Draft blog updated 1/4

[Wolf]

Mel Kiper's recently updated (01/04) Top 25 Big Board.
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Florida A&M offensive tackle Dan Parrish invited to Texas vs. The Nation all-star game.
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Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith hopes to prove his critics wrong during the upcoming draft process.
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University of Texas defensive end Brian Robison, the Big 12's defending outdoor champion in the shot put and the discus, said he plans to skip track this spring to concentrate on the N.F.L. Draft.
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So does running back Marshawn Lynch, the Oakland kid who made good at Cal-Berekley, want to be an Oakland Raider?
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Eccentric, but very talented, Ohio State junior wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez says college athletes are financially exploited, before explaining money won't be a factor if he decides to jump to the N.F.L. early.
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DD.com Site News: We recently updated our list (deleted some key players signed to extensions) of potential unrestricted and restricted free agents for all 32 teams.

DD.com Comment: Just click on any team, then press "free agents" to read that teams' free agent list....Also, we have not, yet, updated our Team Needs section, but plan to do that very soon.
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At 6'2" and 270 pounds, University of Georgia defensive end Charles Johnson is a flat out pass rushing menace. Hand-timed at 4.6 as a prep running back (30 pounds lighter), Johnson is explosive and aggressive, displaying excellent hand play to get upfield. He has made game changing plays against quality opposition and the league has noticed. Only 20 years old, he is an elite athlete, with low mileage, who will only get better as the years progress.

Some have suggested that the extra attention fellow Bulldogs defensive end Quentin Moses received from opponents really helped Johnson stand out last season. This was probably true for the first few games in 2006. But by the end of the season, it was Johnson who was attracting the extra blockers, not Moses.

We can sit here and talk about all the other great defensive ends in the draft, all the reasons why Bulldogs fans and coaches wanted him to return to school, how he's only really started for a year, et cetera. But the bottom line here is that the N.F.L. has a great demand for impact pass rushers, and Charles Johnson is an impact pass rusher from a conference and a school that produces bonafide N.F.L. players.

http://www.draftdaddy.com/blog/blog.cfm

 

[Wolf]

University of Louisville junior quarterback Brian Brohm is weighing his options on declaring for the N.F.L. Draft.
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Less than two months after he publicly declared his intent to remain at Clemson for his senior season, tackle Barry Richardson is now seriously considering skipping it and entering April's NFL Draft.
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University of Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb, who is rated as a second-round pick by most scouts, hopes to sneak into round one.

from the link

 

[Wolf]

According to media reports, the following underclassmen have stated they will declare for the N.F.L. Draft:

QB JaMarcus Russell ~ Loisiana State

RB Marshawn Lynch ~ Cal-Berkeley

RB Michael Bush ~ Louisville

RB Dwayne Wright ~ Fresno State

RB Chris Henry ~ Arizona

RB Danny Ware ~ Georgia

RB Gary Russell ~ ex-Minnesota

RB Ramonce Taylor ~ ex-Texas

WR Dwayne Jarrett ~ Southern Cal

WR Robert Meachem ~ Tennessee

WR Sidney Rice ~ South Carolina

WR Calvin Johnson ~ Georgia Tech

TE Zach Miller ~ Arizona State

TE Greg Olson ~ Miami (Florida)

TE Luke Smith-Anderson ~ Idaho

DE Jamaal Anderson ~ Arkansas

DE Charles Johnson ~ Georgia

DT Alan Branch ~ Michigan

DT Stanley Doughty ~ South Carolina

LB Rory Johnson ~ Ole Miss

LB Lawrence Timmons ~ Florida State

LB Jon Beason ~ Miami-Florida

CB Eric Wright ~ Nevada Las-Vegas

CB Chris Houston ~ Arkansas

CB Darrelle Revis ~ Pittsburgh

CB C.J. Gaddis ~ Clemson<

Check out our most recently updated All-Star Game Rosters.

DD.com Comment: These are, obviously, partial rosters for the Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine game -- confirmed invites. When we get more names we will add them to the list immediately, so check back for updates from time to time.
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Oklahoma junior running back Adrian Peterson will skip his final year of eligibility and enter the N.F.L. Draft, according to two sources close to the situation.
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Arizona junior cornerback Antoine Cason will announce his decision Thursday regarding whether to enter the N.F.L. Draft.
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Jeff Jeffers from WNDU out of South Bend reported tonight that Notre Dame junior running back Darius Walker will very likely test the NFL waters, and enter April’s draft.
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Louisiana State University junior quarterback JaMarcus Russell and Southern California wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett have officially entered the N.F.L. Draft.
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University of Kentucky tailback Rafael Little will return for his senior season, the school announced Wednesday.
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Three Hampton Univerity Pirates -- cornerback Travarous Bain, tailback Alonzo Coleman and linebacker Justin Durant -- will play in the East-West Shrine All-Star Game.
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Closer look at University of Florida center Steve Rissler, who will play in the Hula Bowl.
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Arkansas State senior fullback Oren O'Neal, who has been attracting significant interest from N.F.L. scouts, has been chosen to play in the Inta Juice North-South All-Star Classic.
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The Big East Conference, which went 5-0 in bowl games this season, will be represented in the Senior Bowl by 10 players.
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The Press-Register (Mobile) is reporting Nebraska outside linebacker Stewart Bradley has accepted an invite to the Senior Bowl.

DD.com Comment: We reported yesterday that a Nebraska newspaper wrote Bradley -- a former high school quarterback and kick returner -- was heading to the East-West Shrine game, which surprised us because we always considered the underrated Cornhusker Senior Bowl material. He's 6' 4", 250 pounds and moves real well for his size. Bradley looks and plays a lot like veteran N.F.L. linebacker Peter Sirmon (Tennessee).
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updated 1/11