SB Nation - Taurus Johnson

South Florida Bulls @ Florida State Seminoles Preview: can the Noles avoid the Bulls' horns?

FSUncensored — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:30:37 -0000

This is part 1. Here is part 2: http://www.tomahawknation.com/2009/9/25/1054873/the-preview-part-2-south-floridas

For the first time ever, the South Florida Bulls will take on the Florida State Seminoles. Gametime is Noon. The game is on ESPNU.

I'm scared of this game. Not because I think USF is good, but because I think the Seminoles are in a bad spot. Riding high off their 54-28 win over #7 ranked BYU, FSU is banged up. Really banged up. They are without DT Moses McCray and DT Justin Mincey. Their only healthy defensive tackles are undersized senior Kendrick Stewart, promising freshman Jacobbi McDaniel- who has a bum MCL, and the high on energy but low on effectiveness Budd Thacker. Additionally, both rovers, senior Corey Mangum and freshman Nick Moody are banged up. Additionally, FSU's lame duck defensive ends coach, Jody Allen, continues to hold a grudge and insists on starting the worst starter in my lifetime (both '85)- walk on defensive end Craig Yarborough.

There are also some situational factors in this game. USF has played the worst schedule in the country, and it is not close. The Bulls faced two 1-AA teams and Western Kentucky, a team that either is or should still be a probational 1A team (easily the worst team in 1A). So making a read on their current in-season performance is a bit tough. I did watch their games, or what I could find of them, so I'll do my best.

I was asked to describe my thoughts on this game, and in a sentence, I said that I thought FSU was a much better team than USF, but that I didn't like the matchup. I just have a bad feeling about this game.

But is it more than a feeling? Let's start with USF's offense against Florida State's defense. Over the summer, I wrote this comprehensive preview of USF's offense.

The Bulls went 8-5 in 2008. They were perfect in the non-conference, with wins over two terrible defensive teams in Kansas and NC State, and an overtime victory against UCF. In the worst BCS conference, however, they were just 2-5, and their two wins came over UConn and Syracuse. To say that USF feasted on bad teams would be an understatement. Yet voters, who often see nothing but a team's record and not the competition they face, had the Bulls as high as #10 at one point. They would lose 4 of 5 down the stretch to finish unranked. This season, as I noted above, they are unranked and have played a terrible schedule.

The Bulls were just 4-5 against BCS conference teams and 2-4 against teams ranked inside the Fremeau Efficiency Index Top 40. Put another way:

Wins	S/ F+	Losses	S/ F +
UT Martin	NR	Pittsburgh	17
@ UCF	NR	@ Louisville	74
KAN	33	@ Cincinatti	19
FIU	NR	Rutgers	24
NCST (w.o their QB)	47	@ WVU	49
Syracuse	90
UConn	26
Memphis	NR

S/ F is a combination of S&P + and FEI, the two widely recognized advanced metrics for evaluating college football teams. The quality of their opponents in wins was far less than that of their opponents in losses.

This year, the Bulls schedule around the 'Noles game looks like this:

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 Wofford
Sept. 12 @ Western Kentucky
Sept. 19 Charleston Southern
Sept. 26 @ Florida State
Oct. 3 @ Syracuse

The Bulls have a very easy schedule before facing Florida State. They essentially play three 1-AA teams (W. Kentucky is a provisional 1A school, the worst team in 1A). This can help and hurt a team. Having a month of pre-season assures that the Bulls will be able to work out some kinks, ~~and that they will be healthy (starters playing fewer minutes in blowouts means less opportunity for injury)~~. It can also hurt, however, because FSU will be the Bulls' first test of the season. 'Nole fans saw this phenomena last year when they lost to Wake Forest after opening the season with two 1AA cupcakes.

Based on their talent an performance, the Bulls were probably a top 25 team last season, though they were too high early and probably too low late. They did have three close losses in Big East play, and close wins or losses are a great indicator of a team being lucky or unlucky.

Last season, the Bulls Offense looked something like this:

Fremeau Efficiency Index: 48th
Varsity Numbers (aka BeyondTheBoxScore at RockMNation.com, the brainchild of Bill Connelly) S&P+ (measure of ball movement and explosiveness): 21st (34th rushing, 16th passing)
Forget the fact that South Florida led the Big East in total offense and finished second in scoring. It did most of its damage against lesser opponents, while failing to score more than 20 points in the final five regular season games.
In conference play, the Bulls had the 6th best offense (of 8 Big East teams), with the 4th best ground game and the 5th best passing attack. Only UConn and Syracuse were worse (though they were a lot worse).
USF had an unsustainably high success rate on passing downs (2nd and 8+, 3rd/4th and 5+) http://footballoutsiders.com/varsity-numbers/2009/varsity-numbers-2008-offensive-buffet As the article discusses, USF was really goot at converting 3rd and long, compared to their other talents. That's just not realisticly sustainable. What team is consistently better on 3rd and long than 3rd and 4?
USF averaged less than 350 yards and less than 5.4 yards per play in conference games. (For reference, 400 yard games equal out to about 6.2 yards per play over 65 plays in an average game).

The Bulls run a spread scheme under new Coordinator Mike Canales, featuring a heavy dose of the zone read game. It's 4-wide, pretty much all the time. They will go into trips as well, which gives FSU fits. They force the opposing defense to account for the QB's legs. Canales was the Bulls' passing game coordinator last year and stepped into the OC role after Greg Gregory took another job.

Quarterback

Here's what I wrote about Grothe:

Matt Grothe has led the Bulls in rushing in each of the past three seasons. He's also a big risk taker who often struggles to read defenses, possibly because of his 5'11" stature. He's tossed up 42 picks over three years, while throwing 47 TD's. He's been consistent in his erratic nature, throwing 14 INT's each year. More troubling, however, for Bulls fans was the way he ended the Big East season: Against Louisville, Cincinnati, Rutgers, UConn, and WVU, Grothe threw 11 Interceptions and just three touchdowns, while being sacked 13 times.

There's more:

Matt Grothe Games QB Rating Yards/ Attempt TD INT

All Games 13 136 7.7 18 14

v. Conference 7 119 7.1 7 12

v. Non-Conference 6 156 8.4 11 2

v. Winning 6 109 6.5 4 10

v. Non-Winning 7 162 8.8 14 4

4 TD 10 INT against Bowl teams? That's not impressive, and really, none of Grothe's passing numbers stand out. He is a dangerous runner, of course. And FSU has been ripped by teams utilizing the mobile quarterback over the past two seasons, particularly out of the shotgun, as USF does. In fact, Grothe had 117 rushes for 828 yards, which is 7.1 yards per carry. Simply put, Grothe is a playmaker with his legs. He runs the zone read play quite well and making him one-dimensional is a primary goal for any team facing USF.

If he stays healthy, Grothe will surpass Pat White for the conference record in Total Offense, but I have to wonder how much of that record is due solely to playing time? Almost any 4-year starter with mobility would have a shot at the record.

