Mocking the NFL — 2010
By John Helsley
You want ‘em, and yes, you know you do, so you’re getting them: more NFL mock drafts, not even a week removed from this year’s player grabfest, with the first mocks for 2010 already flowing out.
As if we didn’t already know, 2010′s NFL Draft is going to be one to monitor very closely, Sooner fans. Your boys are all over it.
At foxsports.com, Peter Schrager’s early exercise projects OU defensive tackle Gerald McCoy as the No. 1 pick , once again going to the lowly Lions. Right behind McCoy, Sam Bradford goes at No. 2 to the Rams.
And the rest of the first round is dotted with Sooners.
Offensive tackle Trent Williams at No. 6, to the Raiders, which would seem all too sensible for Al Davis to pull off.
Tight end Jermaine Gresham at No. 10 to the Packers.
Over at SI.com, Andrew Perloff has more fun, plotting trades in his first round, which leads to Bradford going off the board first, although still to the Rams, who move up from the fourth spot in a deal with the Lions (yes, they’re still going to be really bad, they just don’t need a QB and plenty of teams that do could come calling for a shot at Sammy B.)
Perloff has McCoy going No. 3 to the Buccaneers, Williams going 10th to the Packers, Gresham going 24th to the Titans and running back DeMarco Murray going No. 32 to the Chargers, his pick to win it all.
Yeah, it’s early. Way early.
But it’s fun.
3 sign FA contracts
At least three Oklahoma Sooners who weren’t selected in the NFL Draft over the weekend have agreed to terms as free agents.
Center Jon Cooper (Minnesota Vikings), free safety Lendy Holmes (Washington Redskins) and guard Brandon Walker (Houston Texans) are all expected to sign rookie contracts with their respective teams.
By Jake Trotter
Grimble to USC
Sooner fans got some bad recruiting news this week, when Las Vegas Bishop Gorman tight end Xavier Grimble committed to USC. Many had thought that the 4-star prospect was headed to Oklahoma, continuing the Gorman pipeline that has included tailback DeMarco Murray, linebacker Ryan Reynolds, graduate assistant coach David White and defensive end Justin Chaisson (who may or may not make it to campus depending on what transpires in his felony assault trial).
The Sooners will be fine at tight end without Grimble. But the streak of plucking the Catholic school’s annual best prospect is over.
By Jake Trotter
Sooners could surge in the NFL Draft
By John Helsley
For Oklahoma’s NFL draft hopefuls, there’s nothing certain about what will happen come Saturday and Sunday.
No certain first rounders, although it’s possible.
No certain take on any of the prospects, with varying opinions attached to all.
No certain way to handle the agony of waiting around to hear your name called.
And yet, it’s worth staying tuned for at least three hopeful former Sooners: Duke Robinson, Phil Loadholt and Juaquin Iglesias. Any and each of the three could be gone by the early stages of the second round.
That’s the glass-half-full scenario, for sure.
The glass-half-empty version: Nobody goes until Day 2.
And either scenario is possible. That’s how clouded the crystal ball appears entering this year’s draft for the Sooners. Some teams like OU’s prospects, some not at all. So depending on who’s choosing and who’s available at that slot, there’s no telling when they’ll go off the board.
Over at ESPN, Todd McShay has Loadholt going first among the Sooners, with the 22nd pick in the second round and No. 54 overall, to Minnesota. He’s got Robinson going midway through Round 3 and Iglesias going in Round 5, just ahead of teammate Nic Harris. And get this, McShay has Lendy Holmes going in the seventh round — last overall, as Mr. Irrelevent.
Still, while McShay is sharp, it’s just one man’s take on a draft that may be as difficult to project as any in recent memory.
Loadholt is a great example. There are teams that don’t like him at all, fearing his pro career will resemble the Fiesta Bowl loss to West Virginia, when he was beaten regularly by the speed rush. And there are teams that get a load of the big man’s size and athleticism and believe he can be a fixture at offensive tackle for years to come.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are the kind of team that loves linemen like Robinson, a power-blocking force in the running game. And they’re getting old along their front. There’s some thought he could go to the Steelers with the last pick in Round 1.
Iglesias isn’t a deep burner, which hurts him in some eyes. But he’s a disciplined route runner who isn’t afraid to go across the middle, making him an ideal slot receiver. And those guys — thanks to Wes Welker — are enjoying an elevated status of late. So the 5th round may be too late for Iglesias.
But who knows?
The only thing certain about this NFL Draft is that nothing’s certain, especially when it comes to the Sooners.
Iglesias talks NFL Draft
Juaquin Iglesias’ hometown newspaper caught up with the former Sooner wide receivers days before this weekend’s NFL Draft.
“As a child I don’t think it was just one,” Iglesias said. “It was like all the (Dallas) Cowboys. Troy Aikman, Deion Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin – all those guys were really my sports heroes.”
Here’s what else Iglesias had to say:
By Jake Trotter
Catching up with Allen Patrick, Reggie Smith
I caught up with former Oklahoma standouts Allen Patrick and Reggie Smith, who were both in town this weekend for Tommie Harris’ annual charity golf tournament.
Smith, a defensive back, is heading into his second season with the San Francisco 49ers.
Patrick, a running back originally drafted by Baltimore last year, is now with the Cleveland Browns.
Here’s some of what they had to say:
Trotter: What did you guys learn from your first years in the NFL?
Smith: Patience.
Patrick: You have to have a lot of patience, the whole thing of the NFL, you have to be professional in everything you do outside of football, stayed grounded, keep yourself humble all the time.
Trotter: So you learned pretty quickly, it’s a business, a little bit different than college?
Smith: A lot of it’s on you. You don’t have anybody walking you through things.
