Now that the season is fastly approaching, we take a look at each conference for where the teams may stack up, who are the best at each position, some of the storylines to watch, and some of the top talents for the 2010 NFL Draft.
Projected Final Standings:
1. Boise State 11-1
2. Nevada 9-3
3. Fresno State 7-5
4. Louisiana Tech 5-7
5. San Jose State 5-7
6. Hawaii 5-7
7. Idaho 3-9
8. New Mexico State 2-10
9. Utah State 2-10
Pre-Season All-Conference:
QB- Colin Kaepernick, Nevada, Jr.
RB- Daniel Porter, Louisianna Tech, Sr.
RB- Lonyae Miller, Fresno State, Sr.
WR- Kevin Jurovich, San Jose State, Sr.
WR- Greg Salas, Hawaii, Jr.
TE- Virgil Green, Nevada, Jr.
C- John Estes, Hawaii, Sr.
OL-Mike Iupati, Idaho, Sr.
OL- Alonzo Durham, Nevada, Sr.
OL- Rob McGill, Louisiana Tech
OL- Mike Gallett, Nevada, Jr.
DE- D’Anthony Smith, Louisiana Tech, Sr
DE- Ryan Winterswyk, Boise State, Jr.
DT- Carl Ihenacho, San Jose State, Sr.
DT- Kevin Basped, Nevada, Jr.
LB- Justin Cole, San Jose State, Sr.
LB- Ben Jacobs, Fresno State, Jr.
LB- Nick Paden, New Mexico State, Sr.
CB- Kyle Wilson, Boise State, Sr.
CB- Davon House, New Mexico State, Jr.
S- Jeron Johnson, Boise State, Jr.
S- Moses Harris, Fresno State, Sr.
Intriguing Story Lines:
1. Boise State Crashing the BCS Once Again?
For a college based in Idaho with a small enrollment and seemingly nothing enticing about the area, Boise State has built a nice little niche for themselves in the college football world. Definitely the most consistent and arguably the best of any non-BCS conference team, it has almost become projected that Boise State will be competing for a BCS slot. They have reached the BCS 3 times in the past 6 years, and they show no signs of slowing down. They play Oregon, their best out of conference game, 1st game of the year at Bronco stadium, and if they can start out with a win there, things could be bright for the possible undefeated Broncos. After that, their hardest games at @Fresno State, who they beat 61-10 last year, @ Louisiana Tech, who they beat 38-3 last year, and Nevada, who lost only by 7 last year, but play @ Boise this season. Things look the part of an undefeated Boise State season, and could end up in the Top 5 if the Big 12, SEC teams beat each other up as projected.
2. Nevada Creeping On The Broncos Dominating Run
As mentioned before, outside of Oregon, Nevada is the only team that will give Boise State a run for their money most likely. That’s for good reason, too. While they have a much harder out of conference schedule (@ Notre Dame, Missouri), they are on the verge of becoming not only a WAC power, but a BCS contender soon. With that hard schedule and many young pieces, they will probably finish around the 8-4 area. However, with Colin Kaepernick at QB, possible 1st rounder in the 2011 draft, Vai Taua at RB, Chris Wellington at WR, Mike Gallet at LT, and Kevin Basped and Dontay Moch at DE all being juniors who played well last year, the 2010 season could be the year of the Nevada Wolf Pack, and give Kellen Moore and Boise State a run for their money in the WAC.
3. New Mexico State, Utah State Look To “Start Over”
Both New Mexico State and Utah State are projected to be in the bottom 10 in the entire country next season, and for unfortunately good reason. New Mexico State lost its three best players, maybe the 3 best offensively in the history of the Aggies, and even with them they went 3-9. DeWayne Walker, former coordinator from UCLA, has the fans very excited, but having their two best chances to win, against Idaho and Prairie View, still projected to be close games, it could be a battle to not to go “defeated” for the season. Things don’t look much better for Utah State, who have at most 2 winable games, against the aforementioned Idaho and Southern Utah, one of the better FCS teams. Even with an athletic QB returning in Diondre Borel, Gary Anderson should at risk of not winning a game, and no question won’t exceed last years 3-9 season.
