There are some intriguing NFL Draft storylines to follow in the third week of college football. Below are some of the ones I’ll be keying on. There will be more later, previewing Oklahoma at Florida State.
Saturday NFL Draft watch notes
Clemson defensive end Andre Branch has been productive in the run game this season, but he's yet to register a sack and only one tackle for loss. If he wants to get picked in the first two rounds, he needs to get after the quarterback more. He should be able to do that today against Auburn (noon, ABC). If he can't, there's little reason to think as highly of him as a prospect.
Temple's Bernard Pierce is one of the most underrated NFL Draft prospects in the nation. He's back healthy this season, and he's looked good, albeit against Akron and Villanova. If he can avoid Penn State's Devon Still today (noon, ESPN), more people should take notice of the talent junior with good size (6-foot-1, 218 pounds).
One of the best matchups today will take place in the Pittsburgh at Iowa game (noon, ESPN 2). Panthers pass rusher
could go up against talented Iowa junior left tackle
. Some are starting to consider Reiff a high first-round pick and this game could go a long way in proving it.
Once again, Washington is playing Nebraska (3:30 p.m., ABC) and the onus will be on the defensive line. Haven’t given much attention to Washington’s Alameda Ta’amu? Even against a solid power offensive line Ta’amu could have a big game collapsing the pocket. Nebraska counters with the defensive line duo of
and
. Cornhuskers cornerback
remains questionable for this game.
Michigan State has a cornerback in
who could be on the rise if he matches up against Notre Dame’s
and has a good performance (3:30 p.m., NBC). Floyd has been sensational this season, but White has impressed at times this season. Spartans defensive tackle
needs a big game after looking average thus far in 2011.
Arizona quarterback Nick Foles may have the most ordinary 810 yards passing in two game ever. Many of his yards come on short passes and check downs. It would be nice to see Foles really work the deep ball, and could against an average Stanford secondary.
Let's see if Miami redshirt sophomore running back Lamar Miller can run as well against Ohio State as he has to this point in the season. Given what's happening with Miami, it wouldn't be shocking to see Miller enter the draft after this season.
An even better cornerback/wide receiver matchup could take place when Virginia visits North Carolina (3:30 p.m., ESPNU). If Virginia's Chase Minniefield is on UNC's Dwight Jones, tune in. Both like to be physical so it could be a great showdown.
It will be interesting to see how the suspended Miami players do against Ohio State (7:30 p.m., ESPN). Returning are solid NFL Draft prospects Marcus Forston, Sean Spence and Travis Benjamin.
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