Draft Day

by Paragon SC on Apr 26, 2008 4:43 AM PDT in Football

So, today's the day to see who gets drafted when and where?

This year's draft is different than the last 2 years, this is a group that is more under the radar than the stars of two years ago and of the early entrants from last year (OG Chilo Rachal is this years only early entrance). The draft for the most part is always a crapshoot, teams say one thing then do another. They use disinformation as well as the CIA does so one the first 4 picks are done that's when the chess match really begins. Of course there are no guarantees as to how a player will perform in the NFL in relationship to where he was drafted. So, in the end it's anyone's guess.

This year could be different than what we have seen the pat two years with SC having possibly 4 very productive players in taken in the first round.

Two years ago, USC's draft class was called a"perfect storm," by one agent, with a seeming unprecedented amount of talent to cause more than 3,000 fans to show up for their NFL workouts.

But on the actual draft day, only Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart emerged as first-round picks, while others like LenDale White and Winston Justice fell below expectations in the second round.

Even Leinart dropped to the 10th pick, and it was generally considered a disappointing day overall for the Trojans' class.

There are no real superstars among USC's current group of draft-eligible players, but this year's class could provide more first-round picks and less headaches for NFL teams worried about character questions.

"This is a really solid class of guys," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "There's no issues with the players coming out. They're good people and hard competitors and winners."

Nose tackle Sedrick Ellis and linebacker Keith Rivers are projected as top-15 picks and USC could sneak a third player into the first round as defensive end Lawrence Jackson is considered a top-35 pick.

There's also an outside chance a team might look at tight end Fred Davis in the first round.

I've made no secret that once a player leaves SC I don't really follow their career. I wish them luck and hope they do well but for the most part I check out former USC players usually with nothing more than a passing glance. Of course there are exceptions; with Steve Smith literally playing right down the street from where I live it was fun, but also painful, to talk about his USC accomplishments as I live with a rabid NY J-E-T-S fan, to my crazy NY Giants fan neighbors.

Of we wish all of USC players in the draft go as high as possible and that they get the chance to chase their dream in the NFL. As with any other draft it will be interesting to see just where everyone ends up. The NFL scouts can be a fickle bunch and what they said yesterday is not necessarily relevant today.

Good Luck Guys!

FIGHT ON!

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