NCAA Football News

The 2013 NFL Draft already has an embarrassment of riches at the wide receiver position. Judging by the performance of the wideouts at this week's Texas vs. the Nation all-star game, that overabundance will extend well into the third day of the draft and even to the group of undrafted free agents. Each squad features multiple receivers who displayed NFL quality talent in some aspect of their game during the week of practices. Who are the names to know from the list of prospects who are trying to impress pro scouts in Allen, Texas this week?

Nation

TJ Moe, Missouri—Moe's game was very reminiscent of a wide receiver I watched at this game in 2008—former Texas Tech Red Raider Danny Amendola. Blaine Gabbert's favorite target in 2010 does everything with great intent and precision. His breaks and variation of speed in his routes create easy separation, and Moe had the most reliable hands of any receiver in Allen this week.

Moe has better size (5'11 1/4", 201 lbs.) than Amendola, and he might be a little faster than the current NFL free agent, too. Amendola went undrafted, but with the increasing value of slot receivers in a pass-happy league, Moe should hear his name called on the third day of the draft.

DeVonte Christopher, Utah—Christopher's production dropped off this season, but he showed the skills that made him Utah's leading receiver in 2011. His ability to create separation with sudden and smooth moves in his routes was easy to see, even during Tuesday's cramped indoor practice. He left many a defensive back flatfooted, and Christopher's double move was as polished as a beloved Corvette.

Christopher's natural body control was apparent when he adjusted to the ball in flight. He did leave you wanting more consistency, especially in the areas of hands and focus, but it's clear that he can get open at will against this level of competition. He should get into a camp and at least secure a spot on a practice squad.   

Kenbrell Thompkins, Cincinnati—Thompkins and Christopher have a lot in common. Their frames (Thompkins 6'1", 194, Christopher 6'0", 192) and ability to create separation with a variety of moves and quickness made them indistinguishable at times. Thompkins is better at elevating and snatching the ball out of the air at its highest point with full extension, but like Christopher, he was prone to the occasional concentration lapse and bad drop.

It's going to be hard for Thompkins to get drafted, as one anonymous scout told Tony Wiltshire of BillsDraft.com that he had the receiver graded as a "reject" because of character concerns, but he could impress if he can get his foot in the door with a club this summer.

Ryan Spadola, Lehigh—Spadola wasn't carving pinpoint routes and stopping on a dime like Moe. He wasn't leaving defensive backs grasping at air with quick-twitch moves like Christopher and Thompkins. Yet, there he was, open at the end of most of his routes, and doing the best job of any Nation wide receiver at getting open deep. Spadola won't win any beauty contests, but if he can contribute on special teams, he might hang around the league and impress if injuries ahead of him on the depth chart create an opportunity for playing time.

 

Texas

Justin Brown, Oklahoma—Brown didn't play at Oklahoma until this season. He transferred from Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, and filled an important role providing veteran leadership and steady play for the Sooners. His big frame (6'3", 207) and ability to make catches outside of that frame will certainly draw interest from the NFL.

Brown's ball skills were excellent, with accurate leap timing and soft hands to finish plays, even when he had to go up for a contested ball. He's not a sudden or fast receiver, but Brown could be a viable red zone target and possession receiver in three and four-wide sets in the pros.

Uzoma Nwachukwu, Texas A&M—If you're looking for a speed merchant out of this game, Nwachukwu is your man. If he was even with a defensive back, then he was leavin'. Only Dax Swanson of Sam Houston State had the footwork to mirror Nwachukwu. The rest of the Texas defensive backs were powerless to stop Nwachukwu from getting open downfield. He was also able to use the threat that his speed presented to create a lot of room on short and intermediate routes with an excellent throttle down.

Nwachukwu's hands and field awareness did leave something to be desired, and sometimes he was too far downfield too quickly for the poor Texas quarterback group to give him a chance to make a play on the ball. It was still obvious that his raw physical talent could make Nwachukwu the gem of the receiver group in a game filled with potential diamonds in the rough.

