We're on the good list, and he says nice things about our facilities and staff. Prety good article, but I can't believe Sproles will go undrafted.
Which colleges are NFL factories, and which aren't?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/stewart_mandel/04/20/draft.programs/index.html
In a naïve fantasy, high school football recruits would pick a college based on the tree-lined quads, the renowned engineering program and their unquenchable desire to bring home a championship for good ol' State U. In reality, today's blue-chippers -- particularly the highest-rated ones -- have one criterium on their mind more than any other: Which program will best help get me to the League?
"It's what everyone dreams about that comes to play here, and we try to be real frank about it," said USC's Pete Carroll, himself a former NFL head coach. "We have tremendous NFL experience on our staff, our background and the way we teach is exactly the way they do up there. It's a selling point."
Today's recruits are more savvy than ever. They pay attention to which schools are churning out the most Sunday stars. So do NFL executives. It's no secret that recent Miami products (Ed Reed, Clinton Portis, Jeremy Shockey, Jonathan Vilma) have had an obscene amount of success at the next level, which can only help the players that come behind them.
"This year we don't have as many high-profile guys," said Hurricanes coach Larry Coker, "but there's some really good players here that, because they're coming out of this program, NFL people will take a very hard look at and maybe draft, where at another program maybe they wouldn't get drafted."
Here now is a look at the five current college programs that do the best job preparing players for the draft (note this is not a historical evaluation, but one based on recent draft success and current prospects), as well as five similarly high-profile programs that, at least recently, haven't been as suitable an NFL training ground:
Five programs that develop draft prospects ...
1. Miami: The track record is indisputable: 18 first-round draft picks over the past four years, including rookie sensations Portis, Reed, Shockey and Vilma, not to mention '90s products Ray Lewis, Warren Sapp and Edgerrin James. And as Coker points out, several of the recent high picks -- Portis, Reed, Phillip Buchanon -- weren't considered all-world prospects coming out of high school.
"They have to have the ability," said Coker, "but we really do help develop our players to the max."
How do they do that? Coaches and players alike credit the school's rigorous strength and conditioning program, the intensity of practices (in which a future NFL receiver may go against a future pro cornerback on a daily basis) and the fact that numerous ex-players now in the pros return to Coral Gables during the offseason and train with the current players, often pushing and motivating them. "It makes a real impact," Coker said.
2. USC: The Trojans don't yet have the track record of some other schools -- Carroll only arrived four years ago -- but there's no question USC is in the midst of producing its own Miami-like talent line. By a conservative estimate, there are about 20 future draft picks on this year's roster (led by Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Dwayne Jarrett), not including incoming freshmen.
Much of the credit goes to Carroll and his staff's recruiting prowess, but his program is also the closest thing to an NFL system in the way it operates. Most of the assistants have NFL experience (when four positions opened this offseason, he reached into the pro ranks to fill three of them), and elite players get maximum opportunity to develop their talents due to Carroll's willingness to put true freshman in key roles. "We work real hard to make visits from NFL scouts as beneficial as possible," said Carroll. "We offer our guys everything from A to Z as they go through the process."
3. Florida State: It wasn't long ago that the 'Noles would have been the undisputed leader of this list. They've slipped a bit in recent years, both on the field and on draft day (no first-round picks since 2002, though second-rounder Anquan Boldin turned into a star), but there's no shortage of talent remaining in Tallahassee. Alex Barron and Travis Johnson should both be first-rounders this year, and both are examples of players who improved tremendously throughout their careers. Bobby Bowden and his many veteran assistants have helped turn out countless future pros during their time there (Deion Sanders, Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn, et. al.), which brings instant credibility among future recruits.
4. Ohio State: The Buckeyes' draft prowess stretches back to about the midpoint of the John Cooper era. They had at least one player taken in the first round all but one year from '91 to '01, including 11 from '95 to '99 (Eddie George, Robert Smith, Orlando Pace, etc.), then, after a brief down period, stormed back last year with three first-rounders (Will Smith, Chris Gamble and Michael Jenkins) and a staggering 14 picks overall. No school in the country has better facilities and resources, and their tradition helps ensure that a continual stream of top-notch athletes will arrive in Columbus each autumn. Once they get there, head coach Jim Tressel and his staff have a sterling reputation for developing players' technique and fundamentals.
5. Tennessee: During his 13-year watch, head coach Phillip Fulmer has had 36 players selected in the first three rounds, including stars Peyton Manning, Jamal Lewis and Charlie Garner. The Vols have gone through their own rough patch recently -- no first-rounders since '02, and possibly none this year, either -- but that should change next year when DT Jesse Mahelona and DB Jason Allen are eligible, and they just reeled in the nation's No. 1 recruiting class. Tennessee has a tremendous indoor facility that allows players to train year-round, and the continuity among their coaching staff can be extremely beneficial to future prospects.
