In this week’s Scouting Notebook, we’ll look at a few 2012 positional rankings notes and teasers, including the quarterback, running back, receiver, defensive tackle, defensive end, linebacker, and defensive back notes.
Also, we’ll look at the Alabama vs. LSU match-up, mostly focusing on the offensive side of the ball. Finally, I’ll give the top 5 junior running backs for the 2012 Draft not named Trent Richardson, and two top 10s that are wowing.
Tuesday’s Updated Rankings Teaser
Tomorrow, our offensive positional rankings will be released on the site, and some pretty drastic changes will be made from the current ones. Here’s a few teaser notes from the Rankings:
-Tough to choose at the top of the senior QB list. Not sure I see any of them as surefire starters at the next level, and all have some legitimate concerns. I personally am not a big fan of Ryan Tannehill of Texas A&M as a 1st round pick as well as Ryan Lindley of San Diego State as a future NFL starter. I’m beginning to see what there is to like about both, but especially the case for Tannehill, I’ll need to be sold a little further before I really think he’s close to 1st round consideration.
-There’s, as usual, a lackluster group of senior RBs, none of which are feature or even number one rotational backs at the NFL level. Two Big Ten running backs maybe my two favorite by the seasons end in Daniel Herron of Ohio State and Jason Ford of Illinois. Still, hoping one or two can really step up and wow so this drafted doesn’t have that huge influx of junior running backs like we saw two years ago.
-With Ryan Broyles injury, he’s got to move down slightly, but if he can be healthy by the start of the NFL season, it’s hard to move him down. Once the injury and expected recovery are more well-known, things might change a little bit. But as of now, he won’t be moving too far down the list. Three small schoolers did crack the Top 12, including Brian Quick (Appalachian State), Chris Summers (Liberty), and Thomas Mayo (California PA). There’s also lots of depth at that position, as I could see upwards of 20-25 being considered for Top 4 round picks.
-With the Jared Crick injury and three others really boosting their stock in a hurry leaves the top of the defensive tackle class up for grabs. While Crick is still hovering the top spot, Alameda Ta’Amu of Washington, Devon Still of Penn State, and Melvin Ingram of South Carolina are all firmly in the mix as well.
–Quinton Coples is no longer an elite prospect in our eyes. While he still may go Top 15 based of his size, length, and potential, we’ll take Vinny Curry of Marshall.
-Lots of linebacker talent this year, maybe even moreso than last year’s class that I was a huge fan of. Both inside and outside spots loaded with talent, with maybe 3-4 outside rushers not as much in stock as usual. One guy rising up my board: Tyler Nielson of Iowa.
-Amazing how talented this cornerback class is. After 2-3 years of lackluster depth atop the rankings at the position, there could be 3-4 seniors and 3 juniors selected in the Top 40 picks of the draft, with at least 3-4 total in the Top 20 picks. Hard to pick the most talented of this crew.
-Opposite of that, another poor safety class leaves much to be desired. The two top safeties may be both from Alabama, in senior Mark Barron and junior Robert Lester, but I wouldn’t be shocked in no safeties are selected in round one, despite team need.
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The Game That Was: LSU vs. Alabama Brief Scouting Recap
In what was the best defensive match-up in maybe college football history, Alabama missed just four too many field goals and lost a touchdown-less BCS championship semi-final game to LSU, 9-6. For those of you who watched the game (guessing most of the college football community), you saw just how impressive these two defenses were, with Alabama being loaded with junior and senior 2012 NFL Draft prospects, and LSU stacked with sophomores that will be on NFL radars in teh near future.
While the defense was the hyped part of the game, I was curious to see which offense could be more successful, as that would obviously be the key to the game. As expected, Alabama was able to be more consistent on drives, move the ball more effectively, and open up chances for big plays. All things considered, AJ McCarron played pretty well. The game plan featured a lot of easy, short, and screen passes, but he ran the offense as well as he could have. LSU QBs (Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson) left much to be desired.
Michael Ford (redshirt sophomore), ran very tough, and was the staple of the offense as expected. He and Trent Richardson were very impressive throughout the game, and while Richardson may be the best running back prospect since Adrain Peterson, Ford could declare early himself or at least be a very solid Top 3 round running back in 2013 if he declares then.
Also on the LSU offense, I didn’t see Rueben Randle or Russell Sheppard really get any substantial separation down the field. Granted that they were playing the best cornerbacks in college football and at a high level, but neither one seemed to possess the receiver skills to be an outside starting receiver at the NFL level as of now, and neither should declare early in my opinion.
As far as the defenses were concerned, they were extremely impressive and dominant, as expected. Robert Lester (junior free safety) was all over the field as a centerfielder, and while on the stat book he didn’t make a huge impact, he set the tone for the quarterbacks of LSU staying short and away from him when possible. Also, Courtney Upshaw (senior outside linebacker) consistently brought pressure and was a headache in the run and pass game. For LSU, Brandon Taylor (senior safety) was the best senior defender for this team, and he’s quickly moving up my board on a safety list that is quite lackluster.
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Top Junior RBs NOT Named Trent Richardson For 2012 NFL Draft
It’s pretty well known that Trent Richardson of Alabama is a special running back prospect. He was discussed above and will be below this section, and he deserves the attention.
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Top 10 Athletes and Top 10 Workout Freaks in College Football 
In the first non-stat based Top 10 I’ve had on here, I wanted to share two articles I stumbled upon that made a difference in some of my scouting, and maybe something that should be taken note off. Regardless of how much you know of weight lifting numbers or speed timings, you should be able to appreciate and understand how impressive the numbers these guys put up.
Top 10 Biggest Freaks in College Football
Top 10 Strongest College Football Players
Both courtesy of MuscleProdigy.com
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