman, Clemson
- Trevor Guyton, California
- Brandon Jenkins, Florida St.
- Wes Horton, USC
- Brad Madison, Missouri
- Jonathan Massaquoi, Troy
- Kerry Murphy, Alabama
- Alex Okafor, Texas
- Donte Paige-Moss, North Carolina
- Nick Perry, USC
- John Simon, Ohio St.
- Devin Taylor, South Carolina
- Billy Winn, Boise St.


LBs:
- Vontaze Burfict, Arizona St.
- Lavonte David, Nebraska
- Dont'a Hightower, Alabama
- Gerald Hodges, Penn St.
- Bruce Irvin, West Virginia
- Nico Johnson, Alabama
- Luke Kuechly, Boston College
- Ronnell Lewis, Oklahoma
- Travis Lewis, Oklahoma
- Shayne Skov, Stanford
- Sean Spence, Miami
- Kenny Tate, Maryland
- Manti Te'o, Notre Dame
- Courtney Upshaw, Alabama
- Cornelius Washington, Georgia


CBs:
- Brandon Boykin, Georgia
- Morris Claiborne, LSU
- Alfonzo Dennard, Nebraska
- Donnie Fletcher, Boston College
- Stephon Gilmore, South Carolina
- Cliff Harris, Oregon
- Jayron Hosley, Virginia Tech
- Travis Howard, Ohio St.
- Janoris Jenkins, North Alabama
- Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama
- Brandon McGee, Miami
- Chase Minnifield, Virginia
- Greg Reid, Florida St.
- Desmond Trufant, Washington


S:
- Ray Ray Armstrong, Miami
- Mark Barron, Alabama
- Sean Cattouse, California
- Tony Dye, UCLA
- DeVonte Holloman, South Carolina
- Micah Hyde, Iowa
- Janzen Jackson, Tennessee
- Robert Lester, Alabama
- Markelle Martin, Oklahoma St.
- T.J. McDonald, USC
- Trenton Robinson, Michigan St.
- Eddie Whitley, Virginia Tech


This is obviously not everybody, but it's a start. Let me know if I forgot someone.

 

[numone9er]

Nice list clyde. Too bad we don't need help at Safety, or i would be all over T.J. McDonald. Too bad Merton Hanks doesn't have a son.

 

[clyde_carbon]

How could I forget Kerry Murphy?

 

[numone9er]

How about Brandon Weeden and Case Keenum as QB prospects?

 

[clyde_carbon]

Just added Keenum too. I think he's one of Z's favorites.

 

[numone9er]

Mohamed Sanu, WR - Rutgers
David Molk, C - Michigan (one of my favorite prospects)
Kyle Dooley, OG - TCU
Tanner Brock, ILB

 

[I_am_1z]

Just added Keenum too. I think he's one of Z's favorites.

Whoa! use to be one of my favorites... In a tense game against OSU (which Houston would end up winning), he saw him nearly throw a pick in the endzone in the late portion of the game. By some miracle of luck, the LB dropped the ball and a player on the cougars caught it for a TD. It wasn't only that play, but his throws down the stretch weren't what I had expected out of Keenum at the time. I totally dumped that guy!

I'd list Matt McGloin PSU's QB up there too. He's a JTO equivalent. Leader, very streaky, constant with T/O's.

 

[Jikkle]

Not really on the up and up with college ball so how does the CB look this year?

I would say as it stands now it'll probably be the #1 position we look to draft next year. Though WR might be up there but I think that will depend on how Edwards plays and if we can lock him up long term.

 

[BINGO]

With college football season coming soon, I thought I'd list some of the higher-profile prospects for people to keep an eye on. The italicized names are the players that are eligible to return to school. They are listed alphabetically by position.

QB:
- Matt Barkley, USC
- Kirk Cousins, Michigan St.
- Nick Foles, Arizona
- Robert Griffin III, Baylor
- Landry Jones, Oklahoma
- Ryan Katz, Oregon St.
- G.J. Kinne, Tulsa
- Case Keenum, Houston
- Ryan Lindley, San Diego St.
- Andrew Luck, Stanford
- Kellen Moore, Boise St.
- Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M
- Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech
- Jeff Tuel, Washington St.
- Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma St.
- Tyler Wilson, Arkansas


RB:
- Edwin Baker, Michigan St.
- Montee Ball, Wisconsin
- Bryce Brown, Kansas St.
- Andre Ellington, Clemson
- Cyrus Gray, Texas A&M
- Boom Herron, Ohio St.
- LaMichael James, Oregon
- Doug Martin, Boise St.
- Christine Michael, Texas A&M
- LaMarr Miller, Miami
- Bernard Pierce, Temple
- Chris Polk, Washington
- Trent Richardson, Alabama
- Ed Wesley, TCU


