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Home , Andre Woolfolk, Brian Urlacher, David Garrard, Dewayne Robertson, Eddie Drummond, Eric Steinbach

18 FRIDAY, April 25, 2003 FOOTBALL THE DAILY COLLEGIANTHE DAILY COLLEGIAN FOOTBALL FRIDAY, April 25, 2003 19 2003 N F LDRAFT CollegianCollegian MockMock DraftDraft A look at who’s going where, and why

1st Rd. draft order Who they’ll take Why they’ll take him

Palmer won the Heisman by show- 1. Cincinnati ing arm strength and poise. The Ben- , USC gals were smart, signing him early. Rogers would be great for young 2. Detroit CHARLES ROGERS quarterback . Plus, Wide Reciever, Michigan State his local ties will galvanize the fans. Built like a tight end, runs like a 3. Houston track star. Would help David Carr and Wide Reciever, Miami add life to a toothless offense. His postseason workouts wowed 4. Chicago the scouts. Would help clear space for Defensive , Kentucky the animal . Shutdown corner and a great 5. Dallas TERRANCE NEWMAN return man. Second coming of Deion , Kansas State in Big D? Pass-rusher extraordinaire has 6. Arizona TERELL SUGGS seen his stock fall with a series of Defensive End, Arizona State slow 40 times. Still great value for Az. The first Nittany Lion to go heads 7. Minnesota JIMMY KENNEDY to a defensively starved team. Should , Penn State help Vikings run defense right away. is getting old and 8. Jacksonville David Garrard (who?) is their back- Quarterback, Marshall up. Strong-armed Leftwich will help. Where are they now? A dominant left tackle is a rare ■ 9. Carolina commodity in the NFL and teams Seven former Penn Staters made the leap to the Offensive Tackle, Utah will jump at potential. professional ranks last year. Some have found success, Why does everyone love Kyle and some saw their NFL dreams come to an early end. 10. Baltimore Boller all of the sudden? We don’t Quarterback, know, but is a fan. Defensive tackle is this draft’s Bruce Branch 11. Seattle KEITH WILLIAMS deepest position. The Seahawks need Branch spent time on three different rosters in his Defensive Tackle, Oklahoma State one and Williams is one of the best. Training program helps Lions’ NFL hopefuls rookie season. He signed with Jacksonville as an combine and to keep them in shape colleges around the country, offering gives them. But the real thing is that scored a 19 on the test, four better The Rams need someone to fill in undrafted free agent, but was cut on Aug. 27. He signed By Chris Korman for mini-camps, which begin as early specialized training at sky-high prices. we make them stick to the schedule. than the average for his position. 12. St. Louis for Dre Bly. Trufant has impressed to the Packers’ practice squad on Oct. 15. After two COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | [email protected] as a week after the draft. Head strength coach John Thomas We hold them responsible. We’re not shocked many Cornerback, Washington State everyone in recent workouts. weeks in Green Bay, he signed with the Redskins. He “You don’t really have a choice but wanted to help the players who were going to tell them what they want to observers when he scored in the low saw time as a and kick returner, return- Sometime this weekend, they’ll The Jets need a ’backer and this to train for the specific drills — the 40- moving on, but had his hands full with hear. If they need to work on some- 30s. 13. N.Y. Jets BOSS BAILEY ing two kicks for 29 yards and two punts for three yards. hear the general manager of their dude is fast, strong and hits like a Branch NFL team on the other end of the yard dash, the shuttle runs, the 225- the undergraduates. Enter Scott, who thing, they’re going to work on it.” In many ways, combine evaluations (From Washington) , Georgia truck. phone line, and everything will begin. pound strength test,” Scott said. “You was hired full-time in part Penn State players fared are no different than the SATs: they Just like that, the Penn State sen- need your guys to do that because to train the exiting play- well at the combine this tell you how well a kid can do on a test 14. N.E. Pats Steinbach is clearly the best guard iors will become professionals. Foot- that’s how they’ll get noticed, by put- ers. From January to May