... and five programs that don't
1. Nebraska: The Huskers' old-fashioned, home-bred system produced championship-caliber college players, but they didn't exactly translate into sought-after NFL prospects. Lately, they haven't had much of either, having now gone seven years since their last first-round draft picks, Grant Wistrom and Jason Peter (star RB Ahman Green was a third-rounder that same year). New coach Bill Callahan's NFL background and pro-style offense should be more beneficial in that department, but after producing the school's first losing season in 40 years, it remains to be seen whether he'll last long enough to see the results.
2. Notre Dame: Hard as it is to believe, the game's most prestigious program has produced just one first-round pick this decade, center Jeff Faine in '03, and hasn't had more than one first-rounder in a single year since '94. While the reasons are up for debate -- Poor coaching? Poor recruiting? Academic restraints? -- it's no secret the Irish aren't producing the same caliber of athlete they were a decade ago. Notre Dame faithful are hoping the arrival of former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and his three Super Bowl rings will bring the same kind of credibility in recruiting as Carroll brought to USC.
3. Penn State: How bad are things in Happy Valley? The last linebacker to be drafted out of "Linebacker U" was LaVar Arrington in '00. And the last tailback from Joe Paterno's run-oriented offense to have any sustained NFL success was Blair Thomas 15 years ago. The Nittany Lions did have four first-round picks just two years ago (Larry Johnson, Bryant Johnson, Jimmy Kennedy and Michael Haynes), but none have yet to pan out, and besides Arrington, their only other recent No. 1 pick, Courtney Brown, was a colossal bust. Recent recruits Derrick Williams and Justin King will provide an interesting litmus test for Paterno's sytem: As of now, they're projected stars. Will they still be four years from now?
4. Kansas State: For all their success under Bill Snyder over the past decade -- six 11-win seasons, 11 straight bowl berths from '93-'03 -- the Wildcats have made barely a ripple on draft day, with only one first-round pick, CB Terence Newman, since '98, and only two total. Current prospect Darren Sproles, arguably the most accomplished player in school history, may not get drafted. This speaks less to a lack of development in Manhattan, though, than Snyder's reliance on "diamond-in-the-rough" type players like Sproles, whose dainty size (5-foot-7, 187 pounds) scared off bigger-name programs as a recruit and will likely scare off NFL teams as well.
5. Texas Tech: This one is directed solely at the quarterback position. With his innovative passing offense, Red Raiders head coach Mike Leach has produced three straight prolific passers, Kliff Kingsbury (NCAA career-record 1,231 completoins), B.J. Symons (NCAA single-season record 5,833 yards) and Sonny Cumbie (national-best 4,742 yards last season). Yet Kingsbury merited just a sixth-round selection, Cumbie the seventh round and Cumbie is expected to go undrafted. Clearly, NFL teams view Leach's quarterbacks as "products of the system," which is why, despite the opportunity to throw on nearly every down, the nation's elite QB recruits aren't exactly flocking to Lubbock.
<TABLE class=cnnTMbox cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=cnnIEBoxTitle>Assembly Lines</TD></TR><TR><TD class=cnnIEBoxSubTitle>Best programs for producing draft talent, by position (with recent selections)
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=cnnTMcontent><!-- tabled content area --><TABLE class=cnnTM cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=cnnIEHdrRowBG><TD class=cnnIEColHdrC>Pos.</TD><TD class=cnnIEColHdrL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">School (players)</TD></TR><TR class=cnnIERowAltBG><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>QB</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">Michigan (Tom Brady, Brian Griese, Elvis Grbac, Todd Collins)
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>RB</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">Tennessee (Travis Henry, Jamal Lewis, James Stewart, Charlie Garner)</TD></TR><TR class=cnnIERowAltBG><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>WR</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">
Florida St. (Anquan Boldin, Javon Walker, Peter Warrick, Laveranues Coles)
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>TE</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">
Miami (Jeremy Shockey, Bubba Franks, Kellen Winslow Jr.)
</TD></TR><TR class=cnnIERowAltBG><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>OL</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">
Iowa (Robert Gallery, Eric Steinbach, Ross Verba, Mike Goff)
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>DL</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">
Florida St. (Corey Simon, Derrick Alexander, Andre Wadsworth, Reinard Wilson)
</TD></TR><TR class=cnnIERowAltBG><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>LB</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">
Miami (Ray Lewis, Jonathan Vilma, Dan Morgan, D.J. Williams)
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>DB</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">
Miami (Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Phillip Buchanon, Mike Rumph)
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Which colleges are NFL factories, and which aren't?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/stewart_mandel/04/20/draft.programs/index.html
In a naïve fantasy, high school football recruits would pick a college based on the tree-lined quads, the renowned engineering program and their unquenchable desire to bring home a championship for good ol' State U. In reality, today's blue-chippers -- particularly the highest-rated ones -- have one criterium on their mind more than any other: Which program will best help get me to the League?
