Early Peek at the Sun Belt Conference's Top Seniors:
QB Omar Haugabook ~ Troy State
RB Calvin Dawson ~ Louisiana-Monroe
RB Kenny Cattouse ~ Troy State
WR Brandon Jackson ~ North Texas
WR Gary Banks ~ Troy State
TE Stephen Chicola ~ Middle Tennessee
OL Jesse Newman ~ Louisiana-Lafayette
OL Kyle Cunningham ~ Louisiana-Monroe
OL Jarrid Smithn ~ Florida Atlantic
OL Adam Hill ~ Louisiana-Monroe
OL Brandon Nix ~ Middle Tennessee
DE Sean Mosley ~ Middle Tennessee
DL Chris Bradwell ~ Troy State
DE Tavares Jones ~ Middle Tennessee
DE Josh Pinnick ~ Florida Atlantic
LB Erik Walden ~ Middle Tennessee (DE)
LB Maurice Holman ~ North Texas
LB Koby McKinnon ~ Arkansas State
CB Lionell Singleton ~ Florida International
CB Leodis McKelvin ~ Troy State
S Khayyam Burns ~ Arkansas State
S Damon Nickson ~ Middle Tennessee
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Top Pro Prospects [Seniors/Loosely ranked]:
CB Leodis McKelvin ~ Troy State
FS Damon Nickson ~ Middle Tennessee
DL Chris Bradwell ~ Troy State
CB Lionell Singleton ~ Florida International
RB Calvin Dawson ~ Louisiana-Monroe QB Omar Haugabook ~ Troy State
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Seven Juniors to Watch Closely [Not Ranked]: RB Tyrell Fenroy ~ Louisiana-Lafayette -- This small (5' 10", 185), but speedy back has led the Cajuns' offense with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.
WR Frantz Simeon ~ Florida Atlantic -- Only 5' 10" and 185 pounds, but he's probably the Sun Belt's most feared deep threat.
WR LaGregory Sapp ~ Louisiana-Monroe -- 6' 3" receiver with terrific speed and improving hands averaged 18.5 ypc in 2006.
OT Franklin Dunbar ~ Middle Tennessee -- 6' 5", 320 pound left tackle, who might be the best lineman in the conference, already.
DT Jervante Jackson ~ Florida Atlantic -- 6' 3", 280-pound defensive tackle with athletic ability is improving against the run.
DT Trevor Jenkins ~ Middle Tennessee -- At 290 pounds he is one of biggest and strongest defensive anchors in the conference.
CB Trevor Ford ~ Troy State -- Florida State transfer with great speed. Could make a fantastic duo with McKelvin at cornerback.
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DD.com Mailbag [Jake]: Great site! I noticed that you posted your top players from the Sun-Belt conference, but left off some key notables and I was curious what you thought of the following players since you hadn't considered
them as pro prospects: Cornerback Kyle Ward of Louisiana-Lafayette, safety Lamar Morgan of Louisiana-Lafayette and running back Jamario Thomas of North Texas.
DD.com Reply: Thank you Jake. All the players you mentioned we seriously considered adding to our list of Sun Belt Prospects. And, clearly, all the players you mentioned will be on the radar of N.F.L. scouts this upcoming season. But, unfortunately, when you are only picking 22 seniors some talented prospects get left out.
Running back Jamario Thomas was the toughest player to ommit, but his production has steadily declined since he was a 1,000 yard rusher as a freshman and he clearly needs to bounce back as a senior. Safety Aaron Weathers from North Texas is another very good football player that barely missed the cut.
Kyle Ward is a very fast cornerback. He has some upside potential and we like him a lot, but Lionel Singleton and Leodis McKelvin were no-brainers for us, as both had great 2006 seasons and have value as kick-returners. Lamar Morgan is an excellent safety/linebacker hybrid, but he'll need to show clear cut defensive back speed to get significant N.F.L. attention.
Jake, the truth is, only time will tell how this plays out for all the players we listed. In 2006, for example, we ranked Troy State's Brannon Condren as the top safety in the Sun Belt, but who knew the hard-hitting Florida native could run as fast as he did for scouts (4.45) and would be a borderline Day 1 possibility? With a good senior season and great workouts, we can see Ward and several other Sun Belt prospects getting significant attention from N.F.L. scouts.
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