Hard to Believe

With the completion of Rounds 1, 2, and 3, I am scratching my head in dis-belief. The following powerhouse programs had no one drafted in the first round. They are Southern California(USC), Louisiana State(LSU), Ohio State, Georgia, and Notre Dame. In the 2009 NFL draft, USC had 11 players drafted which was the most in college football and had multiple #1 picks as did Ohio State. I would not classify this as a changing of the guard but I would qualify this statement by saying out of the 5 schools mentioned, numerous underclassmen entered the 2009 draft. Ohio State perennially had at least 1 and possibly multiple #1 choices. With a series of underclassmen entering the draft every year, it can deplete your talent levels. Now of other interest to local fans, in the 2nd round, Pittsburgh Steelers chose DE/OLB Jason Worilds from Virginia Tech. Worilds was a 4th year Junior that came out early. He is an explosive up the field pass rusher coming off the edge and utilizes his quickness combined with an athletic counter move to be a dangerous one-on-one pass rusher. Can he transfer his talented to Outside Linebacker. The potential is there but he can create havoc as a pass rusher in the 4-3 defense.

The 3rd round selection out of Southern Methodist is 5'11"/185 Emmanuel Sanders. Sanders can be a slot receiver, has quickness out of his break, and shows the ability to stretch the defense with his deep patterns. He hands are good and he has bounce in his legs and the proper timing to high point the ball. His is somewhat slight in his body but has toughness to go across the middle of the field and not shy away from the vicious contact generated by Safeties. Onward to the latter rounds which are valuable choices.