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Every Thursday on The SEC Blog, we will feature questions from the Bleacher Report inbox, Twitter and email. 

Do you have a question for next week's Q&A? Send it to SEC lead writer Barrett Sallee via the B/R inbox, on Twitter @BarrettSallee or at bsallee@bleacherreport.com.

 

You've got SEC questions, and I've got SEC answers. Thank you, everybody, for your questions this week. And if I didn't get to them this week, they are still saved and will be used in the future.

And we're off:

@barrettsallee who is your team to watch for in the SEC on National Signing Day???

— b DOT (@i_BLIEVE) January 30, 2013

Alabama and Florida will likely nail down top-five classes, Ole Miss is the unquestioned leader for consensus No. 1 overall prospect Robert Nkemdiche and Texas A&M will haul in a plethora of skill players. But the team to watch on national signing day is the Auburn Tigers.

The reason is simple. There's been so much uncertainty leading up to this point with the 3-9 record and total staff overhaul, but the Tigers still have a chance to land a top-10 class if they can land several of the top prospects left on their board.

Stud linebacker Reuben Foster, a 5-star prospect by 247Sports.com from Auburn, is choosing between the Tigers, Alabama and Georgia—with Auburn being the likely landing spot. Montravius Adams, a 5-star defensive tackle from Vienna, Ga., is visiting Auburn over the weekend and has the Tigers in his top five. MacKensie Alexander, a 4-star cornerback who visited Auburn last weekend, and could be the late-season surprise Malzahn was looking for couple.

If the Tigers can haul in a few of those prospects, keep defensive end Carl Lawson on board, and sign running back Johnathan Ford or flip running back Tarean Folston; Malzahn could reel in a top-10 class.

@barrettsallee what's with Liner and UGA here last minute?

— Richard Scarcelli (@RollTideRichard) January 31, 2013

It's been assumed for quite some time that Dee Liner, a 4-star defensive tackle from Muscle Shoals, Ala., is a lock to sign with the Alabama Crimson Tide after de-committing from Auburn earlier this month.

But maybe that's not the case.

According to Seth Emerson of Macon.com, the Georgia school airplane was in Muscle Shoals on Thursday. 

Take whatever you want from that development, but it's certainly interesting.

Does that mean that Georgia is suddenly in the mix? Maybe. But even if Georgia is making a late push for Liner, I'd be floored if he winds up anywhere other than Tuscaloosa.

@barrettsallee With recruits, #Stunts & #Props have garnered much fanfare in seasons past, puppies, tattoos, etc., what will 2013 bring?

— Andy M. Johnson (@GeorgiaGunOwner) January 31, 2013

I'm sure there's a prospect planning to raise the bar on former Georgia running back Isaiah Crowell's announcement, which included a live puppy.

What will it be?

We will find out in six days. But if Reuben Foster picks Auburn and rolls out a live Tiger, or Laremy Tunsil chooses Alabama by riding an elephant into the school cafeteria, they'd win national signing Day for sure.

Some people get all up in arms over the methods kids use to announce their college choices, but I'm not really one of them. Have a little fun, be creative and be respectful. The only thing that bothers me is if a prospect is outwardly disrespectful to the school or schools he doesn't choose. 

Those instances are rare though.

 

Follow @BarrettSallee

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The Twitter world erupted on Thursday as CBS aired Dr. Phil McGraw's sit-down interview with Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the person behind the online girlfriend hoax surrounding former Notre Dame Fighting Irish football star Manti Te'o.

In one of the most bizarre and confusing sports stories of all time, Tuiasosopo's admissions to Dr. Phil contributed even more to the madness. In the interview, Tuiasosopo said (via Huffington Post) that he dragged the hoax out for so long because he was in love with the All-American linebacker.

Tuiasosopo also asserted that he was the voice of Lennay Kekua, the fake girlfriend of Te'o's, who allegedly died of leukemia. However, he declined to recreate the voice when pressed.

Here's what some prominent personalities had to say as the exclusive one-on-one interview unfolded.

