Darius Walker to the NFL

[Killian]

Eh, ok. 5th round at best. Mind as well use this to list all the other early entrants.

[420]

Eh, ok. 5th round at best. Mind as well use this to list all the other early entrants.

Were you looking for the word "might"?

It's your call.

[Killian]

Nope. I did it to fuck with you. You forgot a random apostrophy. Probably got stuck in your maille.

[the_ouskull]

Let's hear you thoughts...

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA !!!!

It's YOUR, dumbass. YOUR thoughts. And that's not a typo either, because it's an error of omission. Stop dropping spelling smack on people, you brainless fucktard. How do you even find the time to type between bobbing your head up and down in your own lap and perusing every post on this board with a fine-toothed comb, looking for the smallest sign of proof that you're NOT the dumbest piece of wind-chime-selling shit to walk this planet? ...uh, I mean typos.

the_ouskull

That's from yesterday at about 5:30pm. Glass houses. Stones. There's a lesson to be learned somewhere, but, as a teacher, I've learned to recognize when somebody is just too fucking dumb to learn it.

You = Too Fucking Dumb. Sorry. There's always Summer School.

the_ouskull

[420]

Nope. I did it to fuck with you. You forgot a random apostrophy. Probably got stuck in your maille.

Sorry bro, dick's are for chicks in my world.

You may want to hit up "skull" though. It sounds like he has some experience.

I used to fuck guys like you in prison...

the_ouskull

[WolverineSteve]

To get back on topic...Alan Branch UM/DL will enter the draft.

[BraveFan]

That makes me kinda happy, even if it's only for a minute or two.

Of course, when we lose Ginn, Gonzo and Pittman tomorrow, I can go back to being an emotional trainwreck for the next eight or nine months.

[Cicero]

Darius is making a big mistake. He doesnt have the speed to be a day 1 pick. He is a patient runner and catches the ball well, but he needed to work on his explosivenes.

ND's offense is getting a complete overhaul.

[Killian]

Darius is making a big mistake. He doesnt have the speed to be a day 1 pick. He is a patient runner and catches the ball well, but he needed to work on his explosivenes.

ND's offense is getting a complete overhaul.

I agree with everything you said, but Darius really couldn't improve his stock by coming back for his senior year. He doesn't have great speed and he would have been the focal point of the offense, thus having opposing DC's stack 9 in the box and asking the new ND QB to beat them one-one-one. Darius would have struggled and would have a greater chance at injury.

While this hurts ND in the short term, it helps them in the long run. Guys like James Aldridge, Munir Prince and Armando Allen will get a shot at the starting job. And they will have Travis Thomas back on offense.

As for others, Peterson (OU), Lynch (Cal), Russell (LSU) and Jarrett (SC) have all declared.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Darius is making a big mistake. He doesnt have the speed to be a day 1 pick. He is a patient runner and catches the ball well, but he needed to work on his explosivenes.

ND's offense is getting a complete overhaul.

I agree with everything you said, but Darius really couldn't improve his stock by coming back for his senior year. He doesn't have great speed and he would have been the focal point of the offense, thus having opposing DC's stack 9 in the box and asking the new ND QB to beat them one-one-one. Darius would have struggled and would have a greater chance at injury.

I see your point, but I think Darius would have had enough touches next season to put up some numbers, even with opposing defenses keying on him. But as you mentioned, staying healthy is the key.

While this hurts ND in the short term, it helps them in the long run. Guys like James Aldridge, Munir Prince and Armando Allen will get a shot at the starting job. And they will have Travis Thomas back on offense.

I think Thomas did an admirable job at linebacker, all things considered, last season. Unless we have someone ready to step in and replace him (Vernaglia?), we'll take a hit there.

What the team needs most desperately is an infusion of speed into the secondary, and I had hoped that they might try Prince back there in spring practice. But with this development, that probably won't be the case.

As for others, Peterson (OU), Lynch (Cal), Russell (LSU) and Jarrett (SC) have all declared.

All of them should be first round choices. Walker won't be.

There may be a place in the NFL for Darius. If so, it most likely will be as a third down back/special teams contributor. He did blossom into a pretty nice pass receiver out of the backfield at ND.

[Killian]

Terry,

I think Darius knew that he likely had no where to go but down on draft boards next year, so he left. It will hurt next year, but it will help the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Next year is basically 12 glorified scrimages for the 2008 season. That's the way I'll look at it.

