Spartans and the NFL Draft

Folks, the Spartans that are leaving for this year’s NFL draft have already given MSU and its fans so much.  They gave us back to back 11-win seasons and so many memories, but now they have a chance to make one last contribution to the program – at the same time that they help themselves.  You see, if they do well in the draft, recruits will take notice of that, and that will only help make recruiting easier for Dantonio and the coaches.  It’s a little too early to do more than speculating, but then speculating can help us get ready to organize the information that comes in as various Spartans hit the NFL combines.  Here’s a list of Spartan seniors and early departures:

42            Todd Anderson        FB            6-2           265          SR            Napoleon, Mich. - Napoleon

85            Garrett Celek          TE            6-5           252          SR            Cincinnati, Ohio - LaSalle

8              Kirk Cousins             QB           6-3           205          SR            Holland, Mich. - Holland Christian

3              B.J. Cunningham     WR          6-2           215          SR            Westerville, Ohio - Westerville South

67            Joel Foreman          OG           6-4           315          SR            Highland, Mich. - Milford

88            Brian Linthicum      TE            6-5           245          SR            St. Louis, Mo. - Clemson

82            Keshawn Martin     WR          5-11         189          SR            Inkster, Mich. - John Glenn

75            Jared McGaha         OL            6-6           298          SR            Powell, Tenn. - Powell

7              Keith Nichol            WR          6-2           220          SR            Lowell, Mich. - Oklahoma

69            Blake Pacheco         DL            6-1           264          SR            Salinas, Calif. - Monterey (Calif.) Peninsula College

96            Kevin Pickelman      NT           6-4           288          SR            Marshall, Mich. - Marshall

73            Arthur Ray Jr.          OG           6-3           299          SR            Chicago, Ill. - Mount Carmel

39            Trenton Robinson   S              5-10         195          SR            Bay City, Mich. - Bay City Central

16            Chris D. Rucker        WR          5-9           178          SR            Detroit, Mich. - Detroit Country Day

20            Kyle Selden             P              6-5           199          SR            Waterford, Mich. - Our Lady of the Lakes

47            Adam Setterbo       FB            6-3           245          SR            Spring Lake, Mich. - Spring Lake Senior

81            Brad Sonntag          WR          5-8           176          SR            Saginaw, Mich. - Nouvel Catholic Central

57            Johnathan Strayhorn               DT            6-0           272          SR            Detroit, Mich. - Oak Park

4              Edwin Baker            RB           5-9           210          JR            Highland Park, Mich. - Oak Park

99            Jerel Worthy           DT            6-3           310          JR            Huber Heights, Ohio – Wayne

I think it’s safe to say that the Spartans should actually do pretty well in the NFL draft.  Jerel Worthy should have a shot at the first round, and possibly at becoming a top-20 pick – we’ve been hearing that all year.  Apart from Worthy, guys like Trenton Robinson, BJ Cunningham, Joel Foreman, and Kirk Cousins should all have a shot at going somewhere between the 3^rd and 5^th rounds.  These players are a great testament to MSU's ability to develop talent, considering that all these guys were 2-star recruits (except for Cunningham who was a 3-star recruit).

Then there are several other guys who didn’t have huge years (statistically) but who could perform well enough at the NFL combines to get drafted in the later rounds.  I’m talking about guys like Keyshawn Martin, Edwin Baker, Kevin Pickelman, Keith Nichol, Garret Celek, and Brian Linthicum.  In my opinion, Martin, Baker, and Linthicum have the athleticism and skill to perform well enough at the combines to even move up into 4^th and 5^th round territory.  Again though, it's interesting to note that Martin, Pickelman, and Celek were all 2-star recruits, and Linthicum was a 3-star recruit.

We're going to have to wait and see how these guys perform over the next couple of months, but one thing we can say for certain is that MSU is very good at developing NFL-level talent.  Makes you wonder what MSU could do with classes consistently full of 4-star recruits.  Perhaps if the Spartans pull off another 11-win season next year, we won't have to wonder much longer.