Buzz Feed Sports got things kicked off with the initial explanation that Tuiasosopo offered:

WDNU NewsCenter 16 reporter Barbara Harrington documented the motivation behind the hoax, which apparently wasn't financially motivated:

HuffPost Sports noted the timing of Tuiasosopo's confession to Te'o himself, and the resulting ramifications:

That was then followed by Tuiasosopo's nonsensical rationale for playing along for so long:

Buzz Feed Sports noted the very misguided description that Tuiasosopo gave concerning his sexual orientation:

NBC Latino's Adrian Carrasquillo was looking on, and focused particularly on how hard Dr. Phil was pushing to get Tuiasosopo to do the female voice he's alleged to have done on many phone conversations with Te'o:

Yet another twisted detail, once again tweeted by Buzz Feed Sports:

Michael McCann of Sports Illustrated offered his feedback on one portion of the interview:

Daily Show writer Travon Free provided his opinion, which was summed up by the words Tuiasosopo used to describe his relationship with Te'o at one stage in the discussion:

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Lane Kiffin is entering his fourth season as the head coach of the Trojans program, and he is looking to lockdown a top ten recruiting class for the fourth straight year. USC reloads its lineup every season thanks to easy selling points for the program. 

This program is one of the most recognized in college football across the country, and is full of winning tradition. The Trojans are always considered to be among the nation’s elite programs. 

If that doesn’t help sell the program, head coach Lane Kiffin can always point to it being Los Angeles, and get the wow factor moving for the celebrity status that USC players receive once they arrive on campus.

This is a look at how Lane Kiffin so easily lands the nation’s top talent every year. 

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One of the toughest positional races in the Big Ten in 2013 will also be the most important: quarterback. Four teams lost their primary starter from 2012 to graduation, and more have interesting scenarios where the incumbents may not keep their jobs through next season.

Not all quarterback controversies are created the same, of course; Michigan QB Devin Gardner is technically not a "returning starter," but he's in pretty decent shape, and there's no controversy whatsoever as to whether Braxton Miller's going to get benched at Ohio State.

So here's a look at each race in the Big Ten—even the boring ones—and where we think teams like Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State will end up in Week 1, just seven short months away.

Onward!

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With National Signing Day less than a week away, college programs across the country are wrapping up their recruiting classes with the hopes of landing some difference makers in the final hours.

For a program that appeared to be on the ropes a few seasons ago, the Texas Longhorns cannot afford to be missing their targets.

The Horns' 2013 class is on the small side, but the hope of delivering quality over quantity aligns with the sheer number of players returning to Austin next season. With Texas sitting at 15 commitments, it will look to add at least one or two more before NSD on Wednesday.

But while a name like Andrew Billings or Dontre Wilson may end up stealing the show with a pledge to the Longhorns, the main attraction could be A'Shawn Robinson.

If the Horns can close on Billings and Wilson, while solidifying Robinson's commitment, they will have finished their class with quite a bang considering the circumstances and talent the three bring to the table.

Texas' top priority is closing.

 

Dontre Wilson's War

The Dontre Wilson Saga has seen the Longhorns come into the race and fall out, only to re-establish some position late in the game.

The speedy running back out of DeSoto, Texas, originally committed to Oregon, but after Chip Kelly bounced to the NFL, Wilson opened up his search.

Oregon and Ohio State appear to be the front-runners, but after cancelling a visit to Oklahoma State in favor of Texas, the Longhorns will need to hit a home run to get back into the hunt for his signature.

 

Two for the Money

Andrew Billings and A'Shawn Robinson could become a pair of defensive tackles that solidify the back-end of the current group on campus.

Adding the two to an already formidable and young core of tackles means favorable challenges ahead if the talents progress accordingly, but everyone knows of that uncertainty.

Nevertheless, Billings and Robinson are a couple of 300-pound tackles that bring plenty of size, strength and athleticism, thematic of the group already assembled in Austin.

The key to the equation is Robinson, who is the top-ranked player in the Lone Star State according to Rivals.com. Whether or not the Longhorns land Billings, keeping Robinson bound for Austin is the most critical move next Wednesday.

