One Week From Tonight

How far the NFL Draft has come in the past 50 years is phenominal! When the Steelers Coach Bill Austin looked at All-American Teams to today a total evaluation of the player in terms of athletic ability & skills, personality, medical concerns, and background. The draft used to have 20 rounds and now it has 7. In the 2009 draft, 256 players were chosen of which 234 were selected from Division 1A schools, 19 from Division 1AA schools, and a mere 3 from Division 2 schools with Division 3 and NAIA getting shut out. Out of the 3 from D-2 schools, two players were from Abilene Christian in Texas named WR Johnny Knox taken by the Bears and he had a
solid rookie season and Bernard Scott. Out of the remaining 149 Division 2 schools, only 1 player

was chosen. But if you go over NFL rosters, there are many Division 2 players that contribute to numerous teams. One of the best and very consistent players on the Steelers is D-2 DT Aaron Smith from Northern Colorado and another Northern Colorado guy is is real good is WR Vincent Jackson from the Chargers. One of the most under-rated O-Linemen in the entire league is Left Guard Todd Herremans of the Eagles from D-2 Saginaw Valley State. Let me tell one thing that the gurus DO NOT look at. They are the undrafted free agents that teams sign. This is where you find your Willie Parker's and James Harrison's and Kurt Warner's. Hey draftniks who study the draft need to also look at the Undrafted Free Agents.

How far has the draft come. On prime time Thursday April 22 at 7:30 PM to battle Grey's Anatomy which posts at 9 PM. What would you rather watch, a doctor talk to a nurse about their dating potential or who the Steelers will chose in the 1st Round