Following Our Heroes; 2nd installment

With round one in the books and nary a complaint, we'll move on to round two, wrapping up the Big Ten...

Minnesota: Dominique Barber, safety, was drafted in the 6th round. He looks to make little impact on the Houston Texans, and will be lucky to see special teams duty - if he makes the team. Combine profile goes here. He is the brother of Dallas Cowboys RB Marion Barber, which will net him exactly zero points going into Houston's camp. Wait a second. Scratch that. It turns out one of the main reasons he was drafted was because his brother and dad played (plays) in the league...

"With (Dominique) Barber we feel like we have a player with a great bloodline. His dad played with the (New York) Jets; his brother now plays with Dallas. When you get into these kinds of rounds and you are going through and trying to decide who you are going to pick - a lot of things are good here, but it depends on who has a chance to really compete and try to make your football team at this stage. We think because of his bloodline with his dad and also with his brother that this guy will come in here and give everything he’s got because it’s in his family genes to make this football team."

That was Houston GM Rick Smith. So it turns out that the Texans took a flier on a kid because his brother worked out. Hmmmm...I wonder why Houston is perennially in the cellar...

Jokes aside, it sounds like Barber is well aware that if he is going to see the field, it's going to be on special teams:

"People know me as a safety, but I played special teams for four years at Minnesota. I look forward to doing that. I think it will help me to be able to play in so many different situations."

He warrants watching, but I doubt he becomes a super-contributer. There is a great write-up on Barber on a newly discovered, but appearing to be excellent Houston Texans blog called Battle Red Blog. Requisite hat tips and terrorist fist jabs to you, my friend.

Northwestern: There was nobody drafted, and as such, nobody to report on. If there was an undrafted FA, or something of that sort, please let me know.

Ohio State: Vernon Gholston is really the only choice here. Drafted in the first round by the New York Jets, he was last seen doing this:
Right. Combine profile goes here. Predraft chat with ESPN goes here. There is a small interview with Jets head coach Eric Mangini here that alludes to some sort of rule that kept Gholston out of Jet's camp for awhile. I wasn't aware that something like that had happened, but apparently Mangini isn't concerned. Gholston should be an immediate impact player on the defensive line for the Jets, and will be a lot of fun to watch develop as a player. He was one of those guys who was always going to be drafted high, but then tested off the charts at the combine. He went from a 15-25 overall pick type guy to a 1-10 overall pick. His knock at OSU was that he would disappear from games, going long stretches without impact. Did his combine effort put stars in GM's eyes? Time will tell.

Penn State: Dan Connor makes sense here, as he continues the strong tradition of white PSU linebackers. He was drafted by Carolina in the third round. Combine profile goes here. This is, again, a sort of "wait and see" type player. He has impressed in camp thus far, but is slated to be a part of the team in a backup capacity. In this Tricity Harold article, he is described as being "physical and instinctive." The cliche train then rambles on for a few more paragraphs before it is awkwardly concluded with a jab at the Big Ten's recent failings to beat schools with 'dat suthern speed, boyah. It is...not so good.

Purdue: The last remaining first round pick, Dustin Keller, was taken by the New York Jets. Combine profile goes here. On Thursday (umm..yesterday) against the Browns, he caught one pass for 5 yards. Unlike Mike Hart, this does not warrent a youtube clip. However, he has impressed in camp (to the point where a Google search of "Dustin Keller Camp" brings out about 5 articles of effusive praise, far and away more than any other player profiled here) and he looks to beat out Bubba Franks and Chris Baker for the starting role. Add in Brett Favre, and you get what could be a very successful rookie season for Keller. From QB Kellen Clemens:

"He was interfered with and still made the play," Clemens said. "He's a smart kid. He'll help us out this year."

Operative words being "this year."

Wisconsin: Jack Ikegwuonu left Wisconsin after his junior year, getting drafted in the 4th round by the Eagles. He was then dealt to the Packers, where he got mired in some legal trouble (now dropped) and badly injured his knee. He is on the PUP list for camp, and will most likely contribute only on special teams. I would have loved to profile somebody else for this spot, but the other Wisconsin draftees included a kicker, and a defensive tackle - both in the 6th round. If Jack doesn't play, I'll update the kicker Taylor Mehlhaff.

So, that's the list. Hopefully after reading this you're primed, and I'll go ahead and update stats, etc. after each NFL game this fall. At the end of it all, I'll probably pull together some sort of synopsis of "who had the best rookie season" and hand out an arbitrary award for "Best Big 10 Rookie." This, of course, can be used for trash-talk in the same way that Michigan fans use Tom Brady; no specific relevance to collegiate athletics, but still pretty awesome.

Following Our Heroes

Following our Heroes is the newest and bestest attempt at regularly scheduled broadcasting from yours truly. Each Tuesday (where applicable) I'll put up a little ditty following one NFL rookie from each of the BXI's teams. That's right, folks, a motherfucking ditty. The goal, of course, is to allow you, the Big Ten fan, a glimpse into your past hero's new lives playing football in funny looking uniforms. You can't possibly follow each one on Sunday, so what I hope to create is a one-stop place where you can catch up on at least one of your favs. I've got the preliminary list of players that I'd like to follow below - one from each team where applicable. This is not necessarily the end list, and I'm sure that Following our Heroes is going to go through several rejiggerations before the final format is settled upon. In most cases, I've tried to pick the most interesting player drafted. In some cases, I've picked the only player drafted. If there is a more interesting player, or a player that you would like to see followed that is not included, please leave it in the comments section, or email me directly. The NFL isn't nearly as fun as the college game, but it's always cool to see your favorite players do well in the league. Without further ado, the first 5 players on the list. Look for the remainder tomorrow.


