A funny thing happened when the NFL draft’s entry deadline passed Thursday night: A slew of premier underclassmen gave the pros a stiff arm and opted for another season of college football. Headlining the "school-is-cool" legion were the top three finishers in last season’s Heisman Trophy balloting, quarterbacks Sam Bradford of Oklahoma, Colt McCoy of Texas and Tim Tebow of Florida.
Several others, especially in the Big 12 Conference, put NFL riches on hold: Oklahoma tight end Jermaine Gresham, offensive tackle Trent Williams and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, Texas linebacker Sergio Kindle, Nebraska defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh, Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon and Oklahoma State offensive tackle Russell Okung.
One upshot of such decisions is the trickle-down effect on other players in the draft. As Thursday’s deadline passed, a couple former Missouri Tigers figured to benefit significantly: Safety William Moore and defensive tackle Ziggy Hood might see their draft stocks rise quickly now that a few projected first-round picks have returned to school.
"Any time you have a guy projected higher than you who doesn’t go into the draft, that only helps you,"
said NFL agent Andy Ross, who represents Moore and Hood. "The hard part is, this year in particular, there’s so many good underclassmen who have declared. And if they perform, they’re going to take up a lot of those top spots."
That’s why this Saturday’s Senior Bowl is so crucial for Moore and Hood. The former teammates are scheduled to arrive in Mobile, Ala., this weekend to start practices at the annual all-star game, several of which will be televised live throughout the week on NFL Network. The game kicks off at 6 p.m. on Saturday and will be on NFL Network. Ten other Big 12 players will be in Mobile, along with more than 800 NFL executives, coaches and scouts.
For Moore and Hood, the NFL job interview continues with next month’s NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, where they’ll be joined by former MU quarterback Chase Daniel, tight end Chase Coffman and defensive end Stryker Sulak.
Daniel certainly hurt his chances of being drafted by going 2 for 7 for 1 yard as the East starter in yesterday’s East-West Shrine Game in Houston. Sulak also suited up for the East team.
Moore was widely considered one of the draft’s two or three top safeties, but when potential top-10 pick Taylor Mays opted to return to Southern California for his senior season, Moore might have cemented his case as the best safety available. Scouts Inc., the scouting service that evaluates players for ESPN, lists Moore as the draft’s 29th-best player and No. 1 safety overall.
"With his size and speed, if he can do what he’s capable of doing at the combine, there’s no reason he can’t be the first safety drafted,"
said Ross, who works for Octagon Sports and also represents former MU receiver and current Kansas City Chief Will Franklin. "He has that unique combination of size and speed that teams covet. I really think when people watch the film, especially from his junior year, they see a big-time playmaker."
In terms of tackles and interceptions, Moore’s production dropped off his senior season. Moore had eight picks in 2007 and just one in 2008, but he fought through multiple injuries and often played closer to the line of scrimmage as MU’s nickelback this season, not his more natural deep safety position. That willingness to switch positions, Ross said, can be viewed as a plus.
"Whatever scheme the coaches decide to put him in, he’s willing to do whatever it took,"
Ross said. "He wasn’t an ‘I’ guy; he was a ‘we’ guy."
Scouts Inc. rated Hood the No. 9 defensive tackle available - but that was before Thursday’s entry deadline. Four of the players ranked ahead of Hood are coming back to school: OU’s McCoy, Nebraska’s Suh, Alabama’s Terrence Cody and Georgia’s Geno Atkins.
With impressive performances in Mobile and Indianapolis, Hood could conceivably push himself into the first day of the draft, which includes the first three rounds. Since 2001, an average of three and a half defensive tackles per year have been selected in the first round.
"He shows a unique explosiveness off the line,"
Ross said of Hood. "He’s able to take on double teams and stuff the run, but at the same time, when you let him go, he’s able to break through and get after the quarterback."
For the last few weeks, Hood has been working out in Atlanta at Chip Smith’s Competitive Edge Sports, a facility that specializes in training football linemen. Moore has been in Tempe, Ariz., training at Athletes’ Performance.
Live practice coverage of the Senior Bowl begins at 3 p.m. tomorrow on NFL Network.
? NEWCOMERS GET HEAD START: Four incoming freshmen football players are expected to begin classes at MU when the spring semester begins Tuesday. Quarterbacks Blaine Dalton and Ashton Glaser, linebacker Andrew Wilson and tight end Alex Sanders have left their high schools early and enrolled at MU. All but Sanders are expected to participate in MU’s spring practices. That’s because the Springfield native from Glendale High School underwent surgery last week in Columbia to repair the torn knee ligament he suffered last fall. Sanders will rehabilitate under the watch of MU’s training staff.
Junior college transfers Jarrell Harrison and Josh Tatum, both from San Francisco City College, are also expected to enroll in time for spring practices.
? RAISING ‘CANE: A month after telling reporters he was finished visiting other schools, prized recruit and Missouri commitment Sheldon Richardson will do just that. Richardson, a tight end/defensive lineman from Gateway Tech in St. Louis, can’t seem to resist the Miami Hurricanes. Though last month he bolstered his pledge to Missouri, saying he’d no longer consider visiting other suitors, Richardson told Rivals.com last week he plans to be in Miami at the end of the month, just a few days before recruits can sign national letters of intent on Feb. 4.‘
If anything, Richardson is putting a generous strain on the definition of "commitment."
"I’m still committed"
to Missouri, Richardson told Rivals.com last week. "I couldn’t even tell you how much Miami is in it. We’ll just have to wait and see. … They want me at tight end … and that they’d love to have me at Miami. That flatters me. They keep it real, say we need you, that they’ll get me playing time my freshman year."