So obviously I didn't think Grothe was that good. He tore his ACL and his career is over. His backup is Redshirt Freshman B.J. Daniels, a highly recruited kid out of Tallahassee Florida. FSU wanted him as an athlete, because they already had E.J. Manuel as their only QB in the recruiting class. This kid has a great arm. It is a total cannon. But he's not entirely accurate and lacks touch. Kinda one of those kids who rifles everything. He is a physical beast. USF calls him 6'1 or 6'2" in various media guides, but he's somewhere between 5'11" and 6'2". About 215lbs. Fast as heck. USF's offense isn't particularly complicated, and I expect that it is about to get simpler, but it is the exact design of offense that makes Mickey Andrews look washed up and incompetent. Daniels scares the heck out of me because he is a much better physical talent than Grothe, who I didn't think was all that good. He reminds me of a combination of NC State's Russel Wilson, and Oregon's Jeremiah Masoli. USF runs the zone read play as their base run play. Here's the video:

Here's a diagram:

That's the one where the QB in the shotgun reads the backside defensive end. The line blocks away from him. If the end stays at home to keep the QB in check, the QB will hand the ball off because they have the numerical advantage. If the end "crashes down", the QB will keep the ball. As linked above, FSU does not do well against this at all. This stuff is the number one weakness of FSU's defense. By far. And this defense is banged up, undisciplined, and unsurprisingly not well coached by a disinterested and fractured defensive coaching staff. I would choose to run this against FSU even if I didn't have the personnel to do so. That is exactly what Boston College did to beat FSU last season with their terrible offense.

So how do you stop this? FSU's defensive coaches have no idea. Good defensive line play helps. Someone must win their one-on-one matchup. Chris Brown of SmartFootball.com has some ideas here.

Now, I know we rip on Craig Yarborough quite often. The kid tries hard, but he is a bad player. That said, his discipline could be somewhat of an asset in this game for the Noles. In order to beat the zone read, a team must have a plan, and everyone must follow the plan. I'm not talking about "everyone go out and make plays" stuff, that's not a plan. Yarborough can help by simply following his assignment here, even if he doesn't physically do it all that well. This is particularly important when he is the read defender on the backside. In Chris Brown's piece linked above, in the 2nd photo, think of Yarborough as the "E" (end) crashing down, and Nigel Bradham as the scraping linebacker. There's an opportunity here for Bradham to have a huge game here.

The zone read is difficult to stop. FSU must have a good gameplan and must change up their looks. I do not have much confidence in FSU to do that. However, I do think FSU has some advantages here. FSU's linebackers are very fast and better than most in coverage. That will allow FSU to stay in a base defense or a nickel defense against USF's 4 wide receiver look. Many teams are forced to use 6 defensive backs against USF's look, but because of FSU's linebackers, the Noles can use only 5 defensive backs. Obviously when trying to stop the run, linebackers are better than defensive backs.

Running Backs

This summer, I wrote:

Mike Ford is a special talent and a likely NFL back. He was a Five-Star recruit coming out of high school but had terrible grades and had to go to through the preparatory school route. Last season, Ford battled numerous injury issues and had a disappointing year. In 2007, however, he was excellent.

2008 2007

Opponent Att Yards Avg. Opponent Att Yards Avg.

Tenn.-Martin 15 61 4.1 Elon 6 83 13.8

@ UCF Did Not Play @ 15 Auburn 21 74 3.5

Kansas 1 3 3.0 North Carolina 6 13 2.2

@ Florida Int'l 14 24 1.7 6 West Virginia 5 42 8.4

@ North Carolina St. 11 64 5.8 @ Fla. Atlantic Did Not Play

Pittsburgh 14 73 5.2 UCF 8 39 4.9

Syracuse 11 51 4.6 @ Rutgers 4 9 2.3

@ Louisville 5 13 2.6 @ Connecticut 7 27 3.9

@ 17 Cincinnati Did Not Play 17 Cincinnati 7 13 1.9

Rutgers 1 2 2.0 @ Syracuse 28 134 4.8

Connecticut 8 20 2.5 Louisville 24 140 5.8

@ 23 West Virginia 14 62 4.4 @ Pittsburgh 16 63 3.9

+ Memphis 8 34 4.3 + 23 Oregon 6 8 1.3

Totals 102 407 4.0 Totals 138 645 4.7

This year, he's apparently lost 20lbs, making him 6'2" 210 rather than the 230 he played at last season. He is apparently quicker and now healthy. You can bet that USF will not risk injuring him against their cupcake schedule before they play FSU.

Canales has been vocal about trying to throw the ball to the backs more often, but Ford has not shown great hands. He may catch a few more now that he is at a better weight, but he's really not that type of back.

Mo Plancher represents another option to carry the ball. At 5'9" and 200lbs, he has surprising quicks, gaining 330 yards on 69 carries last year.

Jamar Taylor is an ex fullback type who tried to carry the load for USF into the bowl season, rushing for 300 yards on 62 carries. He has the savvy and knows the offense well, so he is often asked to handle blitz pickup duties on 3rd downs.

Richard Kelly is a very versatile back for the Bulls. At 6' 0" and 250lbs, he is a receiving threat out of the backfield and also an excellent blocker. Think of him as USF's H-Back.

USF is very deep at the running back position

A few updates here. Ford was suspended for the first two games. He is now back. Plancher has been their best runner. The stuff about throwing to their backs is dubious at best, unless they've been saving it for this game, which is possible, because their backs have accounted for two receptions in three games. Also, Jamar Taylor is out for this game. I expect to see a lot of Ford/Plancher.

Wide Receiver

This summer, I wrote:

Who Left:

Name Yr Pos Rec. Yards Avg. TD Rec./G Yards/G Note

Taurus Johnson SR WR 38 498 13.1 6 2.9 38 Led team in TD's, 2nd in Yards & Cathes

Marcus Edwards SR WR 19 259 13.6 0 1.5 20 31 Career Starts

Cedric Hill SR TE 16 194 12.1 2 1.2 15 2nd Team Big East

Who Returns:

Name Yr Pos Rec. Yards Avg. TD Rec./G Yards/G

Jessie Hester SR WR 54 579 10.7 3 4.2 45

Carlton Mitchell JR WR 28 405 14.5 1 2.2 31

A.J. Love JR WR 30 354 11.8 2 2.3 27

Dontavia Bogan JR WR 26 354 13.6 1 2 27

Ben Busbee SR TE 7 99 14.1 2 0.5 8

Patrick Richardson SO WR 7 68 9.7 0 0.8 8

Trent Pupello JR TE 2 26 13.0 0 0.2 3

The bulls really spread the ball around to a number of receivers and they are really, really deep at this position.

Jessie Hester, is the son of former Florida State great Jessie Hester (1981-84) and is the Bulls best wideout. He was named Offensive MVP for 2008 after leading the the team with 54 receptions. He's been named to a few pre-season All-Big East teams. At 6' 0" 180lbs, he's not a burner but has enough speed to get open and runs very nice routes.

