It's a slow news day, which means it's time for NFL draft talk.
For a school that hasn't been to a BCS game in almost a decade and is coming off a 2-10 season, Maryland sure does put out a lot of first round picks. Vernon Davis and Darius Heyward-Bey were both top 10 picks in the past couple of years, and this year, another player will join them: Bruce Campbell.
Campbell has become easily the near-unanimous choice for the Oakland Raiders at the #8 pick, no doubt partly thanks to his ridiculous combine performance. If he is selected, there will be a nice little Terp contingent out in the Bay Area with Campbell and Hey-Bey on the same team and Vernon Davis right across the Bay Bridge. I'd prefer them to be in the DMV for recruiting purposes, but still good to see.
Unlike some years past, though, there's definitely a middle-round void for graduating Terps. The next best pro prospect is arguably Terrell Skinner, the strong safety that didn't get nearly enough credit from me or anyone else for his time here. He's generally predicted to go in Round 6 or 7.
The guy you would have to argue about being better than Skinner would be Nolan Carroll, the cornerback on the verge of a breakout senior season only to have it taken away by a season-ending injury. Had it not been for the injury, he'd likely be in Round 3 or 4 somewhere, but because NFL scouts didn't get to see a possibly dominant senior season, he's relegated to the later rounds somewhere, along with Skinner.
Other possible draftees and certain UDFAs include Travis Ivey, Phil Costa, and Cory Jackson. Jackson might be the most interesting of the three, because he'll probably have the best career out of all the players entering the draft - true FBs are rare and valuable commodities - but he might not even get drafted. I think most Maryland fans can agree on the fact that Jackson is worth at least a 5th round pick, but fullbacks rarely get prioritized on draft day, so he might slip out of the seventh round without being selected.
That said, he'll certainly get a tryout and will probably make a team that needs a FB, and I expect him to have a solid career in the NFL as a blocking back.
The draft is a (ridiculous) three day process this year, starting April 22 at 7:30. Hopefully, at least three or four Terps get their named called on the long weekend. We'll have posts if they do, of course.