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Proving ground NFL Draft hopefuls preparing for Senior Bowl workoutsPosted: Sunday January 12, 2003 1:34 PM
By Tony Pauline, TFY Draft Preview While the eyes of the football world are on this weekend's NFL Divisional games and next Sunday's conference championships, for a large group of scouts, media and hardcore draftniks, their focus turns to Mobile, Ala., where college football's best senior talent gathers to display their mettle in front of NFL brass. An annual January ritual, hopeful draft picks come together Sunday for Senior Bowl week, which begins in earnest with weigh-ins Monday morning. No other pre-draft event draws the attention, offers the intensity or has as many future first-round choices on the field at the same time as does the week of practices leading into Saturday's game. It is a chance for players to solidify themselves as the draft's No. 1 pick, as David Carr did last year, or make a precipitous move up charts, which was the case for Donovan McNabb in 1999. Many prospects will be offered the opportunity to display they are capable of handling positions other then the ones they manned in college, like Antwaan Randle El did 12 months ago. It also is a chance for small-school products to prove they are capable of competing against a higher level of competition. So which players have the most to gain from a productive week of practice in Mobile? The answer is many. The talent at quarterback on hand could be stunning as a trio of quality passers lead the South squad. Tying up all the loose ends in 2002, Carson Palmer overcame two consecutive seasons of mediocrity and won the Heisman Trophy on his way to leading the USC Trojans to an Orange Bowl victory. Considered a draft afterthought in September, Palmer is poised to become the first overall in April. Much maligned throughout his career at Texas, Chris Simms finished the year with a spurt of productivity and became the first Longhorns QB to engineer back-to-back 10-win seasons. He now has people wondering if he's worth a first-round pick. Simms must come to the Senior Bowl and display a command of the offense and leadership intangibles if he wants that question answered affirmatively. Kliff Kingsbury was the nation's leading passer and became only the third quarterback in NCAA history to throw for more than 5,000 yards in a season. He must now show scouts he has the arm strength to play in the NFL and is not just a product of the system. One area seemingly void of talent is running back, but just as Palmer's surge to the front enhanced the quality of quarterbacks available, Larry Johnson of Penn State has done the same for running backs. A consensus All-American who broke the 2,000 yard barrier, Johnson set the Nittany Lions single-game rushing record with 327 against Indiana. Yet with all the deserving accolades he received during the season there is a concern; while he beat up on lesser opponents Johnson's four worst games of the year came against PSU's toughest competition and he was barely a factor. Well represented every year at the Senior Bowl, Florida State seniors have taken advantage of this week as present NFLers like Javon Walker and Tommy Polley played lights out in Mobile to enhanced their draft positioning. Will receiver Talman Gardner continue that trend? A bit of an enigma, Gardner is a physical specimen who looks like a man among boys, either running away from opponents down the field or just out-muscling them for the football in a crowd. Unfortunately, he also has a penchant to drop the easy throw or too disappear for long stretches. This time of year the phrase "size/speed" is commonplace as many are measured by fractions of an inch or tenths of a second. Such is the case for Michael Haynes, a defensive end who has terrorized quarterbacks for Penn State since he was a sophomore. Haynes' impact on the game is apparent, as is his 6-foot-2 frame, which draws the concern of scouts who feel he may not have the size to stand up against the run in the NFL. Last year, small-school cornerbacks Roosevelt Williams (Tuskegee) and Joe Jefferson (Western Kentucky) proved their talents during Senior Bowl week. How ironic is it that once again the top prospects from the little-known programs are a pair of defensive backs -- and one was Williams' college teammate? Tuskegee's Drayton Florence is a terrific cover corner with raw physical skills coaches can't wait to mold. Safety Rashean Mathis has been a terrific player for Bethune Cookman for three years and received the Buck Buchanan Award in 2002 as the top defensive player in Division I-AA. A game-impacting player with cornerback-type cover skills, expect Mathis to be used a both corner and safety this week as scouts want to test his versatility. It should be an exciting week with the usual surprises and disappointments from more than 100 NFL hopefuls who will fill the fields for two-a-day practices. Whatever the end result, the impact will surely be felt in three months. 
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