 

The Bottom Line

National Signing Day is a special time for players and college programs alike, as each entity becomes the other's short-term future.

Mack Brown's Longhorns, a program in a critical third year of a rebuild, has to get almost everything right in order to launch itself back to the top. Evaluation and development is key, but finding the talent and getting their signatures every February is even more paramount.

Success begins on NSD.

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Those Auburn Tigers sure had it made when running backs Carnell "Cadillac" Williams and Ronnie Brown were on the prowl. 

Both first-round picks of the 2005 NFL Draft, Williams and Brown electrified SEC competition by way of a potent, 1-2 punch that put linebackers on their heels and threw cornerbacks and safeties out of their comfort zone. 

Tackling tanks like Williams and speedsters like Brown was no easy task for sub-6'0," 200-pound defensive backs. 

Who was behind the magic for the Tigers?

It was none other than Al Borges, who engineered a spectacular Auburn backfield in 2004 before taking on offensive coordinator duties at Michigan in 2011. 

Now that Borges has a few SEC-like backs of his own to manipulate, the Wolverines' stable of rushing talent could be similar to what the Tigers had just a handful of years ago. Borges could have an Auburn 2.0 on his hands with incoming freshmen Derrick Green and Deveon Smith, along with soon-to-be junior Thomas Rawls. 

 

Comparing Brown and Cadillac to What Michigan Has Today

 

Prior to earning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2005 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cadillac Williams was a bruiser in the SEC, the nation's premier college football conference. 

Williams, the fifth pick of the 2005 draft, rushed for 1,165 yards and 12 touchdowns during his senior year at Auburn. He was already a 1,000-yard rusher prior to Al Borges' arrival, but it took the emergence of Ronnie Brown in 2004 to really complete the puzzle. 

Brown, the second pick of the 2005 draft, rushed for 913 yards and eight touchdowns during his senior year, running side-by-side with Cadillac as the larger bulldozer. 

In college, both were about 6'0" and 220 pounds, very similar in size to what Al Borges has at Michigan with Thomas Rawls (5'10", 218 pounds), Derrick Green (6'0", 230 pounds) and Deveon Smith (5'11", 220). 

Like Auburn and other SEC programs today, Michigan was once revered for hard-nosed running backs that carried out a physical running style. With persistence, Wolverines coach Brady Hoke will revive that tradition by creating an SEC-like program (or an old-school Michigan program) one class at a time. 

Rawls has been compared to Mark Ingram, another Flint native with a solid frame. As a sophomore, Rawls showed the Maize and Blue faithful that he could run over—literally run over—just about any linebacker in the Big Ten. 

When the Wolverines were forced to face the music on third down, Rawls came through more times than not, rushing for 89 yards on 11 carries, including a 63-yard touchdown. 

Expectations are high for Rawls entering this fall. 

Green committed to Michigan a week ago as the nation's No. 1 running back, according to Rivals.com. Other recruiting sites have him listed from No. 1 to No. 3 or 4. Either way, the Hermitage High (Va.) 5-star standout has the aptitude and ability to deliver the goods. 

Smith could be the complementing addition to either a Rawls or Green-led Wolverines ground force. Either that, or he could don the red shirt, sit back, learn and be primed for action in 2014. 

Comparing Borges' current package of ball-carriers to Brown and Williams isn't a stretch. However, keep in mind that the pair formed one of the most dynamic 1-2 combinations in SEC history. Expecting that much from Rawls, Green (and possibly Smith) may seem like wishful thinking. 

But it's not impossible, given the development of Michigan's offensive line and incoming recruits that are sure to dominate the trenches in the next couple of years. 

Replicating the same type of wondrous pair will be a task for Borges, but he has the necessary tools at his disposal to, at the very least, piece together something like he had at Auburn during his glory years as an offensive guru.  

 

Follow Bleacher Report's Michigan Wolverines football writer Adam Biggers on Twitter @AdamBiggers81

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