Carlton Mitchell is a 6'4" 215lb Junior who missed a good chunk of 2008 due to injury. When healthy he can be a redzone threat and is very strong and he had a great freshman season. Though he is a Junior, Mitchell is very raw. He's one of the best athletes on the team. FSU fans might compare him to Jarmon Fortson.

Dontavia Bogan at 6'1" 185lbs is an explosive threat who had a good spring. One of several bigtime breakout candidates. Excellent athlete.

A.J. Love was the Bulls' deep threat before injuring his knee in the Bowl game. He is expected back for Fall and is making progress with his rehab. It's anyone's guess as to whether he regains his pre-injury form.

6' 2", 180lb junior Ed Alcin had a very nice spring and could really surprise this year. Some USF fans believe he is the 2nd best wideout on the team, which is saying something considering his lack of playing time in his first two seasons.

Theo Wilson could also catch a few balls for the 'bulls.

The Bulls must replace Hill at tight end and will look to Andrew Ketchel who came on strong towards the end of the season and he started the bowl game. At 6'5" 240, he's the best pass-catcher of the tight ends. Senior workout freak Ben Busbee is primarily a blocking tight end, but he can catch a few balls as well.

Updates: Hester has a bum ankle and will either miss this game or be very limited. Mitchell and Bogan are now their best wideouts. They look to Mitchell a lot and I believe he is the fastest player on the field come Saturday. Love and Wilson get a few balls as well. This group is the polar opposite of BYU. They are very fast and very big. But they are undisciplined and don't run good routes. Hester was the only one who had good receiver and not just athlete skills.

Because they are pretty raw, USF tries to throw little short routes to get the ball in the hands of their playmakers in space. They throw deep jump balls (again, big tall fast athletes). They throw crossing routes. Their approach is to try and limit the number of routes they run which require precision.

As much as I fawned over Wilson above, there are some obvious difficulties for him. Besides having no game experience, Wilson almost assuredly doesn't have a good relationship with his wideouts. He didn't get as many snaps as Grothe in practice because he was the 2nd team guy. His timing with them can't be great. FSU must force USF to complete precise routes, particularly in the intermediate level. Those require touch, timing, and familiarity between QB & WR.

How will FSU do this? They need to play some zone defense. I would suggest cover-3. I like the cover-3 look because it takes away the deep ball, you can account for at least one flat, and still have 6 defenders in the box against the run. Hopefully by running a lot of cover-3, FSU will force USF to run passable routes and make their correct sight adjustments. USF will need to sit down in the voids in the zone and from watching them, they really don't do that well. I am not sure defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews will do this, however, because he is very stubborn and has been badly outschemed for the better part of this decade. Next year, FSU will have a decent defensive staff. For now though, we wait and hope.

Offensive Line

This is clearly the weak link for the 2009 Bulls. USF must replace four Senior starters in Left tackle Ryan Schmidt, center Jake Griffin, right guard Matt Huners and right tackle Marc Dile . Dile and Huners were 2nd team ALL-Big-East players, and the departed quartet accounted for 118 starts (Dile had 36). The Bulls have a major issue here and will have a very tough time replacing those four.

That's not to say that the departed players were great- they weren't. The 'Bulls allowed 7.1% sacks (7.1% of passing plays ended in sacks), which is horrible. They were a lot better than the current crop and at least had some chemistry, however, something this new group will not have in 2009.

Worse yet, the Bulls were counting on help from the JUCO ranks and at least one big player simply won't be in Tampa this year. They expected JUCO transfer (and former 'Nole) Daron Rose to come in and start at one of the tackle spots. Rose didn't qualify, however, and will not be playing for the Bulls. Additionally, JUCO Tackle Carlos Savala is also ineligible. The Bulls really needed one of them to come in and take over a tackle position.

This off-season has been a disaster for the offensive line, and Head Coach Leavit said that none of the players were good enough to play on his OLine.

One position is definitely set. Junior right guard Zach Hermann is 6'3" 304lbs and made 13 starts as a freshman and 6 last year before injury struck. Herman is a pure run blocker and is the typical tough guard.

At the other guard spot might be 6' 4", 292-pound sophomore Chaz Hine. He didn't play much last year, but is a blue collar guy who could earn the job despite not being very talented.

The center position will hinge on a number of factors. At 6' 5" and 285lbs junior center Jacob Sims has the ability to play a lot of positions. The bulls are also considering him at tackle, but make no mistake, they want him at center. He'll play tackle if the potential tackles struggle. He had off-season finger surgery, but is expected to start somewhere on the line this year, either at Right Tackle, Left Guard, or Center.

At center, there's an experiment going on with former defensive tackle Sampson Genus who is one of the strongest players on the roster. He has looked good according to some reports. If Genus doesn't work out at center (and he's the better athlete but needs a lot of work), the Bulls will turn to 6' 2" 304lb Soph Kevin McCaskill. He's almost running even with Genus and was part of the big class the Bulls brought in after 2007.

The other tackle spot a complete mystery. One possibility is RsFr Jatavious Jackson, a decent recruit at 6' 4" 270lbs. He's very green and undersized at this point. RsFr OT Mark Popek is 6'7" 305 and got a lot of work in spring with Sims out due to injury (remember that the coaches want Sims at center but will move him back to tackle if need be). He's talented but young and inconsistent. He could challenge Sims for one of the tackle spots and USF hopes he wins so that Sims can play center. Pushing Jackson at left tackle is 6' 4" 314lb Soph Jeremiah Warren, who is already struggling in the classroom but does have a good bit of talent.

And don't count out Jamar Bass who is apparently looking reall good for the Bulls (at Left tackle).

The bottom line here is that the Bulls offensive line is very unsettled and even when it does settle, it will not be very talented. None of the bulls linemen are getting any press for an All-Conference selection. This group is definitely set up to run block, which is good considering that the Bulls run more than 60% of the time, but they will likely struggle in pass protection.Right now, their projected depth chart is this

Current projected lineup

LT Jeremiah Warren
LG Chaz Hine
C Sampson Genus
RG Zach Hermann
RT: Jake Sims

Warren is a sophomore who had 3 career starts (all this year). He is starting because Bass is inconsistent. Hine is also a sophomore with only these 3 games as experience. Genus is the strongest player on the roster and could present some trouble. He's a beast:

Genus is huge at "314" lbs (he is at least 320). But skinny ankles, no? He's also inexperienced. Right Guard Hermann is a decent player but a cheap shot artist. Sims is nothing special.

Because USF's offensive line isn't very good (being honest here, they didn't impress me, though FSU's beat up defensive line could make them look solid), USF does some things to limit their exposure. one of those is the quick game.

A few notes here. First, they ran this from two-tight singleback, which they don't often run. They've run this play 7 or 8 times from what I've seen. Opportunity here for the Noles to get a pick-6, but they must balance that with the obvious counter to this, which would be a double move.

