WV v NC St/ Missourri v Iowa

[MichaelWeston]

December 28
North Carolina State
ALL PLAYERS POS HT WT GRADE POS RANK OVR RANK
Nate Irving ILB 6'1" 231 71 4 99
George Bryan TE 6'4½" 264 66 5 120
Matthew Gratzek DT 6'2½" 286 30 40
Michael Lemon DE 6'4" 267 30 45
Jarvis Williams WR 6'3½" 218 30 48
Michael Arndt OT 6'6½" 315 30 52
Jake Vermiglio OT 6'4½" 319 30 53
Owen Spencer WR 6'2" 185 30 62
David Akinniyi DE 6'3½" 253 30 64

West Virginia
ALL PLAYERS POS HT WT GRADE POS RANK OVR RANK
Robert Sands S 6'4⅞" 221 80 3 61
Noel Devine RB 5'7⅝" 177 70 9 104
Brandon Hogan CB 5'10" 194 57 18 150
Jockee Sanders WR 5'6" 181 47 27
Christopher Neild DT 6'1½" 306 30 24
James Thomas OLB 6'1" 231 30 33
Patrick Lazear ILB 6'0" 234 30 37
Scooter Berry DT 6'0" 288 30 44
Sidney Glover S 5'11½" 209 30 48

North Carolina State (8-4) versus West Virginia (9-3): CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL; Orlando; 6:30 PM ET; ESPN
Disneyland is nice, but 'What might have been' has to be on the minds of West Virginia players and coaches as the Mountaineers lost three games this fall by a combined score of just 14 points - and that included a close 6-point loss at LSU - and that's all that separated the Mountaineers from at least a BCS Bowl this fall. The Mountaineers, though, have a chance to give the Big East a smidgen of redemption after a dismal season for the conference against North Carolina State in the Champs Sports Bowl. The Mountaineers will also have pro scouts paying attention as the roster is dotted with solid players, although most still have something to prove. Scatback Noel Devine (#7, 5-8, 180), for example, is an elusive game-breaker who ran for just under 1,500 yards in 2010, but slumped to less than 900 yards this fall and will be looking to show that he indeed has the explosion to be make up for his lack of size. Same story on the defensive line where DE Scotter Berry (#93, 6-1, 285) and NT Chris Neild (#90, 6-2, 305) have been solid enough throughout there WVU careers, but have sledom really dominated. Meanwhile, OLB J.T. Thomas (#30, 6-1, 225), who isn't all that big but can run to the ball, blue-collar MLB Pat Lazear (#31, 6-0, 240) and WR Jock Sanders (#9, 5-7, 180) have been solid college players, but likely lack the overall measurables to be more than marginal draft prospects. Indeed, in the end, West Virginia's best prospects could be a pair of junior DBs in rangy FS Robert Sands (#2, 6-4, 225) a freak of who looks more like a LB, but runs like a wideout, although pro scouts were hoping for him to be around the ball much more often this past season, and CB Keith Tandy (#8, 25, 5-9, 200, an aggressive ball-hawker who had 6 picks this past season.

North Carolina State lacks West Virginia's team speed and overall, but could actually have the best prospects for the 2011 draft in MLB Nate Irving (#56, 6-1, 235) and junior TE George Bryan (#84, 6-5, 265). Irving came back from potentially career-threatening injuries suffered in a car accident prior to the 2009 season to have an All-america type season this fall. Irving may be too small to play in the middle at the next level, but has the quickness and range to move outside where he has been effective both rushing the passer and dropping into coverage. Meanwhile, Bryan is a solid two-way TE who could take advantage of the relative dearth at the position this year and end up being no worse than a second day pick this sprin. Other NC State players to watch on wat is a relatively young eam include WRs Jarvis Williams (#5, 6-3, 220) and Owen Spencer (#13, 6-1, 185), and LT Jake Vermiglio (#70, 6-5, 325), who didn't allow a sack in over 800 snaps this fall. Meanwhile athletic junior QB Russell Wilson (#16, 5-11, 205) is a dynamic playmaker, but is a better major league baseball prospect.

