There are two occasions where you can usually rely on Illini football winning: fourth tier bowl games and NFL Draft night. Last year the Illini had more NFL Draft picks than any Big Ten team; despite going 2-10 the previous college football season. From 2007-2012, the Illini had more first round draft picks than any Big Ten team. Illinois saw guys taken in both the first and second round in both 2011 and 2012; despite going just 14-12 in the two season preceding those drafts.
This draft though, brings nothing to get excited about for Illini fans. Ditto for Northwestern.
NU had just one player, Kain Colter, invited to the Scouting Combine. Illinois also received just one, Jonathan Brown. Not many people do full seven round NFL mock Drafts, for obvious reasons. But I do have a guy in Florida, who prefers to remain anonymous, who does a seven round mock for me, and updates it religiously. As you can see, he has Brown in the sixth round, and that’s it. No Colter, or any Northwestern Wildcats.
Walter Football, is the gold standard for mock drafts. Period.
They have a six round mock which has zero representation from the Illinois Fighting Illini or the Northwestern Wildcats.
It’s NFL Draft season, and instead I’m writing about Eastern Illinois (Jimmy Garappolo will probably go in the first round) and Northern Illinois (Jimmie Ward will be a second round pick, he could sneak into the first). Before today I’ve never written about EIU. Before 2011, I had never written about NIU. For obvious reasons. And before you start the Jordan Lynch talk, he’s a 7th round pick at best.
Jonathan Brown can play, he’s really good. He’ll be a steal of a pick. However, he’s still more known for being the guy who got suspended for giving a knee to the groin of Northwestern OL Patrick Ward in the 2011 rivalry game than he is for his play. Which is a bit unfair, because Brown did put up some great numbers and was quite productive within some really really awful Illini defenses.
As for Kain Colter, well he’s accomplished much more for the game of football than damn near anyone, before he even attempts to carve out a NFL career.
As for his draft prospects, well, look at all he has going against him:
-a position switch
-coming off surgeries, which kept him from participating in the combine, had clearly slowed him down and hurt his Pro Day
-politics don’t matter for the blue chip prospects, but if you’re a fringe guy, a late round projection, being a social progressive doesn’t score you any points in a league that’s arch-conservative. Again, it’s more about football than it is winning games, but if you’re on the margins…NFL teams will take the guy who will no doubt tow the company line ahead of the rabble rouser each and every time.
I can’t even think of another Northwestern Wildcat with even a remote chance of being drafted. At all. Not in this class.
Actually, the guy with the best chance from the Land of Lincoln’s Big Ten teams is Ryan Lankford. If you hear his name, it won’t be until Saturday (rounds 4-7), and it will be late on Saturday. Lankford wasn’t on anyone’s radar for the draft at all heading into his pro day. However, look at what he did at the University of Illinois Pro Day.
If Ryan Lankford was at the NFL Scouting Combine….
– His 40 yard dash time of 4.36 would have ranked 3rd among WR and 4th overall
– His broad jump of 10’ 7” would have ranked 3rd among WR
– His 60-yard shuttle time of 11.00 would have ranked 4th among WR and 5th overall
– His 3-cone time of 6.76 would have ranked 10th among WR
– Lankford did not participate in the bench press due to a shoulder injury
The 40 time and the injury are what truly matter. On October 26th, Michigan State’s Shaquille Calhoun (a likely first round pick in 2015) crushed Lankford, forcing a fumble the Spartans recovered and breaking a bone in Lankford’s shoulder that knocked him out for the year.
“He wants it, he works hard at it, he has great intangibles and speed and can run routes,” said Illini Wide Receivers Coach and former Illinois, Bears WR Mike Bellamy said of Ryan Lankford during the season.
“The biggest thing for Ryan is to continue to believe in himself.”
I was just as surprised as anyone when A.J. Jenkins ended up a first round pick in 2012, and Tavon Wilson was a second rounder. Both Illini were big time reaches. If Lankford hears his name called in round 6 or 7, it won’t be a stretch at all. Not with a 4.36
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also a frequent guest on national talk radio. Banks is a former contributor to NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, who’s been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)