These guys don't work well as a team in the run game. There will be gaps where FSU can get penetration and stop the run for loss. That's important because FSU wants to make USF one-dimensional.

They've given up 3 sacks in 77 pass plays (3.9%), against by far the worst competition in the country. FSU, in comparison, against good competition, has given up 4 sacks in 108 pass plays (3.6%). This USF line is average at best. To attack the passing game FSU needs to play coverage, and not rush Daniels aggressively. The ends must not lose contain or attempt dumb spin moves. Just a light, straight rush, like Bama did to Tyrod Taylor. Once they lull Daniels into a sense of false confidence in the pocket, they must attack him via the DELAYED blitz. Delayed is the key. USF's offensive linemen will look to help each other out with the initial rushers, and there should be gaps open for Dekoda Watson to run though, as he did last season against Miami. With contain established, and a free rusher coming in untouched, USF could have some trouble, particularly if their back doesn't pick up the blitz well. What FSU can't do is telegraph the blitz, like they usually do with little success. Make this kid sit in the pocket and read a defense, finding his wideouts in traffic. He can't have that good of a relationship with them yet.

Bottom Line

Last summer, I wrote:

USF's offense will probably struggle this year, particularly against good teams as they did last season. There is a lot of optimism at the quarterback and skill positions, but I wonder if prognosticators are making the common media error of overlooking line play. If the Bulls are to have a top 50 offense, they must be able to establish the run. Despite the new coordinator's background being more pass-happy than USF has seen in recent years, he must stick to the run and play low-risk football, catering to the defense which should be this team's strength. The Bulls have talked about making more big plays this year, but big plays typically happen because a team is vastly superior to their opponent, or because the defense is cheating to stop something (like the run) and are burned by something else (play action pass). If USF can't consistently put itself in better situations this year, like 3rd and 4 instead of 3rd and 8, Grothe will be the same old Grothe- taking too many risks and forcing too many passes. If the offensive line gets it together, the Bulls could have a pretty decent offense as the skill position players are there, but that is a huge if. This is still a team that couldn't get to 350 yards per game in the lousy Big East. Expect a regression from South Florida's offense and a more conservative gameplan as the season rolls along.

Now add in "they have a very talented but completely inexperienced quarterback." Despite the fact that USF has been prepping for this game forever, their offense will stay pretty simple. Still, FSU has a way of making rookie quarterbacks look like heisman trophy favorites. Additionally, I worry because USF has some guys from that Norm Chow NC State team that gave Mickey and FSU fits. Yes, that was the game in which FSU made Daniel Evans look great, to say nothing of Phillip RIvers.

I predict USF to score 27 points.

'Nole Your Enemies: South Florida Preview- Will The Bulls' Offense be Offensive in 2009?

FSUncensored — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:34:30 -0000

With only 40 days until the 2009 season starts, it's time to learn about the opponent's on Florida State's schedule. We'll start with the teams Florida State did not play last year, leading off with in-state foe South Florida. Today we're talking offense, tomorrow will be defense and special teams.

The Bulls were just 4-5 against BC conference teams and 2-4 against teams ranked inside the Fremeau Efficiency Index Top 40. Put another way:

Wins	S/ F+	Losses	S/ F +
UT Martin	NR	Pittsburgh	17
@ UCF	NR	@ Louisville	74
KAN	33	@ Cincinatti	19
FIU	NR	Rutgers	24
NCST (w.o their QB)	47	@ WVU	49
Syracuse	90
UConn	26
Memphis	NR

This year, the Bulls schedule around the 'Noles game looks like this:

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 Wofford
Sept. 12 @ Western Kentucky
Sept. 19 Charleston Southern
Sept. 26 @ Florida State
Oct. 3 @ Syracuse

The Bulls have a very easy schedule before facing Florida State. They essentially play three 1-AA teams (W. Kentucky is a provisional 1A school). This can help and hurt a team. Having a month of pre-season assures that the Bulls will be able to work out some kinks, and that they will be healthy (starters playing fewer minutes in blowouts means less opportunity for injury). It can also hurt, however, because FSU will be the Bulls' first test of the season. 'Nole fans saw this phenomena last year when they lost to Wake Forest after opening the season with two 1AA cupcakes.

Last season, the Bulls Offense looked something like this:

Fremeau Efficiency Index: 48th
Varsity Numbers (aka BeyondTheBoxScore at RockMNation.com, the brainchild of Bill Connelly) S&P+ (measure of ball movement and explosiveness): 21st (34th rushing, 16th passing)
Forget the fact that South Florida led the Big East in total offense and finished second in scoring. It did most of its damage against lesser opponents, while failing to score more than 20 points in the final five regular season games.
In conference play, the Bulls had the 6th best offense (of 8 Big East teams), with the 4th best ground game and the 5th best passing attack. Only UConn and Syracuse were worse (though they were a lot worse).
USF had an unsustainably high success rate on passing downs (2nd and 8+, 3rd/4th and 5+) http://footballoutsiders.com/varsity-numbers/2009/varsity-numbers-2008-offensive-buffet As the article discusses, USF was really goot at converting 3rd and long, compared to their other talents. That's just not realisticly sustainable. What team is consistently better on 3rd and long than 3rd and 4?
USF averaged less than 350 yards and less than 5.4 yards per play in conference games. (For reference, 400 yard games equal out to about 6.2 yards per play over 65 plays in an average game).

The Bulls run a spread scheme under new Coordinator Mike Canales, featuring a heavy dose of the zone read game. They force the opposing defense to account for the QB's legs. Canales was the Bulls' passing game coordinator last year and stepped into the OC role after Greg Gregory took another job.

Quarterback

via nationalchamps.net

Matt Grothe has led the Bulls in rushing in each of the past three seasons. He's also a big risk taker who often struggles to read defenses, possibly because of his 5'11" stature. He's tossed up 42 picks over three years, while throwing 47 TD's. He's been consistent in his erratic nature, throwing 14 INT's each year. More troubling, however, for Bulls fans was the way he ended the Big East season: Against Louisville, Cincinnati, Rutgers, UConn, and WVU, Grothe threw 11 Interceptions and just three touchdowns, while being sacked 13 times.

There's more:

Matt Grothe	Games	QB Rating	Yards/ Attempt	TD	INT
All Games	13	136	7.7	18	14
v. Conference	7	119	7.1	7	12
v. Non-Conference	6	156	8.4	11	2
v. Winning	6	109	6.5	4	10
v. Non-Winning	7	162	8.8	14	4

4 TD 10 INT against Bowl teams? That's not impressive, and really, none of Grothe's passing numbers stand out. He is a dangerous runner, of course. And FSU has been ripped by teams utilizing the mobile quarterback over the past two seasons, particularly out of the shotgun, as USF does. In fact, Grothe had 117 rushes for 828 yards, which is 7.1 yards per carry. Simply put, Grothe is a playmaker with his legs. He runs the zone read play quite well and making him one-dimensional is a primary goal for any team facing USF.