WRs:
- Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma St.
- Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma
- Greg Childs, Arkasas
- Juron Criner, Arizona
- Michael Floyd, Notre Dame
- Jeff Fuller, Texas A&M
- Alshon Jeffery, South Carolina
- Dwight Jones, North Carolina
- Jermaine Kearse, Washington
- Tavarres King, Georgia
- Marquis Maze, Alabama
- Marvin McNutt, Iowa
- Chris Owusu, Stanford
- DeVier Posey, Ohio St.
- Chris Rainey, Florida
- Mohamed Sanu, Rutgers
- Nick Toon, Wisconsin


TEs:
- Dwayne Allen, Clemson
- Orson Charles, Georgia
- Michael Egnew, Missouri
- Coby Fleener, Stanford
- Ladarius Green, Lousiana-Lafayette
- David Paulson, Oregon


OTs:
- Levy Adcock, Oklahoma St.
- Mike Adams, Ohio St.
- Andrew Datko, Florida St.
- D.J. Fluker, Alabama
- Matt Kalil, USC
- Jonathan Martin, Stanford
- Bobby Massie, Ole Miss
- Brandon Mosley, Auburn
- Xavier Nixon, Florida
- Nate Potter, Boise St.
- Riley Reiff, Iowa
- Matt Reynolds, BYU
- Ricky Wagner, Wisconsin


OGs/C:
- Mike Brewster, Ohio St.
- David DeCastro, Stanford
- Cordy Glenn, Georgia
- Dalton Freeman, Clemson
- Khaled Holmes, USC
- Barrett Jones, Alabama
- Ben Jones, Georgia
- Peter Konz, Wisconsin
- Lucas Nix, Pittsburgh
- Kelechi Osemele, Iowa St.
- Chance Warmack, Alabama
- Brandon Washington, Miami
- William Vlachos, Alabama


DT:
- Josh Chapman, Alabama
- Jared Crick, Nebraska
- Marcus Forston, Miami
- Dave Kruger, Utah
- Dontari Poe, Memphis
- Kheeston Randall, Texas
- Kawann Short, Purdue
- Baker Steinkuhler, Nebraska
- Devon Still, Penn St.
- Alameda Ta'amu, Washington
- Brandon Thompson, Clemson
- Jerel Worthy, Michigan St.


DEs:
- Andre Branch, Clemson
- Jack Crawford, Penn St.
- Quintin Coples, North Carolina
- Vinny Curry, Marshall
- Malliciah Goodman, Clemson
- Trevor Guyton, California
- Brandon Jenkins, Florida St.
- Wes Horton, USC
- Brad Madison, Missouri
- Jonathan Massaquoi, Troy
- Kerry Murphy, Alabama
- Alex Okafor, Texas
- Donte Paige-Moss, North Carolina
- Nick Perry, USC
- John Simon, Ohio St.
- Devin Taylor, South Carolina
- Billy Winn, Boise St.


LBs:
- Vontaze Burfict, Arizona St.
- Lavonte David, Nebraska
- Dont'a Hightower, Alabama
- Gerald Hodges, Penn St.
- Bruce Irvin, West Virginia
- Nico Johnson, Alabama
- Luke Kuechly, Boston College
- Ronnell Lewis, Oklahoma
- Travis Lewis, Oklahoma
- Shayne Skov, Stanford
- Sean Spence, Miami
- Kenny Tate, Maryland
- Manti Te'o, Notre Dame
- Courtney Upshaw, Alabama
- Cornelius Washington, Georgia


CBs:
- Brandon Boykin, Georgia
- Morris Claiborne, LSU
- Alfonzo Dennard, Nebraska
- Donnie Fletcher, Boston College
- Stephon Gilmore, South Carolina
- Cliff Harris, Oregon
- Jayron Hosley, Virginia Tech
- Travis Howard, Ohio St.
- Janoris Jenkins, North Alabama
- Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama
- Brandon McGee, Miami
- Chase Minnifield, Virginia
- Greg Reid, Florida St.
- Desmond Trufant, Washington


S:
- Ray Ray Armstrong, Miami
- Mark Barron, Alabama
- Sean Cattouse, California
- Tony Dye, UCLA
- DeVonte Holloman, South Carolina
- Micah Hyde, Iowa
- Janzen Jackson, Tennessee
- Robert Lester, Alabama
- Markelle Martin, Oklahoma St.
- T.J. McDonald, USC
- Trenton Robinson, Michigan St.
- Eddie Whitley, Virginia Tech


This is obviously not everybody, but it's a start. Let me know if I forgot someone.