Trotter: Is the physical demand tougher than college?
Patrick: I don’t think so.
Smith: Not if you went through Schmidty (OU strength coach Jerry Schmidt) every day.
Patrick: Coming from Oklahoma, going through the workouts are pretty much the same.
Trotter: Reggie, I hear your changing positions, going from cornerback to safety this year?
Smith: Yeah, I’m supposed to play more safety and some nickel.
Trotter: Allen, you went from Baltimore to Cleveland, what was that move like?
Patrick: It was a big change of scenery, they’re rivals. I’m just trying to fit in. I’m enjoying the place, trying to make something happen.
Trotter: You guys keep up with some of the other Sooners from your class in the NFL?
Smith: I talk to Curtis (Lofton). I need to call Allen a little bit more, I haven’t called him. This is the first time I’ve seen him since we left school.
Trotter: What do you guys think about this OU team, and what did you think about the team this past season?
Patrick: Phenomenal. Wish them guys would’ve played like that when we was here. This upcoming season is going to be good. I hear the defense is looking pretty good. The offense still kind of shaky with the offensive line.
Smith: Same. Just depends on how far that line wants to take it. But they could make another run.
By Jake Trotter
Loadholt in Baltimore
Spoke with former OU offensive tackle Phil Loadholt, who said he was in Baltimore Wed. visiting with the Ravens. The Ravens, historically, love drafting or picking up Sooners. Look further than Mark Clayton, Corey Ivy and Kelly Gregg as examples of that. Even though he’s no longer with the team, they drafted running back Allen Patrick last year.
Loadholt was in Oakland earlier this week. The Raiders, reportedly, are in the market for a tackle, either in the first or second round. The buzz around draft circles is that Loadholt is going to go early in the second round, and has a chance to go late first.
No other Sooner has a chance of going that high. Juaquin Iglesias and Duke Robinson are probably more likely going to be taken between rounds 2 and 4.
By Jake Trotter
Waiting on Willie – No More! (Updated)
By John Helsley
We, and Jeff Capel, were waiting on Willie Warren to finalize his playing plans for next season (should he stay/should he go?).
The waiting is over. And for you, Sooners fans, and yes Capel, too, the news was worth waiting for. Warren has announced that he’ll be returning for at least another season at OU.
It couldn’t have been an easy decision for Warren.
While Warren may not be ready to hold down a regular job in the NBA, due to a weak draft he was being projected as a likely lottery pick if he made himself available for the NBA Draft.
That means big bucks, somewhere in the $2 million neighborhood, plus or minus a couple hundred thousand, if he’d gone from No. 6 to No. 10 as most projections place him.
That’s quite a few downloads for the iPod.
And yet, there’s much to gain for Warren in his return to the Sooners (See Griffin, Blake).
This isn’t to say that Warren’s situation will mirror Griffin, who went from a lottery pick to the lock to be picked No. 1 overall. But like Griffin, Warren can grow his game, play a bunch — not a given in the NBA — and leave his imprint on the program in a system that will better reflect his skills.
Willie, to his credit, fit into OU’s Griffin-dominated style this season.
Next year, it would be his team; his style, featuring him breaking down defenses off the dribble, creating for himself and teammates. He could lead the Big 12 in scoring and lead the Sooners on another extended postseason run.
All the while, he can work out some flaws and make himself more ready to make an impact in his rookie season in the NBA. And have some fun living the college life along the way. That’s worked out pretty well for Sam Bradford, Gerald McCoy, Griffin and others.
Scouts like his potential. Check out this link.
And yet, if he’d jumped, his playing time would have come down to how well he fixes a few things on the fly.
Scouts don’t like his shot, which is hoisted from his shoulders. At the college level, defenders have to respect Warren’s quickness, so they back off, which allows Warren to get his shot off. In the NBA, speedy defenders will be in his grill.
At some point, Warren will have to extend his shot up over his head.
Clearly, Warren faced a difficult decision.
And yet, there was no wrong choice. This one will go over well in Norman.
College Football Hall coming to Dallas?
A group of area political and civic leaders, as well as football legends such as Roger Staubach and Deion Sanders and oilman T. Boone Pickens, are pursuing relocating the College Football Hall of Fame from South Bend, Ind., to downtown Dallas, the Dallas Morning News reported Wed.
The group says it’s willing to pay for the entire cost of relocating, building and launching the facility, which would be slated for construction next to a planned Dallas Convention Center hotel at Young, Market and Lamar streets.
To read the full story: Dallas
The College Football Hall of Fame is stocked with former Sooners from center Tom Brahaney, who was inducted last year, to coach Bennie Owen, inducted in 1951. But I doubt many Sooner fans have been to South Bend to see the Hall.
But if the Hall somehow relocated to Dallas, it would probably become a regular stop for Sooner fans, since OU plays in Dallas anywhere from 1-3 times a year.
Because of Dallas’ tradition in college football, and because of the money they’re going to throw at this, I think this is a definite possibility.
By Jake Trotter
Loadholt in Oakland
Spoke with someone from Phil Loadholt’s agency Monday, who said the former Sooner offensive tackle was in Oakland to hold a private workout for the Raiders.
The draft is April 25-26. Loadholt is being projected by some analysts to go as high as the second round. The fact that he’s be flown out to visit a number of different teams (he was in Pittsburgh last week) is a good sign that the 6-foot-8, 330-pound tackle will go on Day 1 of the draft.
In other news, former Sooner DB Lendy Holmes was in Dallas on Monday to work out with a number of other players for the Cowboys, according to DallasCowboys.com. The Cowboys are looking for depth in the defensive backfield, having waived former Sooner Roy Williams earlier this off-season.
By Jake Trotter