If he stays healthy, Grothe will surpass Pat White for the conference record in Total Offense, but I have to wonder how much of that record is due solely to playing time? Almost any 4-year starter with mobility would have a shot at the record.

If the Bulls lose Grothe, they will probably miss a bowl as there is nobody else on the roster with any experience in a college game. For that reason, I will not profile the backup quarterbacks.

Running Backs

Mike Ford is a special talent and a likely NFL back.

via www.mikefordonline.org

He was a Five-Star recruit coming out of high school but had terrible grades and had to go to through the preparatory school route. Last season, Ford battled numerous injury issues and had a disappointing year. In 2007, however, he was excellent.

2008				2007
Opponent	Att	Yards	Avg.	Opponent	Att	Yards	Avg.
Tenn.-Martin	15	61	4.1	Elon	6	83	13.8
@ UCF	Did	Not	Play	@ 15 Auburn	21	74	3.5
Kansas	1	3	3.0	North Carolina	6	13	2.2
@ Florida Int'l	14	24	1.7	6 West Virginia	5	42	8.4
@ North Carolina St.	11	64	5.8	@ Fla. Atlantic	Did	Not	Play
Pittsburgh	14	73	5.2	UCF	8	39	4.9
Syracuse	11	51	4.6	@ Rutgers	4	9	2.3
@ Louisville	5	13	2.6	@ Connecticut	7	27	3.9
@ 17 Cincinnati	Did	Not	Play	17 Cincinnati	7	13	1.9
Rutgers	1	2	2.0	@ Syracuse	28	134	4.8
Connecticut	8	20	2.5	Louisville	24	140	5.8
@ 23 West Virginia	14	62	4.4	@ Pittsburgh	16	63	3.9
+ Memphis	8	34	4.3	+ 23 Oregon	6	8	1.3
Totals	102	407	4.0	Totals	138	645	4.7

This year, he's apparently lost 20lbs, making him 6'2" 210 rather than the 230 he played at last season. He is apparently quicker and now healthy. You can bet that USF will not risk injuring him against their cupcake schedule before they play FSU.

Canales has been vocal about trying to throw the ball to the backs more often, but Ford has not shown great hands. He may catch a few more now that he is at a better weight, but he's really not that type of back.

Mo Plancher represents another option to carry the ball. At 5'9" and 200lbs, he has surprising quicks, gaining 330 yards on 69 carries last year.

Jamar Taylor is an ex fullback type who tried to carry the load for USF into the bowl season, rushing for 300 yards on 62 carries. He has the savvy and knows the offense well, so he is often asked to handle blitz pickup duties on 3rd downs.

Richard Kelly is a very versatile back for the Bulls. At 6' 0" and 250lbs, he is a receiving threat out of the backfield and also an excellent blocker. Think of him as USF's H-Back.

USF is very deep at the running back position

Wide Receiver

Who Left:

Name	Yr	Pos	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec./G	Yards/G	Note
Taurus Johnson	SR	WR	38	498	13.1	6	2.9	38	Led team in TD's, 2nd in Yards & Cathes
Marcus Edwards	SR	WR	19	259	13.6	0	1.5	20	31 Career Starts
Cedric Hill	SR	TE	16	194	12.1	2	1.2	15	2nd Team Big East

Who Returns:

Name	Yr	Pos	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec./G	Yards/G
Jessie Hester	SR	WR	54	579	10.7	3	4.2	45
Carlton Mitchell	JR	WR	28	405	14.5	1	2.2	31
A.J. Love	JR	WR	30	354	11.8	2	2.3	27
Dontavia Bogan	JR	WR	26	354	13.6	1	2	27
Ben Busbee	SR	TE	7	99	14.1	2	0.5	8
Patrick Richardson	SO	WR	7	68	9.7	0	0.8	8
Trent Pupello	JR	TE	2	26	13.0	0	0.2	3

The bulls really spread the ball around to a number of receivers and they are really, really deep at this position.

Jessie Hester, is the son of former Florida State great Jessie Hester (1981-84) and is the Bulls best wideout. He was named Offensive MVP for 2008 after leading the the team with 54 receptions. He's been named to a few pre-season All-Big East teams. At 6' 0" 180lbs, he's not a burner but has enough speed to get open and runs very nice routes.

Carlton Mitchell is a 6'4" 215lb Junior who missed a good chunk of 2008 due to injury. When healthy he can be a redzone threat and is very strong and he had a great freshman season. Though he is a Junior, Mitchell is very raw. He's one of the best athletes on the team. FSU fans might compare him to Jarmon Fortson.

Dontavia Bogan at 6'1" 185lbs is an explosive threat who had a good spring. One of several bigtime breakout candidates. Excellent athlete.

A.J. Love was the Bulls' deep threat before injuring his knee in the Bowl game. He is expected back for Fall and is making progress with his rehab. It's anyone's guess as to whether he regains his pre-injury form.

6' 2", 180lb junior Ed Alcin had a very nice spring and could really surprise this year. Some USF fans believe he is the 2nd best wideout on the team, which is saying something considering his lack of playing time in his first two seasons.

Theo Wilson could also catch a few balls for the 'bulls.

The Bulls must replace Hill at tight end and will look to Andrew Ketchel who came on strong towards the end of the season and he started the bowl game. At 6'5" 240, he's the best pass-catcher of the tight ends. Senior workout freak Ben Busbee is primarily a blocking tight end, but he can catch a few balls as well.

Offensive Line

This is clearly the weak link for the 2009 Bulls. USF must replace four Senior starters in Left tackle Ryan Schmidt, center Jake Griffin, right guard Matt Huners and right tackle Marc Dile . Dile and Huners were 2nd team ALL-Big-East players, and the departed quartet accounted for 118 starts (Dile had 36). The Bulls have a major issue here and will have a very tough time replacing those four.

That's not to say that the departed players were great- they weren't. The 'Bulls allowed 7.1% sacks (7.1% of passing plays ended in sacks), which is horrible. They were a lot better than the current crop and at least had some chemistry, however, something this new group will not have in 2009.

Worse yet, the Bulls were counting on help from the JUCO ranks and at least one big player simply won't be in Tampa this year. They expected JUCO transfer (and former 'Nole) Daron Rose to come in and start at one of the tackle spots. Rose didn't qualify, however, and will not be playing for the Bulls. Additionally, JUCO Tackle Carlos Savala is also ineligible. The Bulls really needed one of them to come in and take over a tackle position.

This off-season has been a disaster for the offensive line, and Head Coach Leavit said that none of the players were good enough to play on his OLine.

One position is definitely set. Junior right guard Zach Hermann is 6'3" 304lbs and made 13 starts as a freshman and 6 last year before injury struck. Herman is a pure run blocker and is the typical tough guard.

