Go Bengals Conversation: Bowl Day 5

[MichaelWeston]

[b][indent=1]Hawaii Bowl: Fresno State (9-3) versus Southern Methodist (6-6); 8 PM ET; ESPN[/b][/indent]
[b][indent=1]With no Monday nighter in the NFL because of the holidays, football fans still get a bit of an early Christmas present with a bowl match-up between Mountain West co-champion Fresno State and Southern Methodist in a game featuring several intriguing prospects for the 2013 draft. Fresno State FS Phillip Thomas (#16, 6-0, 215), for example, still isn't a household name among draft watchers, but is one of the rising stars of this year's draft class who has gone from a likely free agent prospect to a potential mid-second-day pick. Thomas bounced back after missing the entire 2011 season with a leg injury to earn Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year honors as he led the country with 8 interceptions, while also leading the team with 84 tackles including 4 sacks and four forced fumbles. At the same time, scatback Robby Rouse (#8, 5-7, 190) and OLB Travis Brown (#9, 6-1, 236) are later round candidates. Rouse, in particular, isn't all that big, but has still been one of the most productive backs in college football the past couple of seasons during which he has run for over 3,000 yards and caught a bunch of passes. Meanwhile, junior QB Derek Carr (#4, 6-2, 210), the brother of Giants QB David Carr, the first player selected overall at the 2002 draft, has already indicated he will be returning to school for his senior season, although he too likely would hae gotten some second-day interest from NFL teams had he opted to leave school this winter. In fact, Carr was the conference's Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for over 3,700 yards and 36 scores, against just 5 picks, this season.[/b][/indent]
In contrast to Fresno State, Southern Methodist just squeaked into the bowl with a 6-6 record, but have their own share of draft prospects. If nothing else, DE Margus Hunt (#92, 6-7, 275) should be one of the draft's better stories as he is one of several foreign-born DEs who only recently came to football, but have been able to translate uncommon athletic ability to the gridiron. Hunt, for example, is a Latvian national who originally came to SMU as a track shot putter, but has evolved into a physical 3-4 DE who had 6 sacks this fall and has 17 career blocked kicks. However, Hunt didn't have the breakout year pro scouts were looking for this fall and appears to be stuck in the middle rounds at this time, although he's one of those guys with the athletic abiltiy to blow up the combine. Meanwhile, RB Zach Line (#48, 6-0, 230), a physical back who can move the pile, along with active LBs Ja'red Davis (#51, 6-1, 235) and Taylor Reed (#44, 6-0, 240) are solid later round prospects, while G/T Brian Collins (#67, 6-3, 315), OG Jordan Free (#78, 6-2, 310), and WR Darius Johnson (#3, 5-9, 175) should get some free agent consideration.

SMU ALL PLAYERS ROUND PK(OVR) DRAFTED BY POS HT WT GRADE[img]http://a.espncdn.com/i/in.gif[/img] POS RANK[img]http://a.espncdn.com/i/in.gif[/img] OVR RANK[img]http://a.espncdn.com/i/in.gif[/img] [url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/player/_/id/29617/margus-hunt"]Margus Hunt[/url] [url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/positions/_/id/31/year/2013/defensive-end"]DE[/url] 6'8⅛" 272 60 21 [url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/player/_/id/29320/zach-line"]Zach Line[/url] [url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/positions/_/id/10/year/2013/fullback"]FB[/url] 6'0¾" 229 41 1 [url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/player/_/id/29618/jagared-davis"]Ja'gared Davis[/url] [url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/positions/_/id/89/year/2013/outside-linebacker"]OLB[/url] 5'11¾" 231 30 39 [url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/player/_/id/29619/darius-johnson"]Darius Johnson[/url] [url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/positions/_/id/1/year/2013/wide-receiver"]WR[/url] 5'8¾" 166 30 82

Fresno [url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/player/_/id/29372/robbie-rouse"]Robbie Rouse[/url] [url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/positions/_/id/9/year/2013/running-back"]RB[/url] 5'8" 180 47 22 [url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/player/_/id/30248/phillip-thomas"]Phillip Thomas[/url] [url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/positions/_/id/93/year/2013/safety"]S[/url] 6'0⅝" 208 30 26

[MichaelWeston]

This Magnus hunt guy is interesting