Draft: Georgia's Stafford & Moreno to enter draft

[az jam]

Sources: Stafford, Moreno to leave Georgia for draft

By Mark Schlabach
ESPN.com

Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno, who led the SEC in passing and rushing this season, respectively, are expected to announce Wednesday that they will enter April's NFL draft.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the players' decisions said Moreno was definitely leaning toward entering the NFL draft, but said Stafford had wrestled with his decision for several days.

Stafford, a junior from Highland Park, Texas, might be the first player selected in the draft, according to Todd McShay, director of college football scouting for Scouts Inc. who also does NFL draft analysis for ESPN.

The strong-armed passer set a Georgia single-season record with 25 touchdown passes this year. He threw for 3,459 yards this season, the second-best total in school history, and ranked 15th nationally in pass efficiency.

Moreno, a sophomore from Bedford, N.J., ran for 1,338 yards and 16 touchdowns before the Bulldogs' 24-12 win over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. He became the first Georgia player since 1982 Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker to run for more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.

Moreno was redshirted at Georgia in 2006, so he is eligible to enter the draft after playing only two seasons with the Bulldogs.

Moreno is expected to be one of the top two running backs selected in the NFL draft, along with Ohio State junior Chris "Beanie" Wells, should he decide to enter. Wells hasn't yet announced whether he'll return to school for his senior season.

Moreno leaves Georgia with 2,769 career yards rushing with 32 touchdowns (30 rushing, two receiving), not including the Capital One Bowl performance.

 

[az jam]

The more juniors that enter the draft the better the pick for the Cardinals.

 

[Shzm13]

Stafford shouldve pulled a Leinart..

Now hes gonna end up with the Lions. lol

 

[Shzm13]

You must be registered for see images

 

[SuperSpck]

Another broken-hearted father.

 

[Twist18]

I hope USC QB Jesse Sanchez too comes out after his bowl performance. He will drop some good players even further down to the Cards.

 

[Shogun]

I hope USC QB Jesse Sanchez too comes out after his bowl performance. He will drop some good players even further down to the Cards.

Jesse...?

 

[Shzm13]

Mark?

 

[stewdog1]

Jesse...?

Cheech?

 

[Shzm13]

Another broken-hearted father.

Because of the drunkenathlete pic?

 

[SuperSpck]

Because of the drunkenathlete pic?

Yeah. Whenever I see one of those I can't help but think there's a shell-shocked father behind the scenes.

Admitting that the father and mother have a very likely chance of engaging in the same shenanigans when they were that age, it still can't be a good feeling.

It's weird that's the first place my mind goes to when I see those.

 

[JeffGollin]

Running Backs...

Either in this thread or under another ASFN topic, there will no doubt be heated debate about which RB coming out this year the Cards should draft if we decide to go in that direction.

The two big guys appear to be Moreno and Beanie Wells. Depending on Edge's status, we may have a glaring need for a big back who can pound the ball.

The one home run hitter who has grabbed my attention so far this year is UConn's Donald Brown.

Drafting a RB high is trickier than it might look at first glance: I'd divide all draftable RB's into 5 basic categories: (1) Can Do it All (Peterson, Jackson, Tomlinson), (2) Pounders (Turner, Gore, Jacobs), (3) Home Run Hitters (D Williams, Bush, Westbrook), (4) All Around But Not Great (C Taylor, HIghtower), (5) Pass Catching Specialists (Can't think of any).

- Superstars who can do it all are hard to come by.

- The issue concerning big pounding backs is whether they have enough 1st step explosion

- Home run hitters are seldom big and durable enough to carry a full load throughout an entire season.

- The danger with All Purpose/Not Great RB's is whether they'll turn out to be reliable cogs like Hightower or merely mediocre RB's who'll fade from the scene.

- Pass receiving specialists are probably the most predictable, but how important will they fit into a particular offensive scheme?

For the Cards, the question might boil down to: (1) will Edge be back or not? (If not, we'll have a desperate need for a big RB like Moreno or Wells) or (2) compared to Hightower and Arrington, would someone like Brown represent a major upgrade or merely be a clone of either of the two?

 

[SuperSpck]

(5) Pass Catching Specialists (Can't think of any).

Westbrook would fall under that category. Chris Johnson would as well, in fact during the combine many magazines placed him in the WR/RB category.

 

[Shzm13]

Yeah. Whenever I see one of those I can't help but think there's a shell-shocked father behind the scenes.

Admitting that the father and mother have a very likely chance of engaging in the same shenanigans when they were that age, it still can't be a good feeling.

It's weird that's the first place my mind goes to when I see those.

Doesnt everyone do that in college though?

I mean.. I sure as hell do.

:-/

 

[sundevilscott]

As an ASU fan I find this to be great news.

 

[SuperSpck]

Doesnt everyone do that in college though?

I mean.. I sure as hell do.

:-/

Yup. I did too, but for whatever reason I now see it from the folks' side. Maybe it's age.

 

[DoTheDew]

Either in this thread or under another ASFN topic, there will no doubt be heated debate about which RB coming out this year the Cards should draft if we decide to go in that direction.

The two big guys appear to be Moreno and Beanie Wells. Depending on Edge's status, we may have a glaring need for a big back who can pound the ball.

The one home run hitter who has grabbed my attention so far this year is UConn's Donald Brown.

Drafting a RB high is trickier than it might look at first glance: I'd divide all draftable RB's into 5 basic categories: (1) Can Do it All (Peterson, Jackson, Tomlinson), (2) Pounders (Turner, Gore, Jacobs), (3) Home Run Hitters (D Williams, Bush, Westbrook), (4) All Around But Not Great (C Taylor, HIghtower), (5) Pass Catching Specialists (Can't think of any).

I would put Bush more as a pass catching specialist than a home run hitter at this point just based upon his stats after 3 seasons. Westbrook could go there as well. For the most part however, the pass catch specialists are backup RBs like Sproles or JJ and not really considered every down backs.