At the other guard spot might be 6' 4", 292-pound sophomore Chaz Hine. He didn't play much last year, but is a blue collar guy who could earn the job despite not being very talented.

The center position will hinge on a number of factors. At 6' 5" and 285lbs junior center Jacob Sims has the ability to play a lot of positions. The bulls are also considering him at tackle, but make no mistake, they want him at center. He'll play tackle if the potential tackles struggle. He had off-season finger surgery, but is expected to start somewhere on the line this year, either at Right Tackle, Left Guard, or Center.

At center, there's an experiment going on with former defensive tackle Sampson Genus who is one of the strongest players on the roster. He has looked good according to some reports. If Genus doesn't work out at center (and he's the better athlete but needs a lot of work), the Bulls will turn to 6' 2" 304lb Soph Kevin McCaskill. He's almost running even with Genus and was part of the big class the Bulls brought in after 2007.

The other tackle spot a complete mystery. One possibility is RsFr Jatavious Jackson, a decent recruit at 6' 4" 270lbs. He's very green and undersized at this point. RsFr OT Mark Popek is 6'7" 305 and got a lot of work in spring with Sims out due to injury (remember that the coaches want Sims at center but will move him back to tackle if need be). He's talented but young and inconsistent. He could challenge Sims for one of the tackle spots and USF hopes he wins so that Sims can play center. Pushing Jackson at left tackle is 6' 4" 314lb Soph Jeremiah Warren, who is already struggling in the classroom but does have a good bit of talent.

And don't count out Jamar Bass who is apparently looking reall good for the Bulls (at Left tackle).

The bottom line here is that the Bulls offensive line is very unsettled and even when it does settle, it will not be very talented. None of the bulls linemen are getting any press for an All-Conference selection. This group is definitely set up to run block, which is good considering that the Bulls run more than 60% of the time, but they will likely struggle in pass protection.

Bottom Line

USF's offense will probably struggle this year, particularly against good teams as they did last season. There is a lot of optimism at the quarterback and skill positions, but I wonder if prognosticators are making the common media error of overlooking line play. If the Bulls are to have a top 50 offense, they must be able to establish the run. Despite the new coordinator's background being more pass-happy than USF has seen in recent years, he must stick to the run and play low-risk football, catering to the defense which should be this team's strength. The Bulls have talked about making more big plays this year, but big plays typically happen because a team is vastly superior to their opponent, or because the defense is cheating to stop something (like the run) and are burned by something else (play action pass). If USF can't consistently put itself in better situations this year, like 3rd and 4 instead of 3rd and 8, Grothe will be the same old Grothe- taking too many risks and forcing too many passes. If the offensive line gets it together, the Bulls could have a pretty decent offense as the skill position players are there, but that is a huge if. This is still a team that couldn't get to 350 yards per game in the lousy Big East. Expect a regression from South Florida's offense and a more conservative gameplan as the season rolls along.

Will the Chiefs Sign Any Rookie Mini-Camp Tryouts?

Chris Thorman — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:28:53 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

Kansas City Chiefs running back Javarris Williams (40) worked alongside an unknown tryout running back during rookie camp at the team's football practice facility in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, May 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Browse more photos »

Through some creative Internet sleuthing and Bob Gretz's blog, we've identified almost positively five of the six try out players from last weekend's rookie mini-camp at Arrowhead Stadium. They are QBs Drew Tate and Chase Patton, SS Glenn Williams, C Dominic Green, LB Bobby Abare and an unknown running back.

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley said the team hoped to make a decision on some of these guys by last Monday. We haven't heard anything yet on whether or not any of the six made the team but then again, I don't think we would have heard any announcement by now anyway if a decision had been made. Such is the nature of the Pioli regime.

Let's check out these guys one at a time.

QB Drew Tate

One of the two quarterbacks the Chiefs invited to the rookie mini-camp, the 6 foot tall, 192 pound Tate started for three seasons at Iowa before being picked up by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2007. Before his college and brief pro career, Tate was a high school standout from Baytown, TX, (Seriously) whose high school numbers are on par with Graham Harrell and Colt McCoy. The three of them share quite a few Texas high school football passing records.

Tate fared quite well while at Iowa, gaining notoriety in the 2005 Capital One Bowl when he made a game wining TD pass with no time left to beat the LSU Tigers.

Skip ahead to the about the 4:50 mark to see that pass.

He only stuck around St. Louis for about three weeks before being let go. After his 2007 release, Tate has been spending time playing in the CFL for the Saskatchewan Rough Riders.

Tate's lack of size (6' tall, 192 pounds) is likely the major reason he did not get drafted in 2007.

"In my opinion if Drew were two inches taller he would have been a third or fourth round selection in last week's NFL draft," said Roughriders general manager Eric Tillman. "He has a strong arm; he's mobile, intelligent, tough and super competitive."

I highly doubt Tate makes the roster with four QBs already on it.

QB Chase Patton

For those not aware, Chase Patton is the Matt Cassel of the 2009 NFL Draft class. Patton rode the bench at Missouri for 99% of his career, backing up Heisman finalist Chase Daniel in the process.

Patton has great size for an NFL QB - 6'4", 220 pounds. That size and potential is what has scouts at least interested in him as an undrafted free agent.

"You simply have to take a hard look at a guy who has those types of measurables at a big school," says one. "Because there's no set way to find a quarterback."

Like with Drew Tate, I don't think there is room on the Chiefs' roster for Patton to break through as a #3 quarterback. It's likely he wouldn't remain on the practice squad long either.

LB Bobby Abare

We covered Yale LB Bobby Abare just recently when I jumped the gun and called him one of our officially signed undrafted free agents. He would be a good special teams addition for the Chiefs.

Click here to read more on Abare.

SS Glenn Wiliams

I have to admit that my knowledge of Glenn Williams was non-existent before he entered the Chiefs rookie mini-camp. Safeties from Duke don't exactly get a lot of national attention.

The 5'10", 185 pound safety doesn't have a lot of ink on him either. By far the most info on him comes from Duke's web site. Williams was a four year starter who moved from cornerback to safety before the 2008 season. From what I can find on Williams, he seems to be a reliable, smart safety who just doesn't have that "next level" athelticism and talent.

C Dominic Green

This 6'3", 295 pound offensive linemen has that versatility thing going on for him, just like Pioli and Haley like. Green has started games at center, tackle and guard during his career with the University of Nevada WolfPack. He earned a number of pre-season distinctions before the 2008 season but ended the season on a pretty terrible note - by getting a DUI on December 12th, 2008.

Green was arrested and charged with DUI and driving with expired tags. He lost his captain spot for the WolfPack's upcoming Bowl game and he lost his scholarship.

***

The odds are very long for any of these five players to make the Kansas City Chiefs squad at the beginining of the 2009 season. The nearly complete rookie mini-camp attendee list is after the jump.

Thoughts on the chances any of these guys make the team?