Illinois: Rashard Mendenhall Drafted #23 overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Scouting Report goes here, combine profile goes here. There have been some fluffy pieces written about the potential of Rashard in the Pittsburgh offense - most of which are completely spun towards the fantasy buffs, and none of which are actually that informative. I get it. Mendenhall is a number 3 fantasy back at best. Arrgh. That does absolutely nothing for me in terms of how the Steelers figure to use him next year. In my estimation, Willie Parker will still be the number 1 back for the Steelers, but given his rather small stature, and Mendenhall's rather bruising style, I would imagine that Rashard will get a fair number of touches in that Jerome Bettis 3rd down/goal line situation. Offensive Coordinator Bruce Ariens told CBS Sportsline that Rashard has looked good in camp, and figures to be utilized by the offense:

"The change-of-pace guy that when you take your starter out, you're putting in the same quality guy," Arians said of his rookie. "Mendenhall will give us the ability to keep doing what we're doing. He might work as our goal-line runner if he shows the vision and patience for that. And he'll kill the clock at the end of the game. ... He should have fresh legs at that point in the game." Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Mendenhall struggled in goal-line drills during the first week of training camp and could lose that role, possibly to Willie Parker"

So there's that. I wouldn't put too much stock in the Post Gazette's story about Mendenhall struggling in goal line drills because, like, duh, a rookie is going to struggle in his first NFL practices. The Steelers are trying to fill the Jerome Bettis role. Mendenhall looks to be that guy.

Indiana: Remarkably, the Hoosiers had two players drafted in the 2nd round - Corner Tracy Porter, and Receiver James Hardy. For purposes of this piece, I'm going to focus on James Hardy because he's more interesting to follow than a Cornerback, and he's from my hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana, where this happens. Scouting report goes here, combine profile goes here. Hardy figures to help out the Bills, partly because of his perfect wide receiver build, but mostly because the Bills ranked 30th in passing last year, scored a franchise record low 20 TD's total, and need all the help they can get. If Hardy had gone to, say, Michigan or Ohio State, I have no doubt that he would have been a first rounder at least, and a Braylon Edwards type at best. Typically, it takes three years for NFL receivers to pupate from larvae to beautiful TD catching butterfly; witness the aforementioned Edwards for evidence. Hardy has been sidelined with a hamstring injury, and is questionable for the the first preseason game. My guess is that he will get PT immediately once the season starts, and will be a good option opposite Lee Evans.

Iowa: CB Charles Godfrey was drafted in the third round by Carolina. He figures to be that defensive back that will probably see action as a nickel guy, and will definitely play on special teams. Combine profile goes here, pre-draft chat conducted by ESPN goes here. The only really informative thing I can dig up on Godfrey is that he will most likely compete for for the FS position with free agent Terrence Holt. Godfrey has the size to play anywhere in the secondary, so it will be interesting to see how Carolina utilizes him.

Michigan: There are several players from which to choose here, but I think the most interesting will be Mike Hart, drafted in the 6th round by the Colts, if only because he's such an NFL enigma. He's slow and small, but that were a problem, how'd he set all those records at Michigan? We know, barring injury, that Jake Long will most likely have a long and prolific NFL career. If Henne ends up starting, he could be interesting to follow, but won't be much fun as a backup QB. Hart is a mystery, and will be fun to follow. Combine profile goes here. Fluff piece from HOF game in which Hart carried for 53 yards and caught the ball for another 28 goes here. The tail end of that article seems to suggest that Hart will have a tough time making the team. It should be noted that most Colts fans and people who know better than I do seem to think that Hart will end up making the team as the third option RB. Why do Colt fans think this? Dungy to clarify:

“(Rookie running back) Mike (Hart) ran and did everything in the (preseason opener) just about as he’s done in practice (rushing for times for 53 yards and catching three passes for 28 yards). It really wasn’t surprising. When you watch him practice and watch him work, we felt like he’d have a good game. He did everything he was called on to do. He had two pass-protection pickups. He handled those well. He caught the ball out of the backfield and ran and made people miss. It’s probably what he has been doing for eight or nine years.”

Highlights? Highlights.



Michigan State: WR Devin Thomas was selected with the 34th overall pick to the Washington Redskins. Combine profile goes here. The hype around Thomas was over the moon when Washington picked him up in the 2nd round - he was a projected first rounder. Now? Not so much:

"Redskins coach Jim Zorn said rookie receivers Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas on Tuesday need to improve their conditioning and said he anticipates the injured receivers will have a hard time having an impact on the offense early this season. Kelly, who has hamstring and knee injuries, and Thomas, who has a hamstring injury, were hurt early in training camp and are likely weeks from a full return. Kelly underwent arthroscopic surgery Monday to remove floating particles from his left knee, and Zorn said the early prognosis of a return in two weeks was "ambitious.""

Once his Hamstring heals, he should be in good shape to contribute. As a rookie, however, losing those training camp days and conditioning drills hurts. A lot. Thomas was not eligible to play during the opening HOF game against the Colts.