13 (Buckeyes Underclassmen) will test NFL stock

[oldschooler]

[quote][size=5][b]Thirteen will test draft stock[/b][/size]
Friday, December 14, 2007 3:11 AM
By Ken Gordon

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has been busy recruiting lately. He was in a prospect's school yesterday morning and planned to visit two homes last night.

He had better step it up, because he might have more scholarships available than he first thought. And if he does, it's partly his fault.

Tressel said yesterday that after the Buckeyes' regular season ended Nov. 17, he encouraged any underclassman who would be eligible for the NFL draft to apply to the NFL's College Advisory Committee for an evaluation of his pro prospects.

Emboldened by the invitation, 13 players took Tressel's advice.

"I kind of encouraged it," Tressel said. "I don't know if the NFL is happy with me, but rather than someone wondering (what their draft chances are), I like guys to kind of know. … I think it's healthy for them to know."

Tressel would not name the 13. Eight players confirmed their inclusion.

Players must be out of high school for three years to be draft-eligible, meaning third-year sophomores can apply along with juniors. Sixteen starters are draft-eligible underclassmen.

The NFL committee generally takes about two weeks to send evaluations back. Tressel said he wanted players to have the information before they went home for a week on Dec. 19.

The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft is in January.

Last year, just four Buckeyes underclassmen are known to have asked for a pro evaluation: receivers Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez, tailback Antonio Pittman and offensive tackle Kirk Barton.

Only Barton stayed.

"This year was a little more open," Barton said. "(Tressel) kind of just threw it out for anyone, and last year it was kind of like, 'If you thought you could go, apply for it.' I knew I had a shot. I had a fourth-round grade. That's all right, but I knew I could do better than that."

Several players who sent in paperwork said they had no intention of leaving, looking at the exercise more as a curiosity.

"I'm not even thinking about going to do that next year," said quarterback Todd Boeckman, 23, a fourth-year junior. "It's just nice to see where you stand."

Junior running back Maurice Wells would not comment on whether he was one of the 13, but it sounded like he was when he said, "I'm almost positive I'll be here next year."

Wells has been a reserve for three years and likely will be again if he returns next season. He has rushed for 737 yards and five touchdowns.

"I think a lot of players do it because you have no idea what the NFL is looking for sometimes," Wells said. "Certain guys, they do a whole bunch of things in college, and the NFL is like, 'Hey, he's good in college, but we don't like him.'

"But you'll see somebody who maybe does not have the accolades but has great potential, and that's what the NFL really looks for, potential."

Players said they don't think draft talk would be a distraction before the national championship game Jan. 7. Since 1990, 26 Ohio State underclassmen have been drafted, including six in the past two years.

It has lost its shock value.

"It's very common nowadays, it's no big deal," cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said.

Tressel said, "It's hard to guard against life being a distraction, because that's part of some people's lives right now. I'd like to think we'd handle that well."

kgordon@dispatch.com[/quote]


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[oldschooler]

[quote][size=5][b]Plenty of OSU underclassmen eyeing NFL[/b][/size]
[size=3][b]Thirteen asked the league to project where they'd be drafted if they leave school.[/b][/size]
By Chick Ludwig

Staff Writer

Friday, December 14, 2007

Thirteen Ohio State football players have petitioned the NFL for help in determining their 2008 draft projections.

And the Buckeye who is most serious about declaring for the April 26-27 NFL draft is defensive end Vernon Gholston.

Most scouting services project him as a first-round pick, and like many fourth-year juniors — and seniors — Gholston is interviewing agents. One prospective representative — Angelo Wright — arrived in Columbus on Thursday to meet with Gholston.

Mark Levin, director of the NFL Players Association's salary cap and agent administration, said "true juniors" such as OSU linebacker James Laurinaitis and Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden "are not allowed to meet with agents until the NFL officially announces its list of who has been accepted into the draft (Jan. 18)."

Once a player signs with an agent, his college eligibility ends. Levin said that players with remaining college playing eligibility — who declare for the draft and have not signed with an agent — have from Jan. 15-18 to withdraw their names from the draft and still retain their eligibility.

Gholston's immediate concern is facing LSU in the Jan. 7 BCS championship. Then he can concentrate on the draft.

"The goal for all of us is to play in the NFL," Gholston said. "You just want to get an evaluation of what the guys at the next level think of you.

"Right now, for me, it's just about playing in the national championship game. I've heard great things about (his draft status), but that's something after the game I'll sit down and think about."

Quarterback Todd Boeckman, wide receivers Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline, offensive tackle Alex Boone, linebackers James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman, and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins also are among those who petitioned the NFL about their draft projections.

"I kind of encourage it," head coach Jim Tressel said. "I don't know if the NFL is happy with me. But instead of wondering about it, I like for the guys to kind of know so they can discuss it when they go home (for Christmas break)."


Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2253 or cludwig@DaytonDailyNews.com



[b]OSU has new itinerary[/b]

Ohio State won't be spending New Year's Eve in New Orleans. The top-ranked Buckeyes will arrive in Louisiana on Jan. 2 — five days before they face LSU in the national championship game.

Last year, OSU left Ohio on Dec. 30 for a Jan. 8 game against Florida. And we all know how that turned out.

"We said after we got back ... it felt like we were out there a long time," OSU coach Jim Tressel said Thursday.[/quote]

[oldschooler]

[quote][size=5][b]Leaving early?[/b][/size]
Friday, December 14, 2007 5:20 AM

Thirteen Ohio State underclassmen have turned in requests for evaluations to the NFL's College Advisory Committee. Eight confirmed their inclusion, and two confirmed they did not.

[b]CONFIRMED[/b]
QB Todd Boeckman

OL Alex Boone

LB Marcus Freeman

DE Vernon Gholston

WR Brian Hartline

CB Malcolm Jenkins

LB James Laurinaitis

WR Brian Robiskie

[b]POTENTIALS[/b]
TE Rory Nicol (fourth-year junior)

OL Ben Person (fourth-year junior)

K Ryan Pretorius (is 28 years old)

OL Steve Rehring (fourth-year junior)

P A.J. Trapasso (three-year starter)

CB Donald Washington (two solid seasons)

RB Maurice Wells (hinted he applied)

[b]DEFINITELY DID NOT[/b]
S Anderson Russell

DT Doug Worthington[/quote]


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[Bengals1181]

no harm in checking. I think its respectable on Tressel's part that he encourages, putting the future of the player ahead of the team, where he'd be able to have their talents for another year (or 2).

[Khatmandude]

[quote name='Bengals1181' post='608592' date='Dec 14 2007, 11:24 AM']no harm in checking. I think its respectable on Tressel's part that he encourages, putting the future of the player ahead of the team, where he'd be able to have their talents for another year (or 2).[/quote]

Of course he encourages them, he wants them to be able to pay back all the money he gave them for coming to Columbus in the first place

[Bengals1181]

[quote name='IKOTA' post='608662' date='Dec 14 2007, 12:31 PM']Of course he encourages them, he wants them to be able to pay back all the money he gave them for coming to Columbus in the first place [/quote]

[Go Tory Go!]

[quote name='IKOTA' post='608662' date='Dec 14 2007, 12:31 PM']Of course he encourages them, he wants them to be able to pay back all the money he gave them for coming to Columbus in the first place [/quote]

And you guys know it's true, too.

[akiliMVP]

I think the only ones that end up declaring are Gholston, Jenkins, and Freeman. I just don't see Animal declaring.

[Jason]

[quote name='IKOTA' post='608662' date='Dec 14 2007, 12:31 PM']Of course he encourages them, he wants them to be able to pay back all the money he gave them for coming to Columbus in the first place [/quote]


[quote name='Go Tory Go!' post='608757' date='Dec 14 2007, 02:55 PM'] And you guys know it's true, too.[/quote]

Jealousy is an ugly thing.

[claptonrocks]

I like Brian Robiskie......will that 4.57 forty hurt him?

[CTBengalsFan]

[quote name='claptonrocks' post='614124' date='Dec 26 2007, 08:34 PM']I like Brian Robiskie......will that 4.57 forty hurt him?[/quote]

I'd say running an LB time would indeed hurt the stock of a WR

[Go Tory Go!]

[quote name='Jason' post='608903' date='Dec 14 2007, 08:18 PM']Jealousy is an ugly thing.[/quote]

Ohio State has more than a bad reputation from clarett. Wasn't it ohio state athletic director Andy Geiger who resigned amid investigations and impending probations? And why was troy smith suspended from the alamo bowl and the 2005 opener?

[-GoBengals-]

[quote name='Go Tory Go!' post='614485' date='Dec 27 2007, 07:21 PM']Ohio State has more than a bad reputation from clarett. Wasn't it ohio state athletic director Andy Geiger who resigned amid investigations and impending probations? And why was troy smith suspended from the alamo bowl and the 2005 opener?[/quote]


YER JUSTT JEALOUS!!!111

[Nati Ice]

[quote name='Go Tory Go!' post='614485' date='Dec 27 2007, 07:21 PM']Ohio State has more than a bad reputation from clarett. Wasn't it ohio state athletic director Andy Geiger who resigned amid investigations and impending probations? And why was troy smith suspended from the alamo bowl and the 2005 opener?[/quote]
so basically, you think the buckeyes run a cheating program because an old AD retired amidst controversy and in spite of the fact that nobody was ever sanctioned?

clearly, you cant be suggesting osu is responsible for clarett and troy smith being idiots?

[quote name='GoBengals' post='614550' date='Dec 27 2007, 09:37 PM']YER JUSTT JEALOUS!!!111[/quote]
youre a fan, admit it


3 championship appearances in the past 6 years, 1-1 so far... 2-1 in a few weeks and 3-1 after next year