"It's what everyone dreams about that comes to play here, and we try to be real frank about it," said USC's Pete Carroll, himself a former NFL head coach. "We have tremendous NFL experience on our staff, our background and the way we teach is exactly the way they do up there. It's a selling point."
Today's recruits are more savvy than ever. They pay attention to which schools are churning out the most Sunday stars. So do NFL executives. It's no secret that recent Miami products (Ed Reed, Clinton Portis, Jeremy Shockey, Jonathan Vilma) have had an obscene amount of success at the next level, which can only help the players that come behind them.
"This year we don't have as many high-profile guys," said Hurricanes coach Larry Coker, "but there's some really good players here that, because they're coming out of this program, NFL people will take a very hard look at and maybe draft, where at another program maybe they wouldn't get drafted."
Here now is a look at the five current college programs that do the best job preparing players for the draft (note this is not a historical evaluation, but one based on recent draft success and current prospects), as well as five similarly high-profile programs that, at least recently, haven't been as suitable an NFL training ground:
Five programs that develop draft prospects ...
1. Miami: The track record is indisputable: 18 first-round draft picks over the past four years, including rookie sensations Portis, Reed, Shockey and Vilma, not to mention '90s products Ray Lewis, Warren Sapp and Edgerrin James. And as Coker points out, several of the recent high picks -- Portis, Reed, Phillip Buchanon -- weren't considered all-world prospects coming out of high school.
"They have to have the ability," said Coker, "but we really do help develop our players to the max."
How do they do that? Coaches and players alike credit the school's rigorous strength and conditioning program, the intensity of practices (in which a future NFL receiver may go against a future pro cornerback on a daily basis) and the fact that numerous ex-players now in the pros return to Coral Gables during the offseason and train with the current players, often pushing and motivating them. "It makes a real impact," Coker said.
2. USC: The Trojans don't yet have the track record of some other schools -- Carroll only arrived four years ago -- but there's no question USC is in the midst of producing its own Miami-like talent line. By a conservative estimate, there are about 20 future draft picks on this year's roster (led by Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Dwayne Jarrett), not including incoming freshmen.
Much of the credit goes to Carroll and his staff's recruiting prowess, but his program is also the closest thing to an NFL system in the way it operates. Most of the assistants have NFL experience (when four positions opened this offseason, he reached into the pro ranks to fill three of them), and elite players get maximum opportunity to develop their talents due to Carroll's willingness to put true freshman in key roles. "We work real hard to make visits from NFL scouts as beneficial as possible," said Carroll. "We offer our guys everything from A to Z as they go through the process."
3. Florida State: It wasn't long ago that the 'Noles would have been the undisputed leader of this list. They've slipped a bit in recent years, both on the field and on draft day (no first-round picks since 2002, though second-rounder Anquan Boldin turned into a star), but there's no shortage of talent remaining in Tallahassee. Alex Barron and Travis Johnson should both be first-rounders this year, and both are examples of players who improved tremendously throughout their careers. Bobby Bowden and his many veteran assistants have helped turn out countless future pros during their time there (Deion Sanders, Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn, et. al.), which brings instant credibility among future recruits.
4. Ohio State: The Buckeyes' draft prowess stretches back to about the midpoint of the John Cooper era. They had at least one player taken in the first round all but one year from '91 to '01, including 11 from '95 to '99 (Eddie George, Robert Smith, Orlando Pace, etc.), then, after a brief down period, stormed back last year with three first-rounders (Will Smith, Chris Gamble and Michael Jenkins) and a staggering 14 picks overall. No school in the country has better facilities and resources, and their tradition helps ensure that a continual stream of top-notch athletes will arrive in Columbus each autumn. Once they get there, head coach Jim Tressel and his staff have a sterling reputation for developing players' technique and fundamentals.
5. Tennessee: During his 13-year watch, head coach Phillip Fulmer has had 36 players selected in the first three rounds, including stars Peyton Manning, Jamal Lewis and Charlie Garner. The Vols have gone through their own rough patch recently -- no first-rounders since '02, and possibly none this year, either -- but that should change next year when DT Jesse Mahelona and DB Jason Allen are eligible, and they just reeled in the nation's No. 1 recruiting class. Tennessee has a tremendous indoor facility that allows players to train year-round, and the continuity among their coaching staff can be extremely beneficial to future prospects.
