Draft News and More
Miami junior cornerback Brandon Harris said Wednesday he hasn’t thought seriously about whether he’ll declare early for the NFL.
“Being young as I am, my mind changes daily,” Harris said. “As far as a decision, I’m not ready to make one yet. I’m kind of scared of it actually. It’s going to come so fast.”
Once BYU’s season ends, Matt Reynolds has a big decision to make. Reynolds must choose whether to return to Provo for his senior year or enter the 2011 National Football League draft. Will it be his last game in a Cougar uniform?
“I’ve thought about it, for sure. As far as decisions go, we haven’t made any,” said the 6-foot-6, 329-pounder this week. “We’re still kind of waiting before we make a decision. I’m just looking forward to the (New Mexico Bowl) and focused on that right now.”
When it comes time to decide his future, Reynolds will talk to his wife, Brianna, as well as his father, BYU assistant head coach Lance Reynolds (who played in the NFL), and his older brothers, Lance Jr., and Dallas, who are former Cougars, and younger brother Houston, who is a backup BYU O-lineman.
Houston has filed an appeal with the NCAA requesting a sixth year of eligibility for QB Case Keenum. Keenum, the school’s all-time leading passer, had his senior year cut short when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the third week of the campaign. The previous season, Keenum amassed almost 6,000 yards of total offense and threw for 48 touchdowns. In order to qualify for the additional year, though, Houston will have to prove that Keenum redshirted his true freshman because of injury.
PITTSBURGH, PA–We are all familiar with the Marx Brothers, most notably Groucho and his family of entertaining brothers during the 1900s until close into the 1950s. Although for being a coinsurer of football and not early motion pictures, when I hear the name Marx Brothers, I don’t think of Groucho and comedy acts. I think of the ‘Marks Brothers’, the duo of Mark Clayton and Mark Duper from the Miami Dolphins, the receivers who played with HOF quarterback Dan Marino. Nor do I recall little blue people living in the forest when I hear ‘Smurfs.’ The very first thing that pops into my head is the Washington Redskins trio of receivers (part of the ‘Fun Bunch’) Virgil Seay, Alvin Garrett, and Charlie Brown, who earned that nickname in
It’s almost time for the college bowl games to begin and the countdown clock to the NFL Draft is always ticking here. Each and every week we see prospects that elevate their draft stock, but we also see players that slide down draft boards for a number of different reasons. With that in mind, it’s time for another edition of “Draft Stock Report,” a list of six players that are on their way up draft boards and six other players that are heading in the opposite direction as of this writing.
STOCK UP
CAM NEWTON QB AUBURN: There couldn’t be a more polarizing figure in all of college football and even though this year has been filled with controversy, Newton is still going to be a very high
The Akron Zips of the MAC finished 1-11 in 2010, but even with the disappointing results there were some bright spots on the team and none of them were greater than the play of Jeremy LaFrance. Nothing shows a true competitor better than when things go for the worst and for LaFrance and his Zips teammates finishing 1-11 certainly provided some character checks. With college behind him the young man from Belle Chasse, Louisiana has aspirations to advance his talents to the next level, the NFL. Join host Bo Marchionte on the Player Spotlight Show with today’s guest Akron Zips Jeremy LaFrance.
A dome collapsing, a broken streak, a bad snap on an extra point, an injury to a star quarterback…just another week in the NFL. The playoff chase is on; only one team—the Patriots—has clinched a spot with three games remaining. Everyone is researching the tiebreak scenarios and trying to figure out what exactly “strength of victory is.” The AFC’s playoff teams are likely decided; even if the Jets and Ravens fail to win their respective divisions, it would take a major collapse for them not to qualify for a wild card with a two-game lead and three games remaining. In the NFC, it’s a little more muddled.
The swagger is gone. After being dismantled by the New England Patriots a week ago it’s fairly clear—Rex “Humpty Dumpty” Ryan didn’t
NEW YORK, NY–Before heading off to Glendale, Arizona to take on the Auburn Tigers, Oregon head coach Chip Kelly stopped in New York City to be honored by the Football Writers Association of America with the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.
Kelly, who was also a finalist for the award last year, led the Ducks to an unblemished 12-0 regular season record, a Pac-10 title and a berth in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game.
Kelly became the second Ducks head coach to win the trophy named after the legendary Grambling head coach Eddie Robinson, joining Rich Brooks (1994). Kelly is the first Pac-10 recipient of the award since Mike Price won while coaching Washington State in 1997.
The other
NEW YORK, NY–Before heading off to Glendale, Arizona to take on the Auburn Tigers, Oregon head coach Chip Kelly stopped in New York City to be honored by the Football Writers Association of America with the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.
Kelly, who was also a finalist for the award last year, led the Ducks to an unblemished 12-0 regular season record, a Pac-10 title and a berth in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game.
Kelly became the second Ducks head coach to win the trophy named after the legendary Grambling head coach Eddie Robinson, joining Rich Brooks (1994). Kelly is the first Pac-10 recipient of the award since Mike Price won while coaching Washington State in 1997.
The other
NEW YORK, NY–Earlier this week at the prestigious Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, Texas senior defensive end Sam Acho won the William V. Campbell Trophy.
The award is presented to the top senior scholar-athlete in combined academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership. It is considered by many to be the Heisman Trophy of academic awards.
Acho has started for the Longhorns for the past two seasons and is a two-time member of the Big 12 Conference’s all-academic team. This season he led Texas in sacks with nine and tackles for loss with 17 in his senior campaign.
When asked about being one of the 16 finalists Acho answered, “I’m just honored to be a part of this. Looking back, we had a winner of