Feb. 21, 2007

By Adam Caparell

CSTV.com

	ADAM CAPARELL Adam is CSTV.com's football editor and national football writer. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- FOOTBALL 01/23: Feeling It 01/18: Post-Bowl, Pre-Spring 2008 Preseason Top 25 01/11: Late Season Run Priming Dawgs For '08 01/07: Ring A Bell? 01/04: Tressel's Hopefully Prepared For Anything 12/21: Hokies Have Something To Play For 12/14: Name Game 12/8: Little Surprise Tebow Takes Heisman 12/8: Back For More 12/7: Class Act 12/6: Flutie's Legacy Still The 'Miracle' 12/4: Dixon Can Still Smile 12/2: Wishful Thinking 11/30: Daniel Driving Missouri On BCS Run 11/28: 'Game' Still Largely Defines Beban 11/23: Long Time Coming 11/21: Bandstanding Brown 11/16: Georgia In The Know 11/14: Only Eddie Held Eddie Back 11/9: Soft Schedule Could Have Hawai'i BCS Bound 11/7: The 'Bear' And Crow 11/2: No Secret To Oregon's Success 10/31: Age Only A Number 10/26: Nittany Lions Know It's Got To Be Close 10/24: In Long Line, White Continued Tradition 10/19: Trojans In Unfamiliar Territory 10/17: Rogers Larger Than Life 10/12: Missouri The Machine 10/10: The Jet Likes To Run 10/5: Meyer's Seen This Before 10/4: Polled Over 10/3: Long On Memories 9/28: Season Begins For Dixon And Ducks Saturday 9/26: Desmond The Poser 9/21: Spurrier's Being Honest 9/19: All In The Family With Rozier 9/14: USC Ready For Another Early Road Test 9/12: Detmer's Magic Won Him Heisman 9/7: 'Show' Time For Virginia Tech 9/5: Drive Drove Dorsett 8/31: Family Affair 8/29: Count On The Gamecocks To Hatch 8/28: Youth Gone Wild On Gator Defense 8/28: Talent Comes Naturally To Tigers 8/27: SEC Preview 8/27: All Hail Saban 8/25: No More Lazy Sundays 8/24: Illinois D Brimming With New Confidence 8/23: Big Ten Preview 8/23: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 14 8/22: Tee'd Off 8/16: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 13 8/15: Brohm's Back, And All Is Well 8/15: Coaches Split On Early Signing Period 8/14: Schiano's Success Starting to Show 8/13: Big East Preview 8/13: It's Not About Respect With Leavitt And USF 8/11: Production Time for Seminole Signal Callers 8/10: Shannon Looking To Return Swagger 8/10: Wake Up? 8/9: Atlantic Coast Conference Preview 8/9: Tough Turkeys, Once Again 8/9: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 12 8/8: Preseason Top 25 8/2: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 11 8/1: Big Ten Expansion Doesn't Make Sense 7/26: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 10 7/25: Beamer's Burden 7/19: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 9 7/18: Good Vibrations 7/12: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 6 7/11: Three and Up 7/4: And The Winner Is... 7/2: Where In The World Is Ed Smith? 6/28: SEC East's Big Weekend 6/27: Summer Bowl Forecast 6/21: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 5 6/20: Big 12 Loses Its Big Man 6/14: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 4 6/13: Trick Up His Sleeve 6/7: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 3 6/6: For the Record 5/31: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 2 5/30: Like Clockwork 5/24: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 1 5/23: Florida Freshmen Get Defensive 5/16: Maroon Affected 5/10: Brennan's A Numbers Guy 5/9: More Than Just One Play 5/2: Post-Spring, Pre-Preseason Top 25 4/27: Quinn's Fallen, But He'll Still Be Up There 4/26: Size Does Matter 4/25: Troy Smith Now Middle of Pack QB 4/24: Peterson Can't Wait For The Moment 4/21: QB Biggest Question Facing Buckeyes 4/21: Don't Forget About The D 4/20: Bowl Game A Boon For Bluegrass Boys 4/19: The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall 4/18: New Coordinator, New Scheme, New Results? 4/18: Earlier The Better 4/17: It's Your Turn Offense 4/16: Spartans Hope Big Changes Go Long Way 4/14: Defense The Question Mark For Michigan 4/12: Height's Nothing But A Number 4/5: Two Much To Handle 3/28: More To Hill Than Just TDs 3/21: Down Could Mean Up For Delaware's Patrick 3/14: Changes In Store For Gill and Buffalo 3/7: Lurking In the Backgroung 2/28: What A Mock-ery 2/25: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same 2/24: Piscataway Proud 2/23: 40, For Better or Worse 2/22: The Ultimate Q and A 2/21: Combine's A Coming 2/14: Rights For Recruiting Wrongs 2/8: Recruiting No Joke For Coaches 2/6: Lemming Retrospect: Class of 2006 1/31: Coker In No Rush To Move On 1/30: Ross Bows Out, But Leaves His Mark At Army 1/26: Seniors With Something To Prove 1/25: Coaching For The League 1/24: Welcome To The Pros 1/17: Pre-Spring, Post-Bowl 2007 Preseason Top 25 1/10: Irish Have A Ways To Go 1/8: Siler and Gators After Something More 1/4: Russell Sweeter Than Sugar 1/3: Irish Out For Respect

The NFL Combine kicks off in Indianapolis Thursday and finishes up Sunday. In between, nearly 325 of college football's best players will get a big chance to leave their best impression on the assembled mass of NFL scouts, executives and evaluators - as well as media - all converging on the RCA Dome.