Kansas City Chiefs Rookie Mini-Camp Attendees

Draft Picks	1st Year Players	UDFAs	Try-outs
DE Tyson Jackson	WR Rodney Wright	DT Dion Gales	QB Drew Tate
DT Alex Magee	G Edwin Harrison	DE Bobby Greenwood	QB Chase Patton
CB Donald Washington	LB Darrell Robertson	DB/WR Londen Fryar	LB Bobby Abare
OT Colin Brown	TE Jed Collins	LB Pierre Walters	SS Glenn Williams
RB Javarris Williams	DT Derek Lokey	WR Taurus Johnson	C Dominic Green
TE Jake O'Connell	G Tavares Washington	LB Jovan Belcher	Unknown RB
K Ryan Succup	LS Tanner Purdum	OT Cameron Goldberg
WR/KR Quinten Lawrence	*LS Thomas Gafford	S Ricky Price
		LB Corey Smith
		CB Jackie Bates
		TE Tom Crabtree
		G Darryl Harris

Poll

How many of the tryout players will the Chiefs sign?

0

117 votes

1

218 votes

2

176 votes

3

65 votes

4

36 votes

5

14 votes

6

14 votes

640 votes | Poll has closed

Morning Update (Intern Edition)

Chris Thorman — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:47:29 -0000

Kansas City Chiefs UDFA Taurus Johnson is interviewed a local FOX affiliate.

Spirit Day anyone? I'm sure tons of you reading would jump on that chance.
The Red Zone is talking about the league meetings coming up.
Turk McBride is a future Hall of Famer - the South Jersey Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Attractive and a great athlete? The Kansas City Chiefs have some high quality interns.
Bob Gretz is talking about the Chiefs' kick returners.
Tony Gonzalez called the last two seasons in KC "incredibly frustrating." H/T to JayKC in the FanShots.
Jeremy at Arrowhead Addict wonders where Brodie Croyle fits in now.
The NFL may add a second regular season game in London next year.
Bill Williamson - "Who else on the roster is going to give the Chiefs a stronger pass rush than Taylor? I don't know that answer. The Chiefs better figure it out, because Taylor is no longer an option." H/T Primetime in the FanShots.
Has anyone ever ordered a jersey from this site? Seems to have pretty low prices. $35 for a Matt Cassel jersey.
Take a look at the top free agents still available. H/T to carthagechief.

Geez there isn't really any news, is there? We'll be back later this morning talking about UDFA's salaries.

More Photos From This Weekend's Chiefs Rookie Mini-Camp

Chris Thorman — Sun, 10 May 2009 15:14:20 -0000

via static.nfl.com

View full size photo »

NFL.com has a gallery up with more pictures of the 2009 Kansas City Chiefs rookie mini-camp.

Click here to check them out.

Chiefs UDFA: WR Taurus Johnson

Chris Thorman — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:32:01 -0000

Wide receiver Taurus Johnson #89 of the University of South Florida Bulls grabs a pass in the end zone for a touchdown against the Kansas University Jayhawks at Raymond James Stadium on September 12, 2008 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Getty Images North America)

View full size photo »

Of the dozen or so undrafted free agents we suspect the Kansas City Chiefs have/will sign, University of South Florida wide reciever Taurus Johnson is probably the most talented of the group.

Coming out of high school in 2005, Johnson was the 35th ranked wide receiver by Rivals and the 45th best prospect coming out of the state of Florida, which is saying quite a bit given the Sunshine State's football pedigree.

Over four seasons a USF Bull, started thirteen games mainly as a #2 receiver to current Chicago Bears WR/KR Deven Hester's cousin, Jessie Hester Jr. Interestingly enough, Hester was not drafted or signed yet by any NFL team.

Johnson's receiving number's weren't very impressive but that's to be expected of an undrafted college free agent.

Year	GP-GS	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	YDS/G
2005	12-0	3	35	11.7	0	20	2.9
2006	13-2	37	494	13.4	2	79	38
2007	11-5	34	407	12.0	4	34	37
2008	13-6	38	498	13.1	6	42	38.3
Career	49-13	112	1,434	12.8	12	121	29.3

To put Johnson's stats in perspective of the USF football program, he ranks second all-time in touchdowns and third all-time in both receiving yards and receptions.

Now you didn't think that Scott Pioli and Todd Haley would bring in just a straight up UDFA wide receiver and have him compete? No no. As we're prone to saying around here, versatility is key. Johnson also returned kicks for USF and while he didn't blow away the competition, that added dimension is something that the new Chiefs' enjoy very much.

Check out his kick return stats:

Year	NO	YDS	TD	LONG	AVG	AVG/G
2005	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0
2006	14	316	0	42	22.6	24.3
2007	13	236	0	33	18.2	21.5
2008	12	232	0	40	19.3	17.8
Career	39	784	0	42	20.1	16.0

Many draft anaylsis of Johnson have him pegged as a #3 WR, special teams contributor or combination of both in the NFL.

Here's what NFL Draft Scout had to say about Johnson before the draft:

Positives: Good height and build for the position. Adequate deep speed. Adequate feet to gain separation. Secure hands for the reception. Generally catches the ball with his hands, but is a cognitive player who knows when he's going to absorb a big hit and will body-catch to protect the ball. Good balance and body control to make the tough reception. A tendency to make the big reception in critical situations. Good agility to make defenders miss in space. Has experience as a returner (20.1-yard kick return average from 2006-2008).

Negatives: Lacks the straight-line speed to challenge deep and with only adequate burst out of his breaks; will struggle to generate separation against NFL caliber cornerbacks. Exposed in this area a bit during practices at the East-West Shrine Game. Slowed with an ankle injury the last half of 2007.

It's clear after looking at scouting reports on Johnson that one thing held him back from being drafted - his speed. The guy ran a 4.4 second 40-yard dash but nearly every report on him I'm reading echoes what NFL Draft Scout said above - he doesn't have great game speed and has trouble separating from defenders.

If you can't do that in college, you sure as heck can't do that in the NFL.

I don't expect Taurus Johnson to threaten the Kansas City Chiefs' current wide receivers for a #3 or even a #4 spot. The Chiefs currently have nine wide receivers on the roster and 2009 6th round pick Quinten Lawrence also has the kick return dimension to his game.

Here's the big thing Johnson has going for him that is at least a somewhat unique skill - he can make defenders miss in the open field pretty darn well. Check out the video below for evidence.

As much as I'd love to read the PARADE make Ford Taurus jokes for the rest of the season, Taurus Johnson has one of the longest shots of any of the team's UDFAs to make the Kansas City Chiefs 53-man roster.

USF Receiver Talks About Private Workout With Chiefs

Joel Thorman — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:30:09 -0000

via photos.nj.com

Kansas City Chiefs wide receivers coach Dedric Ward is coming out of a position with the Arizona Cardinals offensive staff under Todd Haley. We've heard he's been the Chiefs representative at a handful of visits with Chiefs draft interests.

