Linkbacker U. Goes NFL Draft Diving

Finally, the day we have all been waiting four. The time of year where we get to stare at Mel Kiper's overly greasy hair for hours on end and hear wayyyy too much personal information about people who barely are allowed to sip alcohol. Today marks the first day of the NFL Draft, and while no Nittany Lions will be drafted today, I figured we would take a look at the Penn Staters who may get drafted over the next couple days.

Evan Royster: Sleeper or Sleepy?
To us Penn State faithful, it was easy to mistake him for the latter on several Saturdays this season. But at least one blogger thinks he could be a sleeper for the Packers. It will certainly be interesting to see if/where he gets drafted.\

NFL Draft: The Blue and White Perspective Based on last year's performance, it shouldn't be too surprising that Penn State will be poorly represented on the draft board. Jeff Rice points out that there are only perhaps two Lions who are guaranteed to get drafted. Most interestingly, he points out that Stefen Wisniewski is ranked as the second ranked center in the draft. Ahem, really? Did any of the scouts watch him at center at any point during the 2009 season? Just ask him, he'll even tell you how much more comfortable he is at guard.

Searching...Searching...Searching....Nope No Penn State

ESPN's Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg gave us the top conference players on Mel Kiper's Big Board.

No. 11: Illinois DT Corey Liuget
Analysis: Reads game well; strong against the run or the pass. Has good leverage, is disruptive, is not elite pass-rusher. Solid workouts.

No. 18: Wisconsin DE J.J. Watt
Analysis: Has shown athleticism and versatility at full 290 pounds. Has great motor and good diagnostic skills; is impressive pass-rusher.

No. 20: Iowa DE Adrian Clayborn
Analysis: Better fit for 4-3 DE. Really good motor; batters O-linemen. Needs to refine rush skills; gets very high marks from those he's gone against.

No. 23: Wisconsin LT Gabe Carimi
Analysis: Monster year of tape, battling a number of high draft picks. Better footwork in 2010; added consistency. Excellent frame; could move along the line.

No. 24: Purdue DE Ryan Kerrigan
Analysis: Has limited physical skills but elite instincts and ball awareness. Is a TFL machine, even against double-teams. Should shake tweener tag.

In Other News

In other news, LaVar Arrington has been inducted into the WPIAL Football Hall of Fame, senior Collegian writer Matt Fortuna gets a little help from a familiar name for his senior column,and Penn State's largest presence at the NFL Draft this weekend will come from its live student media coverage.

As you can see, the Penn State based news out there related to the NFL Draft is few and far between. The future looks brighter though for the current batch of Lions, so we can only hope that 2011 plays out better than 2010.

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