NFL draft

So little time, so much to watch!

There's Michigan @ Nebraska Softball at 2 (EDT), followed by U of M @ IU Baseball at 4:30. 

What else?

NFL Draft Coverage all day on ESPN and The NFL Network (Day 3 of the draft, I believe, starts at noon), Tigers vs. Braves at 1pm on FOX, and finally at 7pm, the Red Wings try to (finally) clinch a playoff spot @ Dallas on the final day of the NHL regular season.

Maybe the yardwork can wait (not!)...

Emphasis mine:

3. Michigan: Denard Robinson, RB/WR (5104, 199 and 4.42), William Campbell, DT/OG (6047, 318 and 5.30 E) and Jordan Kovacs, SAF (5110, 202 and 4.61):

After showing dramatic improvement at the Combine, Denard showed NFL teams that he has continued working very hard at making the transition from quarterback to receiver. He not only went through receiver drills, but also was put through running back drills as many teams believe that while his long term future is as a slot receiver, the fastest way for him to get on the field as a rookie will be as a third down back. During the workout, Denard displayed the explosive, game breaking athleticism that has NFL teams excited. After looking like a quarterback trying to play receiver at the Senior Bowl and Combine, Denard looked like a receiver at the workout and showed the confidence catching the ball that he had not before. He not only caught every pass thrown his way during the workout, but did so with hands and did not allow the ball to get into his body where he had to battle the ball.

Many NFL scouts were shocked that defensive tackle Williams Campbell was not invited to the Combine after a strong senior season and an impressive week of practice at the East West Shrine Game. A massive man with outstanding natural strength, NFL personnel in attendance were shocked at how smooth and easily he moved in drills. He not only went through defensive line drills, but also offensive line drills as some teams feel he has great potential as a guard. After his pro day performance we expect Campbell to be drafted, but what position he will be asked to play in the NFL will be determined by the team that selects him.

Still not assured of being drafted, safety Jordan Kovacs’ good all-around workout made his odds better than 50% of being selected. Not only did Kovacs run significantly faster than expected, but he also vertical jumped 35 and broad jumped 10. He is still not viewed as a potential starter, but after his workout NFL personnel told us they think he could be an excellent backup who excels on special teams.

Link Here. Also discusses CMU's Fisher, a WR from GVSU, and MSU's three early entrees in another post (Bell and Sims looked really good, Gholston really bad).

FWIW: Russ Lande is a former scout for the Rams and Browns. Not really sure about what connections he still has or if he's any good at predicting these kinds of things, so take it for what it's worth.

Not too much of a surprise, but someting of a disappointment that more Wolverines were not invited. As expected, Denard was invited as a WR.

From BTN.com's Tom Dienhart:

• Illinois (4): DE Michael Buchanan; CB Terry Hawthorne; DT Akeem Spence; OT Hugh Thornton
• Iowa (2): CB Micah Hyde; QB James Vandenberg
• Michigan: WR Denard Robinson
• Michigan State (4): CB Johnny Adams; RB Le’Veon Bell; DE William Gholston; TE Dion Sims
• Minnesota: QB MarQueis Gray
• Nebraska (3): RB Rex Burkhead; P Brett Maher; S Daimion Stafford
• Ohio State (7): FB Zach Boren; OT Reid Fragel; DT Johnathan Hankins; LB Etienne Sabino; DE John Simon; TE Jake Stoneburner; DE Nathan Williams
• Penn State (4): DT Jordan Hill; LB Gerald Hodges; LB Michael Mauti; C Matt Stankiewitch
• Purdue (2): CB Josh Johnson; DT Kawann Short
• Wisconsin (4): RB Montee Ball; C Travis Frederick; LB Mike Taylor; OT Ricky Wagner

Indiana and Northwestern had zero invitees. So there's that.

Rivals went ahead and put together 2 articles showing how they ranked each player drafted through the first 3 rounds.

Here are the links:

1st Round: http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1359762

2nd and 3rd Round: http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1360073

Breakdown of the 1st round by stars:

5-stars: 4

4-stars: 13

3-stars: 10

2-stars: 4

NR: 0

Breakdown of the 1st round by conference:

Among the conferences, the SEC again had the most first-round selections, with nine. Four of the top 10 picks were SEC players. Five Big 12 players were picked, followed by four from the Big Ten (all after pick 22) and Pac-12, three from the ACC, two each from the Big East, Mountain West and independent ranks and one from Conference USA.

Breakdown of 1st round by High School state:

In terms of high school ball, there were five former Texas prep stars selected. Second-most among the states was Tennessee with three; there were two players each from Alabama, California, Florida, Ohio, Oklahoma and Virginia, and one each from Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin.

According to Mel Kiper:

Mel Kiper on Denard Robinson's draft stock: "He's either the No. 2 or No.1 most highly rated WR option & he hasnt even played the position"

Don't really know how to take this, but interesting nonetheless.

http://detroit.sbnation.com/michigan-wolverines/2012/1/19/2718891/mel-kiper-mock-denard-robinson-michigan

We can now all breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Denard's coming back for his senior season. My guess is that in Denard's case, asking the league for a draft evaluation was not so much about deciding whether to leave school early, as it was about two other things:

• Hearing what league scouts think about his chances to play QB in the NFL, and how much his openness to a position change would affect which round he's selected in; and
• Whether he and his family should get a disability insurance policy before his senior year, and how much they should spend on it.

I was curious to learn more about how disability insurance works for pro-caliber athletes who opt to stay in college rather than enter the draft early. I found this good NY Times piece from 2007, which focused on Louisville QB Brian Brohm. Some highlights:

The policies cover the athletes if an injury, sustained on the field or off, prevents them from playing professionally....

Typically, college athletes and their families will secure loans to cover the premiums. In football, the cost is roughly 1 percent of the policy’s value, or about $10,000 for $1 million worth of insurance. The amount of coverage available for the best players — those expected to be chosen in the first few picks of the draft — has nudged to about $10 million, double what it was at the start of the decade....

Insurance companies have offered disability policies to elite college athletes for decades. But many policies are bought through the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which entered the field in 1990 largely to combat agents who were secretly and illegally building relationships with athletes by offering to secure disability insurance while the athletes were in college.

The N.C.A.A. now offers up to $3 million of coverage for football players and varying amounts to top baseball, hockey and men’s and women’s basketball players....

Policies for elite college athletes are similar to those available to others with big earning potential, like professional athletes, entertainers and executives. A major difference is that a college player has no income history on which to base a policy.

Instead, insurance companies rely on the analysis of draft experts and scouting services. They decipher, a year or two in advance, where a player may be drafted, then calculate the sort of contract such a draft selection would be offered by using information from previous years....

To be eligible for the N.C.A.A. program, a football player must be projected to be drafted in the first three rounds — a guideline that most private insurers use, too, to protect their companies and to prevent players who miss the pros from being saddled with a loan for the premium that they cannot repay.

Denard's case has to be a bit tricky for an insurance company, and for NFL scouts, for that matter. I'd be shocked if Denard wasn't selected within the first three rounds. (Two points of comparison: Antwaan Randle El was taken in the 2nd round (pick #62) by the Steelers in 2002. However, Texas A&M's Reggie McNeal, who ran a 4.4 at the Combine but also whined about not wanting to play WR, wasn't taken until the 6th round by the Bengals in 2006.) But how high does he go? Denard's just as electric with the ball as Reggie Bush ever was -- is there a chance some team takes him in the early first round, and if so, should he get the insurance that reflects that higher contract?

Denard and his family have a big decision coming up. I'm curious what feedback he got from the league on this point.