I've always wondered exactly what went on at these private workouts. There's something about them that's so...private.

Yesterday, Chiefs draft interest WR Taurus Johnson from the University of South Florida, conducted a private workout with the Chiefs coach.

With just Johnson, a quarterback and Coach Ward in attendance, the drills sounded pretty boring and makes you wonder how much you can get out of seeing a guy catches passes in shorts.

"We did some ball skill drills too. Things like over the shoulder drills, running down the line, throwing the ball in front of me, behind me, high, low, all the basic wide receiver drills. Have me running a comeback at a certain angle to see if I could find the ball. He said I did real well in everything."

That's not to knock on Johnson. In fact, we talked about him as an intriguing prospect about two weeks ago when we first heard the Chiefs had scheduled a private workout with him.

In fact, he said he would love to play for Coach Ward and the Chiefs.

He told me I did a great job and he liked everything he saw. He said keep up the good work and when he gets back he’ll put a good word in for me with the Chiefs.

He's 6'2", 206 pounds and ran a 4.49 forty that can return kicks as well. He's projected as a 7th round draft pick (Jeff Webb was in the 6th) so I'm being realistic about this receiver.

H/T Larry Weisbaum of USFNation.com

Tracking the Kansas City Chiefs' Draft Interests

Chris Thorman — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:04:48 -0000

*Updated April 22, 2009

Private Workout/Visit	Spoke with at Senior Bowl/Combine	Attended Pro Day	Rumored interest	Scouted in person during 2008 season	Local Pro Day Attendees
G Roger Allen (Mo. Western, Rd. 7)	QB Nathan Brown (Central Arkansas, Rd. 6)	OLB Jason Williams (Western Illinois, Rd. 3-4)	OG Marlon Davis (Alabama, Rd. 7)	T Michael Oher (Ole Miss, Rd. 1)	QB Josh Freeman (K-State, Rd. 1-2)
DE Connor Barwin (Cinncinati, Rd. 1-2)	LB Rey Maualuga (USC, Rd. 1)	University of Georgia	LB Jasper Brinkely (S. Carolina, Rd. 4-5)	CB Malcolm Jenkins (Ohio St. Rd. 1)	LB Mike Rivera (KU, Rd. 7)
WR Taurus Johnson (S. Florida, Rd. 7)	WR Mike Wallace (Ole Miss, Rd. 5)	Georgia Tech University (Likely)	FB Jerome Johnson (Nevada-Reno, Rd. 7)	LB Rey Maualuga (USC, Rd. 1)	WR Tommy Saunders (MU, Rd. 7)
DE Everette Brown (FSU, Rd. 1)	QB Pat White (WVU, Rd. 2-3)	LSU (Likely)	OG/C Lawrence Lovell (Stony Brook)	LB Brian Cushing (USC, Rd. 1)	LB Brock Christopher (MU, Rd. 7)
DT Ricky Jean-Francois (LSU, Rd. 4)	OLB Brian Cushing (USC, Rd. 1)	University of Tennessee	LB Derek Nicholson (FSU)	CB Mike Mickens (Cincinnati, Rd. 2-3)	K Jeff Wolfert (MU, Rd. 7)
OT Jason Smith (Baylor, Rd. 1)	CB Keenan Lewis (Oregon St.), Rd. 3	PK Ryan Succop (Univ. South Carolina, Rd. 7)	SS Bret Lockett (UCLA, Rd. 7)	LB Aaron Curry (Wake Forest, Top 5)	G Roger Allen (Missouri Western, Rd. 7)
LB Mike Rivera (KU, Rd. 7)	DT Fili Moala (USC, Rd. 2-3)	TE Rob Myers (Utah State, Rd. 7)	CB Vince Anderson (Webber International University)	T Eugene Monroe (Virginia, Rd. 1)	TE Darius Hill (Ball St. Rd. 7)
TE Anthony Hill (NC State, Rd. 5-6)	OT Alex Boone (Ohio State Rd. 5-6)	Ole Miss (Ole Miss) Rd. 1	DE Tyson Jackson (LSU, Rd. 1)	DT B.J. Raji (Boston College, Rd. 1)	TE Chase Coffman (MU, Rd. 2-3)
LB Aaron Curry (Wake Forest, Top 5)	OT Andrew Gardner (Georgia Tech, Rd. 5-6)	University of Iowa (Likely)	WR Quinten Lawrence (McNeese St., Rd. 7)	TE Brandon Pettigrew (Oklahoma St., Rd. 1)
DL Sammie Lee Hill (Stillman College, Rd. 5-6)	OT/G Cornelius Lewis (Tennessee State, Rd. 6)	USC	Chase Patton (MU, Rd.7)
OT Eben Britton (Arizona, Rd. 1-2)	OT Michael Oher (Ole Miss, Rd. 1)	Stephen F. Austin	WR Austin Collie (BYU, Rd. 4)
DE Jarron Gilbert (San Jose St., Rd. 2-3)	OLB DeAndre Levy (Wisconsin, Rd. 6-7)	University of Alabama	LB Mike Maresh (NDSU)
NT Sen'Derrick Marks (Auburn, Rd. 2-3)
OT Gerald Cadorgon (Penn. State, Rd. 3)
OT Cornelius Lewis (Tenn. St., Rd. 6)
OT Lawrence Lovell (Stony Brook U., Rd. ???)
LB Clint Sintim (Virginia, Rd. 2)
DE Paul Kruger (Utah, Rd. 3)
WR Mike Thomas (Arizona, Rd. 2-3)
TE Richard Quinn (North Carolina, Rd. 5)
DE Brian Orakpo (Texas, Rd. 1)
LB James Laurinaitis (Ohio St., Rd. 1-2)
K Robbie Dehaze (NAU, Rd. 7)
RB Javarris Williams (Tenn. St., Rd. 5-6)
LB Rey Maualuga (USC, Rd. 1)
LB Larry English (Northern Illinois, Rd. 1-2)
DB Vince Anderson (Webber International University, Rd. 7)
RB Andre Brown (NC State, Rd. 2-3)
CB Darius Butler (UConn, Rd. 1-2)

Good afternoon to you all on a beautiful (at least where I am) Saturday (It's Saturday, right?) afternoon. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the NFL draft is approaching.

The table above lists all of the Kansas City Chiefs' draft interests we've been able to dig up (This is not intended to be a comprehensive list), arranged by four different categories. I've linked back to the stories on AP citing those sources for legitimacy. Take the categories as seriously as you want. Obviously, the private workouts are probably the most legitimate, although you have guys like Mike Rivera from KU who are only going to the Chiefs little local Pro Day in mid-April that is for KC-area prospects.

After today, I'm going to feature this story and there will be a permanent link in the left sidebar to this so we can access it at anytime. We'll also be updating this list as new prospects connected to the Chiefs come up.

And one more thing, please let us know in the comment section if we missed anyone. Thanks!