Notre Dame’s Eifert, Te’o, Purdue’s Short should go early in NFL Draft
By PAUL SIEGFRIED
ISL Correspondent
There will be a total of 254 players chosen over the three-day NFL Draft, which begins next Thursday in New York. Indiana colleges should be well represented, with the possibility of at least a dozen players from the state who could be selected over the seven rounds and another 20 or so who could get a chance in NFL training camps.
Three players could hear their names called the first night during the draft’s first round. Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert and linebacker Manti Te’o have graded out as top 25 choices, and Purdue defensive tackle Kawann Short could go late in the first round on Thursday or slip back into the early second round on Friday.
Eifert is the top tight end on the board, leaving school a year early for the draft after catching 113 passes over the past two years with 9 TDs. He has been on the radar of a number of teams, including the Arizona Cardinals, who pick at No. 7. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Eifert, who earned the John Mackey Award as the nations’s top tight end, has shown up on most mock drafts in the bottom half of the first round, from the New York Giants (No. 19), the Chicago Bears (20), Green Bay Packers (26), Atlanta Falcons (30) and San Francisco 49ers (31).
Te’o, one of the most decorated college players ever, has been the biggest question mark heading into the draft following the fake girlfriend story and his sub-par efforts in the national title game against Alabama and at the Combine in Indianapolis. A better Pro Day restored Te’o to a solid first-round grade, but how teams evaluate his intangibles is unknown. Two popular landing places for Te’o in mock drafts have him replacing future Hall of Famers, with the Bears looking for a successor to Brian Urlacher, and the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens (No. 32) having him fill the shoes of Ray Lewis.
Short is part of a deep group of defensive tackles, rated among five or six who could go in the first round. His name has turned up in conjunction with the Minnesota Vikings (25), Packers (26) or the New England Patriots (29).
Notre Dame, coming off an undefeated regular season and appearance in the national championship game, has the most players on draft boards among state schools, and a number of Irish players could be chosen over the middle rounds.
Safeties Janoris Slaughter and Zeke Motta have grades anywhere from the third to fifth round. Defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore also could go in the fourth or fifth round, although KLM could at least start the year on the physically-unable-to-perform list after tearing knee ligaments in the title game against Alabama.
Center Braxton Cave could go as early as the fourth round, the same area where running back Cierre Wood is slotted. Wood ran for more than 1,000 yards as a sophomore but slipped to just 700 last season. He is also an early-entry candidate.
Theo Riddick played both running back and wide receiver at Notre Dame, and could be a late draft pick and may earn a spot as a return specialist.
Purdue cornerback Josh Johnson has gotten some notice after a solid Pro Day effort at West Lafayette, and could sneak into the sixth or seventh round. Ball State punter Scott Kovanda also grades out as a late possible draft choice.
Other players could get calls after the draft is over, earning invitations to training camps as free agents. Among those who could get a look and have gotten NFL grades:
PURDUE ” QBs Robert Marve and Caleb TerBush, RBs Akeem Shavers and Ralph Bolden, WR Antavian Edison, OG Rick Schmeig and Peters Drey, LB Dwayne Beckford.
INDIANA ” C Will Matte, DTs Larry Black, Adam Replogle and Nicholas Sliger.
BALL STATE ” OLs Kit O’Brien, Austin Holtz, Cameron Lowry and Dan Manick, LB Travis Freeman, CB Jason Pinkston.
NOTRE DAME ” OL Mike Golic, WRs John Goodman and Robby Toma.
VALPARAISO ” P Greg Wood.