As far as LB goes, I believe the thinking is that Toryan Smith will start at MLB and Maurice Crum will slide over to his natural position of OLB. Thomas did an ok job, but it didn't seem as though he had the instincts for LB. The three on the field next year (Crum, Smith and probably Brockington) all played LB and should be okay.

I agree about the secondary, but what they really need are kids who have grown up playing the position. Wooden, Ndukwe and Zbikowski had never played defense before they enrolled at ND, and Wooden and Ndukwe spent their freshman year playing WR. Having guys like Lambert, Walls, McNeil, Gary Gray, Harrison Smith, Sergio Brown, David Bruton and Rey Herring will help. All of those guys played defense in high school, so they should at least have the instincts. Getting a new DC that actually has the kids playing instead of reading their wrist band will help as well.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Gonzalez is also leaving early. He's projected as a second-round choice.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/208019,C ... 12.article

[buckeye_in_sc]

Gonzo will make an NFL team happy...great hands...great routes...smart kid and deece speed...I wish him well...

(ducks back into the corner waiting for the other 2 dominoes to fall - Ginn and Pittman)...

[Terry in Crapchester]

(ducks back into the corner waiting for the other 2 dominoes to fall - Ginn and Pittman)...

Just in case you didn't hear, they declared earlier in the week. :P

I almost feel sorry for tOSU -- almost. But somehow I have a sneaking suspicion that, not unlike USC, the process they're about to go through will be more akin to reloading than rebuilding.

[buckeye_in_sc]

tOSU will be very green on offense...

the good:

3 OL starters back - LT, RG, and RT which is nice...although they need to lose some FUCKING weight
2 WR's back who played a ton - Robiskie and Hartline
1 TE back who can catch and block - Rory Nicol
1 RB who is a stud in waiting - Beanie Wells

now the bad:

new QB
finding 2 more wr's to compliment Robo and Hartline...no real burner in that thin depth behind them besides Ray Small...
Serviceable center - all signs point that Jimmy Cordle can do it but after having Mangold for 4 years and Datish...that will be a tall order
A back up TE who can catch and block - seems that Jake Ballard is the man...let's hope so

Defensively

the good:

3 out of 4 LB's who played extensively and started are back...I would argue Homan needs to go to the middle and Baby Animal needs to play OLB...
1 DE who is a monster - Vernon Ghoslton (remember that name) will be the next great in a long line of awesome DE's that tOSU has produced (Wil Smith, Vrabel, etc)
1 CB who is a lockdown corner - Malcom Jenkins if they allowed him to play man I think he can shutdown some people...

the bad:

Fucking JaMario O'Neal is a waste of a fucking roster spot...all the hype he got...he plays safety like he is standing still...I would move him to WR
Anderson Russell - he hopefully will be fully recovered from knee surgery...he was playing awesome football until he got hurt
Finding an interior line - Pitcock and Patterson are gone...woah
Finding some DB's who can play man fucking coverage and not look lost on every fucking play...

the early sked is easy...the good part...if they can beat Washington in Washington they could be undefeated going into the horrific end of season stretch which sees them Sconsin at home, at PSU, ILLinois at home and at UM...

again if I can spend New Years in Orlando or tampa I would be estatic...

[Terry in Crapchester]

As far as LB goes, I believe the thinking is that Toryan Smith will start at MLB and Maurice Crum will slide over to his natural position of OLB. Thomas did an ok job, but it didn't seem as though he had the instincts for LB. The three on the field next year (Crum, Smith and probably Brockington) all played LB and should be okay.

One rumor that keeps popping up at ND Nation is that Zibby will move to WLB. I'm not saying that will happen, but if it does, it presumably would keep Crum in the middle.

I'm honestly not sure what to make about Zibby returning. He's been a good representative of ND, but with the exception of the punt return team, I'm not sure what he brings to the table that will help us next season. It's to the point where I now consider him a liability in the secondary. Moving to WLB would solve that problem, but he's a little undersized for LB, and that wouldn't solve the problem of Crum playing out of position. Maybe RB, since he has shown some good instincts running the ball, and with Walker gone, we'll probably go to a RB by committee approach next year. Then again, there's a pretty big difference between running back an INT or a punt in the open field, and running from scrimmage. And in any event, I'm not sure what good comes from a position switch at this point in his career.

[Killian]

With the (presumed) move to the 3-4, I think Zibby will stay at SS. As bad as he is, he will still have experience. I hope Weis tells him that his job as a PR is safe, but his SS job is up for grabs.