For 13 years, the University
of Miami has had at least one player drafted in
the first round. To put that in perspective, the
last time a Hurricanes' player wasn't taken in the
first round — in 1994 — gas was $1.03
per gallon.
Depending on who you talk to, Miami's streak of
first-round picks will continue with safety Kenny
Phillips and perhaps defensive end Calais Campbell
— or it'll end.
Two months ago, Phillips and Campbell were first-round
locks. Now they're not, according to various mock
drafts.
Phillips is projected to go as high as 19th in the
draft by The Sports Xchange and CBS Sportsline's Clark
Judge.
The Sports Xchange also has Campbell being taken 21st,
but ESPN's Mel Kiper and Sports Illustrated's Peter
King have neither player going in the first round.
"I originally had Kenny Phillips and Calais Campbell
in," Kiper said. "The Arkansas State state kid (Tyrell
Johnson) has moved up and Phillips is not coming off a
great year.
"Calais has a better chance to be picked late in the
first round. ... Like Kenny Phillips, it was not his
best year."
Gary Wichard, Campbell's agent, laughs at all the
conjecture.
"I've won too many bets with Mel Kiper," he said. "None
of those guys have a pick on Saturday, which is a good
thing.
"There's no way Calais won't be picked in the first
round. He's a 6-foot-7, 280-pound freak. I don't care
if he was down a little bit. He's a great kid, he'll
graduate and he's nothing but hard work and a good
attitude. And how many guys in the draft can do what he
can do? He'll be fine."
Phillips, who's represented by Drew and Jason
Rosenhaus, said they've told him to ignore all the talk
but that it's hard.
"It's in the paper, on TV, shows you like to watch,"
Phillips said. "They're always saying something and
it's a negative. It's someone's opinion, not a general
manager or coach. People saying that have nothing to do
with the draft. They get paid to do it, which I
understand. But there's nothing I can do about it."
It's tougher for family members, Phillips said.
"No one likes to hear talk about their son or
children," he said. "It's those people's opinions, but
it's not things a mother who loves her son likes to
hear."
Phillips remains confident he'll be chosen in the first
round.
"You never know what will happen," he said. "If I fall
into the second round, that's fine; people are dying to
go in the second round. But you pray to go in the first
round or as high as possible."
While Kiper isn't high on Campbell's or Phillips'
first-round chances, he continues to move Tavares
Gooden up. He ranked Gooden No. 2 among outside
linebackers.
"He had a heckuva a year," Kiper said. "He put it
together at the right time."
The 6-foot-1, 234-pound Gooden, who played all three
linebacker positions, had 100 tackles (three for
losses), three fumble recoveries, three pass breakups
and an interception this past season. He has nearly a
40-inch vertical jump and ran a 4.65 time in the
40-yard dash.
"I don't think the real me has come out yet," Gooden
said. "I played so many different positions. ... When I
worked at something for a couple of years, I get the
feel for it and get better at it. I can't wait to show
skills at the next level."
Quarterback Kyle Wright, wide receivers Lance Leggett
and Darnell Jenkins, offensive linemen Derrick Morse of
Estero High, John Rochford and Andrew Bain and
defensive lineman Vegas Franklin look like free agents.
Wright never matched his high school hype and was
slowed by a series of offensive coordinators.
"I'm very anxious for a new start, to start a new
chapter and not look back," Wright said. "Here's what a
lot of teams stress. It's hard to get any continuity in
the offseason. I never had the same coordinator twice
in the summer. I'm definitely looking forward to get in
a system team-wise and having people around me work on
things I really didn't get here."
(news-press.com)