For some, the Combine's magic number is 4.3. Run that in the 40-yard dash and you're going to garner a ton of attention and drastically improve your stock. For some it's all about vanity and how much muscle you're packing. Others need to show brute strength, others need to master the agility drills, some need prove their intelligence with a solid showing on the Wonderlic and some need to nail what's really most important at the Combine: the interview.  

So here's a quick look at some of the players who have all been invited to the Combine and should enter with a little chip on their shoulder. Their stocks may be down or they're simply looking to improve their draft prospects, but one thing's for certain: there's going to be millions of dollars at stake in Indy.

Brady Quinn, QB - Is it really possible that the Notre Dame golden boy and Heisman finalist's stock is sinking like a stone? Quinn was widely considered to be the top NFL prospect entering the season. Taught by the same coach who groomed Tom Brady, it was supposed to be the "Brady Quinn Sweepstakes" among the NFL's worst teams. But Notre Dame's sub-par offensive line and Quinn's poor performances in his biggest games have soured scouts. And the emergence of JaMarcus Russell hasn't helped matters either. Some mock drafts have Quinn falling all the way down to the ninth or tenth pick (a la Matt Leinart). The Combine is Quinn's latest chance to prove them all wrong, especially after he skipped the Senior Bowl.

Victor Abiamiri, DE - The Notre Dame defensive end sputtered at the end of the season as the Irish watched his production diminish rather abruptly. He wasn't a factor in the Sugar Bowl loss (although no Notre Dame defender was) and didn't make much of an impact at the Senior Bowl. So on his two biggest stages so far, NFL scouts and evaluators left with a bad taste.

Ted Ginn, WR/KR - The speedster from Ohio State has plenty of talent and as much speed as anyone in the draft. But his questionable receiving skills and small frame (5-foot-11, 180 pounds) are raising doubts in the minds of many. A blazing 40 time could really help Ginn who figures to be relegated to return duty for the most part in the NFL. But that's worked out pretty well for Devin Hester.

Michael Bush, RB - Is the Louisville back, still recovering from the broken leg suffered back in September, going to make it onto the turf and actually run? Bush's progress has been slow and it came as a mild surprise that Bush elected to turn pro rather than return to the Cardinals with a year of eligibility remaining. If he runs and runs well, showing no ill effects from the injury, then his stock is going to get a huge lift. If he can't run and doesn't participate in the drills then the lingering questions about his leg are going to hurt him. 

Quentin Moses, DE - If the Georgia pass rusher had left after his junior season there's little doubt he would have been a first round selection. But he chose to return for his senior year, didn't have the kind of season that was expected out of him and now could fall as far as the third round. And at around 250 pounds, NFL scouts would really like to see Moses come into Indy packing some more muscle.

Lawrence Timmons, OLB - Florida State's second leading tackler is right on the fence between the first and second round. He's got plenty of speed and athleticism, but moiré importantly Timmons has to show NFL teams that he's capable of fully grasping some of the nuances of the game..

Josh Wilson, CB - The Terrapin corner has plenty of speed to burn, so it'll be fun to see what 40 time he posts. But the stigma attached to Wilson, and his smallish frame (5-foot-9, 190 pounds), is that he's all speed and not much else. He's been clocked with a sub 4.3 40, but if he can show scouts he can move fluidly in a direction other than straight ahead he'll definitely go in the second round.

Others To Keep An Eye On

John Beck, QB - Ended the season as arguably the nation's best quarterback. There'll be a lot of eyes on him, wondering if he has that BYU QB pedigree.

Dwayne Jarrett, WR - Everyone knows he's first round material, but an impressive 40 time would really do wonders for the USC wide out.

Adrian Peterson, RB - He's going to be a guaranteed top 10 pick, but his injury history at Oklahoma is going to hurt him and the final results of his medical evaluation will be interesting.

LaMarr Woodley, DE - Michigan's pass rushing monster is teetering between the first and second rounds. Speed off the corner is a question with Woodley as well as his size if he's going to play on the line in the NFL and not linebacker. 

Tony Ugoh, OT - It's not a question of ability with Ugoh, but rather of desire. Spurning some spring practices in favor of the track team a few seasons at Arkansas has raised some flags with NFL execs. Can they count on his total commitment? It's all about the interviews for Ugoh.