Who's Hot, who's not..
by Keith Hornung
January 12, 2007

Every year leading up to the NFL Draft there always seem to be some
players that are being hyped to no end, when their college careers
were anything but spectacular. Two that immediately come to mind last
year were Broderick Bunkley and Sinorice Moss. Others seem to be
getting the cold shoulder from the scouts for whatever reason, whether
it's that their 40 time to too slow, or they can't jump a 55-inch
vertical. Well after 5 exhausting months of watching and studying
college football, and its players, I'm going to list 5 of my most
underrated and overrated players coming into the 2007 NFL Draft. These
are not the only players that I feel are being rated too high, or too
low, just 5 who I can't get over at this point why they are rated so
high or low. Let's start with the overrated:

1. Brady Quinn (Notre Dame) 6'4" 230- QB: That's the right the Golden
Boy has made this list. Quinn was my preseason favorite to win the
Heisman, and the fact he finished third in the voting, against a
complete cupcake schedule, is the first example of why he is on this
list. I can understand why he is listed this high, because he was
supposed to be. The problem is, his performance, mainly against ranked
teams, does not merit the first overall selection. His season numbers
were good, 289 completions on 467 attempts with 3,426 yards and 37
TD's to only 7 INTs, however all you have to do is breakdown Quinn's
numbers versus the cupcakes and the elites and you'll see how he
struggles against good teams and pressure. His numbers against
Michigan, USC, and LSU were a combined 61-128 for 656 yards with 8
TD's and 5 INTs. That some drop off. Only a 47.7 completion percentage
against those elite teams! Now versus the cupcakes it's the numbers
you would expect from Quinn with 228-339 with 2,770 yards with 29 TDs
and 2 INTs. That's some stat line. The only problem is it was against
the Army's, Stanford's, and Air Force's of the college football world.
Now let me just get one thing straight here. I do feel Quinn is a
first round pick who is guaranteed to be a solid pro, but if you are
looking for a franchise quarterback to lead a bad team back to the
playoffs Quinn is not your man. He is not, and will not, be a
franchise quarterback. He has a good arm and can break down a defense,
but if you can get pressure on him he folds like a quilt. LSU and
Michigan especially did this well. Big time quarterbacks step up and
lead their team in big games and Quinn has never done that. Does
anyone know how many ranked teams he beat under Charlie Weis that were
ranked when he played them and stayed ranked for at least most of the
year? Anybody? Well the answer is ZERO. That is not what I'm looking
for in my first overall pick and franchise quarterback. Some
quarterbacks have that "it" factor that makes them great and Quinn has
not shown in 4 years that he has "it". Just look to the Sugar Bowl to
see who I would take over him with LSU's Jamarcus Russell. If Brian
Brohm from Louisville also comes out I would also choose Brohm over
Quinn as well. Just to reiterate, Quinn is, and should be, a first
rounder, but no one should expect the next Tom Brady. Even with
Charlie Weis coaching him for the last 2 years.

PREDICTION: Will be the second quarterback chosen and will look good
in a Cleveland Browns uniform, but I just see more Rick Mirer in him
than Joe Montana or Joe Theismann.

2. Levi Brown (Penn St.) 6'5" 324- OT: At the beginning of the season
I would have never even thought about putting Brown on a list like
this coming off of a strong junior season. Contrary to some reports
I've seen, he had a down senior season and did not even seem to be
very motivated, even with a possible first round draft spot on tap.
Some of his struggles did come from the maturation process of Penn St.
quarterback Anthony Morrelli, but that only goes so far. Has great
size and quick feet that does make him very tantalizing as a prospect.
The one factor I would want to test before I drafted him is his fire.
He didn't seem to be too interested most of his senior season, how
will he act when he gets his first big payday? Seemed that Tony Hunt
made him look better than he did this season. Did struggle against a
couple premier pass rushers in Michigan's LaMarr Woodley and Notre
Dame's Victor Abiamiri. Has a lot of potential but the one factor that
can't worked out at the combine, passion, is my biggest question mark
with Brown.

