NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr did an ESPN conference call with the nation’s media and the one college program that kept coming up was…Miami? Notre Dame? USC?
Nope.
Someone from the SEC?
No, it was a Big Ten program.
Ohio State? Michigan?
Neither, it was Michigan State football actually. Yes, the Spartans are loaded with prospects; for both the 2015 NFL Draft and 2016 NFL Draft.
You have to hand it to the media who cover Michigan State football, they showed up in full force for this media call. To see where we have some of these Michigan State football players going in both drafts, you can check out our 2015 NFL mock draft here, and our 2016 NFL mock draft here.
Also, click the individual Spartan player’s name where highlighted to learn more about each one.
All quotes below are from Mel Kiper.
1. QB Connor Cook
The face of the franchise regarding Michigan State football, Cook flirted with the idea of coming out, as 2015 is a very weak signal caller class. After Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, there is a tremendous drop-off. Cook decided to return to East Lansing, and he probably made the right call. However, next year’s QB class will be much better.
The Cotton Bowl conveyed everything we need to know about Connor Cook’s pro potential. He has tremendous ability, but he’s certainly not there yet.
“You saw some throws that needed to be delivered accurately that weren’t.”
“With his size and his arm and his ability to beat you from the pocket he could go into next year and be right there.
“There’s going to be competition, Christian Hackenberg, Trevon Boykin, Cardale Jones, but he has an opportunity to be the first quarterback off the board next year.”
The Saints could be drafting Drew Brees’ replacement in 2016; New Orleans, and their system, would be a good fit for Cook.
Cook has truly developed and progressed during his time in East Lansing. At first, he was a game-manager relying on his defense. Now he’s the focal point of not just the offense, but the entire team.
2. DL Shilique Calhoun
Calhoun was one of only two defensive players in college football in 2013 to score three touchdowns.
“Long athletic pass rusher, little surprised he opted to go back, he could have been in the first round mix.”
“And next year, with all the junior defensive linemen that came out, if he plays consistently, improves his pass rush technique, if he works on all those things and brings it all together, he could be a top 15 pick next year.”
“So he could go from being a late one, early two to a top 15 by coming back.”
3. OL Jack Conklin
“He will be an elite type of player, same with Shilique Calhoun. I think he’s a first round caliber player. He was on my radar because I thought maybe he would come out, he had such a high grade, but by going back you’re looking at the elite of the elite. Jack Conklin has a chance of being a very high first round pick.”
“Certainly the first offensive tackle off the board.”
4. DB Trae Waynes
He wasn’t discussed on this call, but he seems to be a consensus first round pick in 2015. He’ll join another member of the “no fly zone,” (the original no fly zone, remember the Arizona Cardinals copied the name from the Michigan State football program) Waynes is likely to join Darquezze Denard by becoming a first draft pick.
5. DL Marcus Rush
He was brought up a couple times on this call, but Kiper seems to believe that Rush is a very late round pick at best. The way he spoke about him, it appears Rush’s best case scenario is un-drafted priority free agent. His draft stock just isn’t as high as that of the other Michigan State football players on this list.
6. RB Jeremy Langford
“Running backs, a lot of juniors came out that hurts the seniors a little bit. He’s not flashy, just a move the chains kind of guy. I think he’s a fifth or sixth round type of guy.”
Obviously, running backs are never drafted very high to begin with these days anyway.
7. DB Kurtis Drummond
“I like Drummond, he’s a guy that if he can show the coverage ability at the workouts and show that he has all the skills and responsibilities that you need he could be a fourth or fifth round kind of guy. Right now in terms of safeties, he’s the #5 or #6 overall.”
8. WR Tony Lippett
“Lippett had a really good year, in terms of receivers he would probably be in that fourth round discussion I would think.”
In summation, expect to see a lot of Michigan State football representation on NFL Draft weekend in both 2015 and 2016.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital, eBay, Google News and CBS Interactive Inc.
You can read Banks’ feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye newspaper and listen to him on KOZN 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)