Tennessee State gem tops NFL Draft prospects
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
Tennessee State defensive back Dominique
Rodgers-Cromartie is getting the royal treatment.
The 6-2, 185-pound speedster is going through final look-sees by NFL personnel in anticipation of this weekend's Draft. And they're getting a good look.
Last week, the Bradenton, Fla., native flew to Baltimore, St. Louis and Arizona for meetings with and workouts for NFL teams. St. Louis owns the second pick in Saturday's first round of the draft. Baltimore picks tenth and Arizona 16th.
Rodgers-Cromartie then worked out on the TSU campus Tuesday for New Orleans. On hand for the workout were Saints' head coach Sean Payton and several assistants who also brought along back-up quarterback Tyler Palko and wide receiver David Patten for the session. The brass left impressed. New Orleans has the tenth pick in the first round.
New England, who has the seventh selection, was due on TSU's campus Wednesday.
As one of the top prospects, the talented playmaker was invited by the league to come to New York Friday ready to make his walk to the platform before the TV cameras Saturday after his selection. Perhaps remembering Brady Quinn's painstaking wait last season, Cromartie declined the offer, instead choosing to fly to Florida Thursday to take the draft in amongst family and friends at home.
All the attention is coming to Rodgers-Cromartie because he wowed scouts at both the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine.
He had great workouts against many of the top wide receivers at
the Senior Bowl and then had an interception and several tackles to
earn defensive MVP at the game in Mobile in January.
He then blazed a 4.33 40 time, had an impressive 38.5-inch vertical jump, bench pressed 225 pounds 17 times, and had the top time in the cone drill (6.4) to further open eyes at February's Combine. Every one of his scores was in the top three among cornerbacks.
His name is at the top of the list of defensive backs for this weekend's draft. He is rated along with Leodis McKelvin of Troy, Mike Jenkins of South Florida and Aqib Talib of Kansas as first-tier corners, all of whom are expected to go in the first round.
In just about every list of prospects, Rodgers-Cromartie is listed among the best 20 available and is a good bet to be among the first ten picks.
If he is chosen in the first round, he would become the seventh in Tennessee State history and first since 1974. He would join with TSU legends Claude Humprey and Eldridge Dickey (1964), Jim Marsalis ('69), Vernon Holland ('71). Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Waymond Bryant ('74) as first round selections. Jones, was the highest TSU selection ever, going first overall to Dallas in the 1974 draft. Humphrey was picked third in '68.
DRC, as he is called, would also be the 36th black college player taken in the first round since 1963 and the first since Jackson State teammates Sylvester Morris and Rashard Anderson were taken with the 21st and 23rd selections respectively in the 2000 Draft. Jackson State leads black colleges with seven first round selections. Tennessee State and Grambling have had six.
There's a precipitous dropoff after DRC in black college player rankings for this year's draft as no one consistently rates in the top ten at his position. The next highest ranked player is 6-5, 287-pound defensive end Kendall Langford out of Hampton. Langford, a three-time all-MEAC selection, is ranked among the top 20 at his position and may be taken on the first day (first three rounds) of the draft. One of his advantages is his size, which may allow him to also work as a defensive tackle.
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2008 NFL DRAFT FACTS
WHEN Sat., April 26 - Rounds 1-3 beginning at 3 pm Sun., April 27 - Rounds 4-7 beginning at 10 am WHERE Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY TELEVISION ESPN ON-LINE NFL.COM/LIVE |
Any other black college first-day selections would be a surprise.
MEAC Offensive Player of the Year, Morgan State running back Chad Simpson, SIAC Defensive POY Clark Atlanta defensive end Curtis Johnson, Bethune-Cookman safety Bobbie Williams, Howard defensive end Rudolph Hardie and Hampton defensive end Marcus Dixon hover in the 20s at their positions and are most likely second-day (rounds 4-7) picks.
Among the sleepers they may find their way into the later rounds but are almost assured of signing free agent contracts are speedy Stillman defensive back Brian Witherspoon, Jackson State wide receiver Jaymar Johnson, Delaware State WR Shaheer McBride, Texas Southern DE Derrick Gray and B-CU LB Ronnie McCullough.
© 2008 Azeez Communications, Inc.