End of the Season Awards:
MVP: Colin Kaepernick, QB, Nevada
Offensive Player of the Year: Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State
Defensive Player of the Year: Nick Paden, LB, New Mexico State
Newcomer of the Year: Brandon Wimberly, WR, Nevada
Surprise Player of the Year: Diondre Borel, QB, Utah State
Top 5 NFL Prospects for 2010 Draft:
1. Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State
Kyle Wilson stands at 5’10”, weighs 187lbs and plays like a ball hawk. He offers much more than “great coverage skills,” and is talented across the board. Wilson is good at tackling, racking up 35 tackles, 26 of those unassisted, break up passes, and is great at covering the pass (15 defended passes, five intercepts, and 10 breakups). In addition, Wilson is a superb player on special teams returning 33 punts for 470 yard for an average of 14.2 yards per return.Wilson has the ability to score touchdowns every time he has the ball, and is a deadly athlete. In fact, Kyle Wilson scored three touchdowns last November on punt returns. Wilson has plenty of experience playing in big games, as he was part of a fiesta bowl team. In preparation for the 2009 Boise State’s Blue and Orange game, during the final spring practice, Wilson ran two for six on return drills. Kyle has tremendous acceleration and cutting ability, and should have a great senior season. He plays hard and is always on the field either playing defense or returning punts. Wilson will be a high draft pick in 2010 NFL draft. Projected: late 1st round -early 2nd round.
2. Colin Kaepernick, QB, Nevada
Colin Kaepernick is the reigning WAC offensive player of the year so he has big expectations this coming year, his junior season. He has one of the country’s best running games to back him up, but could use a little more help at the wideout position. Kaepernick missed all of spring practice with a sprained ankle. He accounted for nearly 4,000 yards rushing and passing last year, but must become more consistent in the passing game, was only hitting 54% of his passes, and missing spring practice took time away from working on that. He has been nursing a badly sprained ankle suffered in the Humanitarian Bowl against Maryland, so he needs to stay healthy. Even though Kaepernick is only going into his junior year, he has already proven that he is a very athletic QB and has the size, 6’6″, 215, to compete in the NFL. If he is able to take his team into Boise State, win the WAC Conference and get a big bowl bid, his draft stock for 2010 could be very high if he decides to enter the draft, despite the competiveness of the QB draft class.
3. Antonio Baker, FS, LA Tech
Antonio Baker is entering his third year as the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs’ free safety. He is an All Conference safety and has more than 300 career tackles proving he is a consistent performer. He’s an intelligent player who makes the adjustment calls for Louisiana Tech and is always in the middle of the action. He plays bigger than his 5-11 frame suggests, and while at 200 pounds, he is not a burner, he still plays at a consistently high level. He will benefit from help in the secondary by having a better pass rush from the D line. Although Baker will have to play faster due to lack of experience on the outside corner spots, Baker will enter the draft at the same time as some other strong draft eligible free safeties yet his play and stats will have him going in the lower rounds.
4. D’Anthony Smith, DT, LA Tech
The man they call “Boo” was one of 48 players named to the Rotary Lombardi Watch List for the season. All-WAC as a junior, Smith made 65 tackles, including five sacks. Smith will be a 4year starter (32 starts in his first three years) proving his lasting ability. D’Anthony “Boo” Smith is considered a great athlete and a great man on and off the field by his teammates and peers. Smith is very strong, has great quickness considering his large frame, 6’2″, 300lbs . Smith is a possible low first rounder and will fit into any offensive system at the NFL level.
5. Daniel Porter, RB, LA Tech
All-WAC last year as a junior, Daniel Porter has his goals set high for this upcoming season, wanting to rush for 2,000 yards. He needs 1,100 yards to become the program’s all-time leader, and is quoted as saying “I want to be more of a team leader,” to the Ruston Daily Leader. Porter is average size 5’9″ 190lbs, but he is a hard runner, clocking in a 4.4 and has great vision and follows his blockers well. While Porter is not considered a power back now, he could be a 2nd back at the pro level. Porter was named to the 2009 Doak Walker Award Watch List announced by the Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum. Porter was one of the top running backs in the country as a junior when he rushed for 1,164 yards and nine touchdowns while leading the Bulldogs to an 8-5 mark and the 2008 Independence Bowl title, the first bowl victory by LA Tech in more than three decades. The Baton Rouge native earned first team all-Western Athletic Conference honors last season while also registering 12 receptions for 181 yards and one score. He became only the eighth LA Tech player in history to rush for more than 1,000 yards, including five 100-yard plus performances. He will continue to excel in the RB position in the NFL.
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