It is easy to see the potential upside of Cam until you peel away the layers. You don't have to pull too many layers off until you are left with a basically unapologetic thief who continues to be deceitful and guarded with the "full" truth about his past activities, so obviously character issues become a concern.

Every action he takes gives me the impression that his ego could be a cancer to team chemistry as (like the above said) he is not willing to take responsibility for his own actions, so his problems become the teams problems while his successes will be HIS successes.

Then, you can't look past the fact that he is simply inexperienced as a QB. He has one year as a starter facing real competition and reading more evolved defenses (which he didn't really do as the plays were pre-called and audibled from the sideline). His only experience in making his own reads came on the zone read where he looked for simple keys to make quick decisions. The majority of the season he managed to turn scripted plays into busts that he depended on his athleticism to ad lib his way to a positive gain which won't work many times against a Pro defense.

Also, his adjustment to playing under center will take him out of his comfort zone and obviously effected his accuracy based off of his combine performance.

He is a very talented football player, but I think he is a HUGE gamble as a QB. Much more so than Tim Tebow as he doesn't bring the morals and work ethic along with him.

I think with his speed and measurables, he could be an outstanding H-back in the right offense that features one. He also provides a good option for pro teams that like to inter-mix the wildcat into their playcalling as it puts him back in his comfort zone and makes use of his talents. But, he has a long way to go and a lot of work ahead of him to become a consistently successful QB at the next level.

There have been some successful rookies in recent years, but that is by far the exception to the rule.  Picking a spread QB with only one year as a starter against D1 defenses is a gamble for many reasons.

Had Andrew Luck decided to come out, I think the Panthers would have considered using their draft choice on him, but the remainder of the draft QB class is not worthy of a #1 pick (IMO). I think Cam is a boom or bust type of player at QB. Not that they have much to lose, but IMO it is too big a risk for the Panthers to take Cam #1 overall.

Plus taking another new QB doesn't help them at the position which is already full of inexperience with Clausen and Pike having only one NFL year under their belts. Matt Moore was supposed to be the starter last year but early poor play and injury opened the door for Clausen to be baptized by fire. I could see a trade in the future to bring in a veteran QB to give Calusen and/or Pike adequate time to learn the NFL game before they would gamble on another unproven QB with a top pick.

I really see them looking for a dominant DT (Fairley or MD) or DE (Bowers) first. Coach Rivera is a 3-4 guy, but has stated that Carolina will stay in a 4-3 base due to its current personnel. To me, that doesn't rule out the change in the future once the right personnel are acquired. Dareus obviously fits the bill for that future once they can find that elusive 3-4 nose tackle to make it all work.

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Associated Press

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Tony Mitchell, Charvez Davis and Trevor Releford all scored 12 points to lead Alabama to a 68-44 victory over Coastal Carolina on Tuesday night in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

The top-seeded Crimson Tide (22-11), which felt jilted at being left out of the NCAA field after winning the SEC West, built a 20-point lead late in the first half and never let the short-handed Chanticleers (28-6) get anything going.

Now 17-0 at Coleman Coliseum, Alabama will host either New Mexico or UTEP.

Click here for full article on ESPN

It doesn’t take a math major to understand that a good running back can make all the difference to a football team. This season’s crop of running backs have several difference-makers and several who could make a run at the Heisman Trophy.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college/2011/03/ten-running-backs-to-watch-this-college-season.html

I'm thinking they aren't in any order - because TR would be number 1 in my opinion
(and I acknowledge that I do indeed have bias)