Tennessee’s Derek Dooley estimated at last summer’s SEC Media Days that he’d be taking the field in the fall with a roster composed of 70 percent freshmen and sophomores. He’s got 19 returning starters for 2012, mostly juniors now. But is that a positive, given last season’s gutting, galling results? Dooley paused for a moment in his office on the afternoon of his third spring game as head coach of the Vols. “You know, that’s a good question.”

The Boise folks are going apoplectic over Moore not getting drafted. They're making it sound like some sort of NCAA/NFL conspiracy. Dudes, the NFL is a business. They pay legions of people to scout talent to get players that will deliver revenue. He went undrafted for a reason.

When Chandler Harnish, quarterback of Northern Illinois, was selected as the 253rd pick of the draft Saturday (the last of the 11 QBs taken), Moore's hopes seemed to slip away…

Teams are going to regret not taking Menzie, earlier. I think he is a real sleeper in the draft.


 

ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said Menzie, who grew up in Columbus, Ga., could project as a safety in the NFL because of a lack of "catch-up ability.  "Good football player, though," Kiper said. "He'll make a team... "
 

  DeQuan Menzie made the most of his two years at Alabama, enough to become the Crimson Tide's seventh player selected in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Menzie went to the Kansas City Chiefs with the 11th pick in the fifth round, 146th overall. 

Weeks after Alabama won the BCS national championship, Chapman revealed that he played most of his senior season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee, an injury he sustained during the Crimson Tide's early October win at Florida. He underwent surgery on the knee Jan. 17, a procedure that prevented him from participating in the Senior Bowl or doing much at the NFL Combine.

"The injury hurt him," ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said. "But I think at nose tackle, you can do some things scheme-wise with him the way Nick (Saban) did."
 

All he really has to do is get in the way for a second.  Colt can't do that because he is too busy trying to get out of the way.

"Mark Barron! Best safety Alabama has had in the past years. That's gonna be me."

Those words were tweeted by Newnan, Georgia safety Tray Matthews, a four-star recruit and one of Nick Saban's top targets for the Class of 2013.

Matthews, who has been committed to the University of Georgia since August of 2011, wasn't the only elite prospect in awe of the Tide's school record four first round NFL Draft picks on Thursday night.

 

When he spoke after his Pro Day -- the one in which he leveled his future running backs coach -- Alabama's Trent Richardson served as the unofficial spokesman for the Union of Disrespected Running Backs.


He'd done his homework. He heard all about how the "franchise running back" had become a thing of the past. He'd seen all the late-round or undrafted running backs prove that winning teams didn't need a big name lined up behind a star quarterback.


He was sick of it.


"We need to be up there high," Richardson said. "A lot of teams try to beat up on us a lot of times. When it comes down to it, I think they're going to need us early in our career."


As it turned out, Richardson was more than the right guy to deliver that message.


 

Maybe that is why they are getting rid of Colt.  They need a tougher QB that can throw a block or two with 4 of his team mates.