PREDICTION: Will be a first round pick, either mid to late, and I
believe by the end of his first camp we'll know if he's a boom or
bust.

3. Brandon Merriweather (Miami, FLA) 6' 188 4.49 S: On talent alone,
Merriweather is hands down a first round pick. He has good size and
speed and can hit with the best of them. Had a little bit of a down
year but so did the rest of the Hurricanes. He can cover in the
secondary and can play the run like a linebacker. However, the reason
he is on this list is only for off the field issues. Not only was he
present as a teammate got shot in his front yard during the summer,
but his actions during the now infamous brawl with Florida
International is all I need to see to realize I would not want him on
my football team. During the brawl you can clearly see Merriweather
kicking a Florida International player while he is already on the
ground with a couple other Hurricanes already beating him. Class act
Brandon!! Maybe a future in the Ultimate Fighting Challenge may be
more of what he's looking for. I also loved the fact that he was only
one of two players that came out with a public apology after the brawl
saying that he was sorry and deeply regrets what happened. Well to me
that was nothing more than damage control for his possible NFL future.
I didn't buy it at all. A senior, and leader of a football team does
not lower himself to those standards, and if he does, he's probably
not lowering himself at all. He most likely is just that kind of guy.
Has the talent to be a pro bowler in the NFL, but character is very
important to me and this the one area that he is lacking.

PREDICTION: May slip to the second round but the Giants at 20 would be
a good gamble by the team. After that it's up to him and how he acts.

4. Justin Blalock (Texas) 6'4" 329 OT: Can play tackle and guard which
will project well in the pros. He is a massive blocker and can open
holes with the best of them for the bevy of talented runners with the
Longhorns. He and Kasey Studdard anchored this line for the national
champions last year and again for the underachieving 'Horns from this
past season. Has a ton of experience playing against all types of
players and on the biggest stages. I have only one question about
Blalock? Doesn't all of this sound a lot like ex-Longhorns offensive
lineman Mike Williams? The same question that surrounds Levi Brown is
also the big question with Blalock. Does he have the will and fire to
do anything that he is told to make himself an All-Pro lineman? This
is the most borderline of all on this list but to me he just has bust
written all over him.

PREDICTION: Will be a first round pick and would fill a hole for the
Cowboys at 22nd overall.

5. Tom Zbikowski (Notre Dame) 6' 208 4.48 S- Sorry Irish fans, I'm not
trying to pick on Notre Dame but this is the one that I get the least.
Notre Dame has all of their games televised so he is on TV every week.
I watched him play every week for the last 2 years. After about 25
games of watching Zbikowski play, the one thing I can't figure out is
how he is even given a first day grade let alone a first round grade.
He was a leader on the Swiss cheese defense known as Notre Dame the
last 2 years. His listed 40 time also has to be from Touchdown Jesus
himself. Players routinely run by him as if he was standing still on a
weekly basis. He would have trouble covering a tree. He takes bad
angles and does not have the speed to make up for that. He is a
complete liability in pass coverage and continuously goes too high
when tackling ball carriers which translates bad to the pro game. Hs
is usually too aggressive, which equates to him being out of place a
lot. There is talk that he wants to return to Notre Dame for his last
year of eligibility, and he probably should because it's not going to
get any better for him. I'm sure NFL teams would also love to know
that he is also a boxer in the off-season. Sounds like a player I want
to commit millions of dollars to. I see him listed in the top 50
prospects at multiple sites and I really can't figure that out. What
did he do this year, and last, to warrant this high of grade. Did
anyone see Michigan, Purdue, North Carolina, USC, and LSU completely
rip apart this pass defense? I know he's not the only one responsible
for this, but come on. They couldn't stop anyone this year. Lack of
speed was the biggest culprit for the Irish and Zbikowski is a direct
refection of that.

PREDICTION: Will go back to ND. Maybe he can bulk up to a linebacker
or be a good special teams player.