RB-David Wilson; WR-Rueben Randle; WR-Uzoma Nwachukwu; LB-Keenan Robinson; LB-Zach Brown; CB-Coryell Judie; WR-Kevin Dorsey; and I know I am leaving others out.

 

[tallglassofwater007]

Nice list clyde. Too bad we don't need help at Safety, or i would be all over T.J. McDonald. Too bad Merton Hanks doesn't have a son.

Its gonna be interesting to see how he plays this year. He was pretty good last year, but I want to see if he makes any big strides. That could put him into an elite type category.

 

[CalamityX11]

Obviously a strong potential QB class....

We can always go FS if we can find one that will absolutely be better than Goldson.

We'll we have lots of 1 yr contracts, Edwards, Rogers etc... so it remains to be seen if CB or WR might need some hole clogging.

 

[mibaile5]

I love how Logan Thomas is on this list, yet he has never taken one snap as a starting QB. He definitely has all of the measurables of a Cam Newton..but does not have any of the experience.

David Wilson (RB-VT) should definitely be added, he is a beast and will have a breakout year as the starting RB.

Blake DeChristopher (OT) should probably be included, many draft sites have him as one of the top OT's this year.

 

[deep9er]

Nice list clyde. Too bad we don't need help at Safety, or i would be all over T.J. McDonald. Too bad Merton Hanks doesn't have a son.

don't think we'll need urgent help at Safety, but maybe later rounds?

isn't Goldson and Madieu Williams only signed for one year? i'd think Reggie Smith's contract would just about be up after this season?

 

[deep9er]

Obviously a strong potential QB class....

We can always go FS if we can find one that will absolutely be better than Goldson.

We'll we have lots of 1 yr contracts, Edwards, Rogers etc... so it remains to be seen if CB or WR might need some hole clogging.

i'm way over to the BPA side in round 1, but at this point we can only go by Need. so assuming all value is 'equal', QB could easily be the top need. unless CK goes bonkers (highly unlikely he'll even get much playing time) now, we can't pass on a solid QB prospect THINKING (not actually seeing) CK will be it.

we must secure the QB spot or suffer another 10 years of losing records.

 

[numone9er]

Its gonna be interesting to see how he plays this year. He was pretty good last year, but I want to see if he makes any big strides. That could put him into an elite type category.

I doubt he goes before round 2 or 3. He's not really considered an "elite" prospect yet. With a good showing this year I'm sure he could be, though.

 

[numone9er]

don't think we'll need urgent help at Safety, but maybe later rounds?

isn't Goldson and Madieu Williams only signed for one year? i'd think Reggie Smith's contract would just about be up after this season?

I was thinking something similar. I would assume we would re-sign Reggie Smith, but i wouldn't mind picking up McDonald in the 3rd round (if he lasts that long). He's a solid open field tackler from what i've seen.

 

[tallglassofwater007]

I doubt he goes before round 2 or 3. He's not really considered an "elite" prospect yet. With a good showing this year I'm sure he could be, though.

Thats assuming he even leaves early. But yeah, Im saying if he takes some big strides he could move into that category (at the collegiate level), not necessarily as a pro.

 

[CalamityX11]

i'm way over to the BPA side in round 1, but at this point we can only go by Need. so assuming all value is 'equal', QB could easily be the top need. unless CK goes bonkers (highly unlikely he'll even get much playing time) now, we can't pass on a solid QB prospect THINKING (not actually seeing) CK will be it.

we must secure the QB spot or suffer another 10 years of losing records.

I think we'll end up drafting end of top 10 between mids if we fail to make playoffs.

That being said, outside of Luck, are the other QBs worth taking in the first over seeing how CK performs?

 

[EaseUrStorm]

I think we'll end up drafting end of top 10 between mids if we fail to make playoffs.

That being said, outside of Luck, are the other QBs worth taking in the first over seeing how CK performs?

This will of course change a lot over the course of the season, but Barkley has to be on the radar if we're in that range.

 

[clyde_carbon]

I love how Logan Thomas is on this list, yet he has never taken one snap as a starting QB. He definitely has all of the measurables of a Cam Newton..but does not have any of the experience.

David Wilson (RB-VT) should definitely be added, he is a beast and will have a breakout year as the starting RB.

Blake DeChristopher (OT) should probably be included, many draft sites have him as one of the top OT's this year.

Well, Cam Newton didn't have the "experience" of Cam Newton before last year. Thomas is a top recruit and looked real good in limited time for Virginia Tech. I'm expecting him to blow up.

I can't believe I forgot Blake DeChristopher. I'll add him and David Wilson to the list.