Iowa
ALL PLAYERS POS HT WT GRADE POS RANK OVR RANK
Adrian Clayborn DE 6'3" 285 95 3 9
Christian Ballard DT 6'4" 296 64 13 127
Karl Klug DE 6'2½" 265 58 16 146
Ricky Stanzi QB 6'4" 230 55 9
Derrell Johnson-Koulianos WR 5'11" 202 41 33
Ryan Donahue PT 6'2" 189 37 1
Jeff Tarpinian ILB 6'1¾" 237 33 16
Andrew Schulze LS 6'4½" 258 30 1
Brett Morse FB 6'2" 233 30 9
Allen Reisner TE 6'2" 242 30 20
Jeremiha Hunter OLB 6'0½" 231 30 23
Brett Greenwood S 5'11" 196 30 38
Julian Vandervelde OG 6'2" 292 30 53

Missouri
ALL PLAYERS POS HT WT GRADE POS RANK OVR RANK
Blaine Gabbert QB 6'5" 240 93 2 20
Tim Barnes OG 6'3½" 295 48 14
Jasper Simmons S 6'0" 199 30 22
Kevin Rutland CB 5'11½" 190 30 34
Luke Lambert ILB 6'2½" 230 30 36
Derrick Washington RB 5'11½" 216 30 41
Carl Gettis CB 5'9¾" 197 30 46
Munior Prince CB 5'11" 179 30 59
Andrew Gachkar OLB 6'2" 231 30 68
Jarrell Harrison S 6'0½" 219 30 69


Missouri (10-2) versus Iowa (7-5): INSIGHT BOWL; Tempe; 10:00 PM ET; ESPN
'What might have been' could also just as well apply to the Insight Bowl match-up between Iowa and Missouri. Iowa, for example, was very much in the thick of the Big 10 race this fall, but a heart-breaking one-point loss to Wisconsin started a 2-4 tailspin that left the Hawkeyes looking in from far on the outside. Same story for Missouri, which started the campaign with seven straight wins including an historic victory over eventual conference champion Oklaoma, but back-to-back losses at Nebraska and at Texas Tech dropped the Tigers all the way to the very wrong game in the desert this post-season. All that said, pro scouts will be out in numbers tonight as there will be several bona fide star prospects for this year's draft on the field.

Iowa, for example, features a very physical defense anchored by DE Adrian Clayborn (#94, 6-3, 280), who was once considered a potential top 5-10 prospect for the 2010 draft, but his stock may have slipped somewhat as a result of some indifferent productivity this fall as his sack total fell from 11.5 in 2009 to just 3.5 this fall. DT Christian Ballard (#46, 6-3, 295) also zoomed up draft boards across the NFL through the first half of the season, but like Clayborn cooled off a little during the Hawkeyes' late-season swoon. Meanwhile, the Iowa offense is led by veteran QB Ricky Stanzi (#12, 6-3, 230), who threw for 25 TDs this fall while tossing only 4 picks. Meanwhile the Hawkeyes' roster also includes several other solid mid-to-late round prospects including junior SS Tyler Sash (#9, 6-2, 210), FS Brett Greenwood (#30, 6-0, 200), FB Brett Morse (#36, 6-1, 240), TE Allen Reisner (#82, 6-3, 250), DT Karl Klug (#95, 6-3, 270), and LBs Jeremiha Hunter (#42, 6-2, 235) and Jeff Tarpinian (#13, 6-2, 235).

The most intriguing prospect in Tempe later tonight though should be Missouri junior QB Blaine Gabbert (#11, 6-4, 230), a strong armed bomber who doesn't get the same kind of national attention as other underclassmen at the position like Stanford sophomore Andrew Luck and juniors Cam Newton of Auburn and Arkansas' Ryan Mallett. Pro scouts have been paying attention, though, and there are whispers that more than one team around the league has the strong-armed Gabbert rated as the #2 QB prospect behind Luck. In fact, Missouri has a number of potential elite underclassmen including redshirt sophomore DE Aldon Smith (#85, 6-5, 260) who had 5.5 sacks this fall despite missing several games with a broken bone in his leg. When healthy Smith is already one of the best pure pass rushers in the country who should be a top 5-10 prospect when he ultimately opts to enter the draft. At the same time, junior TE Michael Egnew blossomed this fall as a rangy H-back prospect as he caught 83 passes. On the other hand, Missouri likely won't have any seniors taken early at the upcoming draft, but have several later round prospects including CBs Carl Gettis (#19, 5-11, 195) and Kevin Rutland (#20, 5-11, 190), safety Jasper Simmons (#9, 6-0, 205), LB/S Andrew Gachkar (#6, 6-3, 230), and C Tim Barnes (#62, 6-3, 310), .

[Jason]

What is "OVR RANK"?

It can't be overall rank because some have a lower OVR # than position #.

[MichaelWeston]

It is. Most dont have one.