die hard gopher
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I'm liking all this draft talk this past week and was thinking how we have gone from zero to one to two to probably three players getting drafted or at least sticking on a roster under Kill. Next year it would be nice to increase that number by one again in 2016 to four. How many gophers do you think will get the opportunity to play at the next level from next years senior class? This is how I see breaking down.
Very Likely to get drafted barring injury: Murray and BBC. Self explanatory, not going into much detail here
Decent to good chance to get drafted: Cockran, Campbell, Travis, Mortell.
Cockran was second team All Big Ten last year and an HM by both coaches and media this year. Before the season started this year I saw some say he could be a third round pick. He seems to be the type of edge rusher with prototypical height at 6-6 and length with a 6-9 wingspan that NFL teams covet in a pass happy league.
During fall camp of the 2013 season Kill said that Campbell has as much potential as Ra'Shede and could be a first round pick. He gets a lot of flack on here for not being a down hill player and taking bad angles etc. but I think in the NFL he would be a 3-4 OLB which would negate many of his weaknesses that he faces against downhill Big Ten teams and maximize his strengths like using his length for pass rushing or his speed in coverage more often. No doubt that needs to improve to have a shot at getting drafted but not a whole lot of posters bring up how much he improved from 2013 to 2014. Many might be shocked to hear that De'Vondre is actually our leading returning tackler on the roster with 75. I expect him to take a similar leap next fall in his development.
Travis: I believe Kill said two weeks ago that Travis will be an NFL guy and they have always deemed him one of the better athletes on the team, even an athletic freak. A lot of other guys like Burns and some posters on here say besides Murray and BBC, he has the best chance to get drafted next year. He moves very well for a 6-2, 211 safety plus he has decent length.
Mortell: Not many punters get drafted so I'm not expecting him to but hopefully he can make a career out of punting. Big Ten punter of the year last year, potential All American next year? I think that might be enough for an NFL team to possibly invest in him.
Then the next group of guys chances are doubtful but at least worth bringing them up. Campion and Antonio Johnson.
Campion is a back to back Big Ten honorable mention by both the coaches and media and I believe has started 39 consecutive games. Probably not athletic enough to play OT at the next level, even RT but maybe could be drafted as a guard?
It's worth mentioning Johnson for simply being a Senior Sawvel recruited DB along with being a starting member of this secondary who Kill and myself believe will be the best unit in the conference. Has contributed a lot over his career recording 69 tackles as a junior but missed some time as a senior. The hardest hitter and best open field tackler in our secondary IMO and I will never forget the tackle he had on Engel in the 2013 spring game.
So I would probably go with another year of 3 guys getting drafted/sticking on a roster. Murray and BBC plus one of Travis, Campbell, Cockran or Mortell. The chances that two of those guy that I listed in the second group getting drafted would be equivalent to the chances of Murray or BBC not getting drafted IMO.
Very Likely to get drafted barring injury: Murray and BBC. Self explanatory, not going into much detail here
Decent to good chance to get drafted: Cockran, Campbell, Travis, Mortell.
Cockran was second team All Big Ten last year and an HM by both coaches and media this year. Before the season started this year I saw some say he could be a third round pick. He seems to be the type of edge rusher with prototypical height at 6-6 and length with a 6-9 wingspan that NFL teams covet in a pass happy league.
During fall camp of the 2013 season Kill said that Campbell has as much potential as Ra'Shede and could be a first round pick. He gets a lot of flack on here for not being a down hill player and taking bad angles etc. but I think in the NFL he would be a 3-4 OLB which would negate many of his weaknesses that he faces against downhill Big Ten teams and maximize his strengths like using his length for pass rushing or his speed in coverage more often. No doubt that needs to improve to have a shot at getting drafted but not a whole lot of posters bring up how much he improved from 2013 to 2014. Many might be shocked to hear that De'Vondre is actually our leading returning tackler on the roster with 75. I expect him to take a similar leap next fall in his development.
Travis: I believe Kill said two weeks ago that Travis will be an NFL guy and they have always deemed him one of the better athletes on the team, even an athletic freak. A lot of other guys like Burns and some posters on here say besides Murray and BBC, he has the best chance to get drafted next year. He moves very well for a 6-2, 211 safety plus he has decent length.
Mortell: Not many punters get drafted so I'm not expecting him to but hopefully he can make a career out of punting. Big Ten punter of the year last year, potential All American next year? I think that might be enough for an NFL team to possibly invest in him.
Then the next group of guys chances are doubtful but at least worth bringing them up. Campion and Antonio Johnson.
Campion is a back to back Big Ten honorable mention by both the coaches and media and I believe has started 39 consecutive games. Probably not athletic enough to play OT at the next level, even RT but maybe could be drafted as a guard?
It's worth mentioning Johnson for simply being a Senior Sawvel recruited DB along with being a starting member of this secondary who Kill and myself believe will be the best unit in the conference. Has contributed a lot over his career recording 69 tackles as a junior but missed some time as a senior. The hardest hitter and best open field tackler in our secondary IMO and I will never forget the tackle he had on Engel in the 2013 spring game.
So I would probably go with another year of 3 guys getting drafted/sticking on a roster. Murray and BBC plus one of Travis, Campbell, Cockran or Mortell. The chances that two of those guy that I listed in the second group getting drafted would be equivalent to the chances of Murray or BBC not getting drafted IMO.