year, especially in the but tell you nothing about how he’ll available. The Patriots need some Eddie Drummond (From Buffalo) Guard, Iowa ball will be taken to another level. ting up good numbers. But we’re still he concentrates on a rig- bench-press test, in which fare in the world. help on the -Line. After a rocky college career, Drummond quickly “It’s not just a game anymore,” committed to our original goal, and orous five-day training a player lifts 225 pounds as People enjoy them because the JON SULLIVAN The Chargers need someone to found his niche in the NFL as a kick returner. He signed says Jeremy Scott, assistant strength that is to make them better football schedule for anyone who many times as he can. results are tangible. 15. stop the run with Seau gone. This 6-3, with the as an undrafted free agent, and and condition coach for the Nittany players all around.” wants to partake. This “All these years, I’ve “It’s still about the ability to play Defensive Tackle, Georgia 313-pound beast is the man to do it. took the starting job at kick returner when Desmond Lions. “They’ve got to be prepared A few years ago, as the draft was year, every player except been hearing that (offensive football,” said Scott. “Obviously, we Howard was injured seven games into last season. He MICHAEL HAYNES The Chiefs didn’t have a sack from now.” evolving into its current state of Jimmy Kennedy stuck around in lineman) Tyler Lenda isn’t strong train our guys to be as strong and as 16. Kansas right end last year. Haynes will sure- returned 40 kicks for 1,039 yards and also returned a Scott is the one who makes sure hoopla and madness, physical train- State College for at least part of that enough to play the game,” Thomas fast as possible. But we’re not overly City Defensive End, Penn State ly have a few, which is good news. punt for a . He also had 4 rushes for 38 yards. they are. He is in charge of setting up ers across the country realized that time. said. “Then he goes and puts up a 28, concerned with the tests. Our main Drummond a fitness program for players continu- young men just out of college would “Our facilities are second to none,” which is well above average.” focus is that our guys can step into a The Saints gave up over 3,800 pass- ing onto the NFL that will prepare soon be receiving a large amount of said Thomas. “You can’t match the Larry Johnson, who camp and be ready to compete for a 17. N.O. Saints ing yards last season, plus Sammy them for the specific tests given at the money. Like hawks, they zeroed in on one-on-one attention that Jeremy has been called “soft” by some gurus, job as a football player.” Safety, USC Knight may leave. Bob Jones 18. N.O. Saints Saints won’t pass on a dominant Jones, a former defensive end, had to learn a new center with the rare ability to make a craft to catch on in the NFL—long snapping. He signed (from Miami) Center, Notre Dame major difference in therun game. as an undrafted free agent with the Steelers The Patriots needs a defensive after the draft and made the first cut as a long snapper, 19. N.E. Pats WILLIAM JOSEPH tackle. Joseph has been compared to but didn’t make the final squad. However, he was imme- Defensive Tackle, Miami . Need we say more? diately scooped up by the and played Defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy will 11 games before being cut before the playoffs. Recent run-ins with the police Jones likely be the first Penn Stater taken in 20. Denver JEROME McDOUGLE won’t help draft status. Pure physical tomorrow’s NFL Draft. Defensive End, Miami strength and power will. Eric McCoo Cleveland could use some more 21. Cleveland beef on the O-Line. At 6-7, 310, Harris After starting or at least getting significant time in Word on the street Offensive Tackle, Stanford provides plenty of that. almost every game in his four years at Penn State, The Jets need a reciever to replace McCoo had to get used to not playing as a rookie in the 22. NY Jets KELLY WASHINGTON Laveranues Coles and Washington’s NFL. He was signed by the after the , Tennessee size and speed are NFL caliber. draft and cut on Sept. 2. He managed to get on the Washington Redskins roster but never got on the field. What the media’s saying about Penn Staters CHRIS KELSAY The Bills have upgraded their He will battle with six other backs for time in 2003. 