... and five programs that don't
1. Nebraska: The Huskers' old-fashioned, home-bred system produced championship-caliber college players, but they didn't exactly translate into sought-after NFL prospects. Lately, they haven't had much of either, having now gone seven years since their last first-round draft picks, Grant Wistrom and Jason Peter (star RB Ahman Green was a third-rounder that same year). New coach Bill Callahan's NFL background and pro-style offense should be more beneficial in that department, but after producing the school's first losing season in 40 years, it remains to be seen whether he'll last long enough to see the results.
2. Notre Dame: Hard as it is to believe, the game's most prestigious program has produced just one first-round pick this decade, center Jeff Faine in '03, and hasn't had more than one first-rounder in a single year since '94. While the reasons are up for debate -- Poor coaching? Poor recruiting? Academic restraints? -- it's no secret the Irish aren't producing the same caliber of athlete they were a decade ago. Notre Dame faithful are hoping the arrival of former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and his three Super Bowl rings will bring the same kind of credibility in recruiting as Carroll brought to USC.
3. Penn State: How bad are things in Happy Valley? The last linebacker to be drafted out of "Linebacker U" was LaVar Arrington in '00. And the last tailback from Joe Paterno's run-oriented offense to have any sustained NFL success was Blair Thomas 15 years ago. The Nittany Lions did have four first-round picks just two years ago (Larry Johnson, Bryant Johnson, Jimmy Kennedy and Michael Haynes), but none have yet to pan out, and besides Arrington, their only other recent No. 1 pick, Courtney Brown, was a colossal bust. Recent recruits Derrick Williams and Justin King will provide an interesting litmus test for Paterno's sytem: As of now, they're projected stars. Will they still be four years from now?
4. Kansas State: For all their success under Bill Snyder over the past decade -- six 11-win seasons, 11 straight bowl berths from '93-'03 -- the Wildcats have made barely a ripple on draft day, with only one first-round pick, CB Terence Newman, since '98, and only two total. Current prospect Darren Sproles, arguably the most accomplished player in school history, may not get drafted. This speaks less to a lack of development in Manhattan, though, than Snyder's reliance on "diamond-in-the-rough" type players like Sproles, whose dainty size (5-foot-7, 187 pounds) scared off bigger-name programs as a recruit and will likely scare off NFL teams as well.
5. Texas Tech: This one is directed solely at the quarterback position. With his innovative passing offense, Red Raiders head coach Mike Leach has produced three straight prolific passers, Kliff Kingsbury (NCAA career-record 1,231 completoins), B.J. Symons (NCAA single-season record 5,833 yards) and Sonny Cumbie (national-best 4,742 yards last season). Yet Kingsbury merited just a sixth-round selection, Cumbie the seventh round and Cumbie is expected to go undrafted. Clearly, NFL teams view Leach's quarterbacks as "products of the system," which is why, despite the opportunity to throw on nearly every down, the nation's elite QB recruits aren't exactly flocking to Lubbock.
<TABLE class=cnnTMbox cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=cnnIEBoxTitle>Assembly Lines</TD></TR><TR><TD class=cnnIEBoxSubTitle>Best programs for producing draft talent, by position (with recent selections)
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=cnnTMcontent><!-- tabled content area --><TABLE class=cnnTM cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=cnnIEHdrRowBG><TD class=cnnIEColHdrC>Pos.</TD><TD class=cnnIEColHdrL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">School (players)</TD></TR><TR class=cnnIERowAltBG><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>QB</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">Michigan (Tom Brady, Brian Griese, Elvis Grbac, Todd Collins)
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>RB</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">Tennessee (Travis Henry, Jamal Lewis, James Stewart, Charlie Garner)</TD></TR><TR class=cnnIERowAltBG><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>WR</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">
Florida St. (Anquan Boldin, Javon Walker, Peter Warrick, Laveranues Coles)
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>TE</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">
Miami (Jeremy Shockey, Bubba Franks, Kellen Winslow Jr.)
</TD></TR><TR class=cnnIERowAltBG><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>OL</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">
Iowa (Robert Gallery, Eric Steinbach, Ross Verba, Mike Goff)
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>DL</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">
Florida St. (Corey Simon, Derrick Alexander, Andre Wadsworth, Reinard Wilson)
</TD></TR><TR class=cnnIERowAltBG><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>LB</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">
Miami (Ray Lewis, Jonathan Vilma, Dan Morgan, D.J. Williams)
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=cnnIEColTxtC>DB</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px">
Miami (Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Phillip Buchanon, Mike Rumph)
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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