23. Buffalo defense well this year and Kelsay’s McCoo (from Atlanta) Defensive End, Nebraska pass-rush skills add to the party. The Colts have a pressing need at Jimmy Kennedy, DT 24. Indy safety. Doss’s ability to both cover John Gilmore , WR Safety, Ohio State and support the run are invaluable. Inside of three months, Gilmore went from unem- CBS SportsLine Says: “Has a USA Today says: “Not considered Keith Hamilton’s age and health ployed to practice squad player to . He was taken great feel for the ball and when he a major deep threat but parlays 25. NY Giants are questionable, Rien’s abilities in the sixth round by the , was cut keeps his pad low, he is the most quickness, size, positioning, jumping Defensive Tackle, Washington State aren’t. on Sept. 1. Two days later, the Chicago Bears signed him dominating two-gap lineman in the and hand strength to be legit go-to to the practice squad. On Oct. 25, they signed him to the game.” San Francisco needs someone to receiver.” team. He played in eight games at tight end, starting Collegian Says: Kennedy doesn’t TAYLOR JACOBS take the pressure off , Collegian Says: As stated above, 26. San Fran four. He pulled in 10 receptions for 130 yards. play with intensity on a consistent Wide Receiver, Florida and the shifty Jacobs is it. he has all the tools. May never be a Gilmore basis; if he did, he might be the top prime-time guy, but is capable of mak- With Kordell gone, Steelers bite overall pick. He’s not the type of guy ing difficult catches and running solid 27. Pittsburgh the bullet and take a signal-caller. Kennedy who will be on highlight reels often; B. Johnson routes. Should find more room as a Quarterback, Florida Grossman is a solid bet as a pro. Omar Easy he’s the type of guy you build a cham- second or third receiver, leaving him Titans hope they found a worthy Easy has to wait his turn again. He was selected by pionship defense around. open to use his speed. 28. Tennessee LARRY JOHNSON replacement for the old warrior the in the fourth round of last sea- Running Back, Penn State , Johnson’s idol. son’s draft and found himself behind Tony Richardson at fullback and star halfback Priest Holmes. He is learn- Losing Nate Wayne and Vonnie ing both positions, and got some time at fullback last Green Bay E.J. HENDERSON Holiday hurt the Pack’s overall talent 29. season, pulling in three receptions for 23 yards and a Michael Haynes, DE Larry Johnson, RB Linebacker, Maryland on D. They need Henderson. touchdown. He’s also played on every special team unit. He just wants to catch the ball. Easy ESPN.com Says: “He defends well CBS SportsLine Says: “Gets off 30. Philly BRYANT JOHNSON McNabb just wants someone to catch against the run and should be a play- the ball quickly, but does not explode Wide Receiver, Penn State the ball. Match made in Heaven. er who gets 8-10 sacks a year.” through the holes, as he needs time Shamar Finney Collegian Says: Haynes is an to accelerate in order to go the dis- Recently switched from offense, extremely intelligent player who will tance.” 31. Oakland has tremendous upside at one of the Finney managed to stay with the Washington Red- have no trouble making the mental Cornerback, Oklahoma Collegian Says: Johnson does toughest positions to fill. skins the entire season after signing as an undrafted jump to the pros. His problem has need room to run, but he’s deceptive- The Raiders use a free agent. However, the middle linebacker who finished been and will continue to be intensity. ly quick in the open field. He’ll contin- 32. Oakland WILLIS McGAHEE compenstation pick to take a chance second among Nittany Lions in tackles in 2001 didn’t see Last year, he took his game to anoth- ue to surprise people in the NFL, Running Back, Miami on 2003’s ultimate risk. any playing time. in his rookie season. However, Finney Haynes er level at his coaches’ pushing. L. Johnson especially with his catching ability. did get to learn from some of the game’s best lineback- Chances are he won’t be babied as ers, including former teammate LaVar Arrington. Finney much in the NFL. — By Dustin Dopirak Collegian File Photos Created & Designed by Jason Bartolone