Top 15 pick in next years draft
- Thread starter jimmyjam
- Start date
Dolfan954
Pro Bowler
I agree. It's obvious that the wheels have come off. I doubt that we hear much of anything that goes on in the locker room, and for us to hear this much, I'm sure this is just the tip of the iceberg of what's been going on with the players. They don't trust the coaching staff, and that always leads to problems a la the '95 season? Remeber that wonderful problem? The team that had 425 former first rounders? What a nightmare that was.
Bowl_Bound
Practice Squad
Can we get him? Would it be worth it? Is a WR the best choice?
Oboy
Premium Member
Hate to break it to you, but Fitzgerald is a true Sophmore, thus NOT elligible for the draft.
Hate to break it to you Oboy, but Fitzgerald is three years removed from High School after spending a year between HS and Pitt in a military academy, thus making him draft eligible. OK?
Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Has The Gift of Grab
By Ken Denlinger
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 8, 2003; Page D01
And for their next act, fresh off taming the best tight end in college football, the Virginia Tech defense gets a crack tonight at the best wide receiver in college football, Pittsburgh's Larry Fitzgerald.
Just to make it more of a challenge, the Hokies must try to make do for the first half with their best cover corner, DeAngelo Hall, on the sideline serving a suspension for his involvement in a fight during last week's victory over Kellen Winslow and Miami.
"I thought Winslow might be the best athlete in the country," Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. "But I think Fitzgerald might be, because of what kind of impact he has on his offense."
For a change, the normal pregame hype from coaches and truth intersect with Fitzgerald. Verification comes from men who cannot publicly talk about Fitzgerald because he is a sophomore, two high-level NFL scouts. In separate conversations recently, they said that if Fitzgerald opts to leave early he would be among the first five chosen in the next draft and quite possibly the first.
"The top three I'm hearing," one scout said, "is some mix of [Mississippi quarterback] Eli Manning, Winslow and Fitzgerald."
That begs a couple of questions, starting with: How could someone who might only touch the football six or eight times the entire game be so valuable?
"If you double him," Foster said, "it opens some things for a great tight end [Kris Wilson] and the backs."
Despite regularly facing such double teams, Fitzgerald set an NCAA record last week by catching a touchdown pass in his 14th straight game. He has another NCAA record, for touchdown catches his freshman and sophomore seasons with 28. Also, he leads the country in receiving yards (146.8 average), touchdown catches (16) and scoring (12 ppg.).
Fitzgerald has a nice touch in interviews, responding to a question about the possibility of grabbing the Heisman Trophy with: "What's that?"
To some chuckling in the background during a conference call, he added: "I try not to look too much ahead. My goals are to help the team win the Big East championship."
That's well within the Panthers' reach. They are the only unbeaten team in league play (3-0), but at 3-1, Tech and Miami are lurking. Pittsburgh also plays Miami at home, in the last regular season game for both teams.
Containing Fitzgerald and Rod Rutherford, who has thrown 25 touchdown passes and been intercepted just five times, would be difficult under normal conditions. But Tech lost one of its starting corners, Garnell Wilds, to a season ending knee injury about three weeks ago. And Hall, also among the best punt returners in the country and a threat at flanker on offense, must miss the first half because of being ejected for fighting near the end of the Miami game.
As to the question of how to defend the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Fitzgerald, Tech defensive backfield coach Lorenzo Ward said: "Can't let him beat you deep. We've got to keep him in front of us. Let him win a few battles, but not the war."
Almost certainly, that was the idea last season, when as a freshman, Fitzgerald caught three touchdown passes -- 31, 14 and 10 yards -- from Rutherford during the Panthers' upset of previously unbeaten Tech in Game 9 in Blacksburg. Two of those touchdowns were against Vincent Fuller, who opens in Hall's spot. Both catches played to Fitzgerald's strengths: his ability to adjust to the ball and exceptional hands.
"He's the best I've ever seen at getting up and getting the ball," Tech Coach Frank Beamer said.
Fitzgerald said he actually sleeps with two footballs, one he's had from high school and the other an NFL model a friend gave him a year or so ago.
"Keeps me motivated," he said.
Beamer would like to keep Fitzgerald on the sideline as much as possible, so Tech may well try to run tailback Kevin Jones even more. If Tech wins the toss, Beamer may choose to take the ball instead of deferring until the second half, as he usually does, to try to minimize Hall's absence as much as possible.
"I don't think you can do one thing [on Fitzgerald] the whole time," Beamer said. "You've got to go back and forth, outguess 'em, hopefully. For sure, we're going to know where he is."
Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Has The Gift of Grab
By Ken Denlinger
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 8, 2003; Page D01
And for their next act, fresh off taming the best tight end in college football, the Virginia Tech defense gets a crack tonight at the best wide receiver in college football, Pittsburgh's Larry Fitzgerald.
Just to make it more of a challenge, the Hokies must try to make do for the first half with their best cover corner, DeAngelo Hall, on the sideline serving a suspension for his involvement in a fight during last week's victory over Kellen Winslow and Miami.
"I thought Winslow might be the best athlete in the country," Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. "But I think Fitzgerald might be, because of what kind of impact he has on his offense."
For a change, the normal pregame hype from coaches and truth intersect with Fitzgerald. Verification comes from men who cannot publicly talk about Fitzgerald because he is a sophomore, two high-level NFL scouts. In separate conversations recently, they said that if Fitzgerald opts to leave early he would be among the first five chosen in the next draft and quite possibly the first.
"The top three I'm hearing," one scout said, "is some mix of [Mississippi quarterback] Eli Manning, Winslow and Fitzgerald."
That begs a couple of questions, starting with: How could someone who might only touch the football six or eight times the entire game be so valuable?
"If you double him," Foster said, "it opens some things for a great tight end [Kris Wilson] and the backs."
Despite regularly facing such double teams, Fitzgerald set an NCAA record last week by catching a touchdown pass in his 14th straight game. He has another NCAA record, for touchdown catches his freshman and sophomore seasons with 28. Also, he leads the country in receiving yards (146.8 average), touchdown catches (16) and scoring (12 ppg.).
Fitzgerald has a nice touch in interviews, responding to a question about the possibility of grabbing the Heisman Trophy with: "What's that?"
To some chuckling in the background during a conference call, he added: "I try not to look too much ahead. My goals are to help the team win the Big East championship."
That's well within the Panthers' reach. They are the only unbeaten team in league play (3-0), but at 3-1, Tech and Miami are lurking. Pittsburgh also plays Miami at home, in the last regular season game for both teams.
Containing Fitzgerald and Rod Rutherford, who has thrown 25 touchdown passes and been intercepted just five times, would be difficult under normal conditions. But Tech lost one of its starting corners, Garnell Wilds, to a season ending knee injury about three weeks ago. And Hall, also among the best punt returners in the country and a threat at flanker on offense, must miss the first half because of being ejected for fighting near the end of the Miami game.
As to the question of how to defend the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Fitzgerald, Tech defensive backfield coach Lorenzo Ward said: "Can't let him beat you deep. We've got to keep him in front of us. Let him win a few battles, but not the war."
Almost certainly, that was the idea last season, when as a freshman, Fitzgerald caught three touchdown passes -- 31, 14 and 10 yards -- from Rutherford during the Panthers' upset of previously unbeaten Tech in Game 9 in Blacksburg. Two of those touchdowns were against Vincent Fuller, who opens in Hall's spot. Both catches played to Fitzgerald's strengths: his ability to adjust to the ball and exceptional hands.
"He's the best I've ever seen at getting up and getting the ball," Tech Coach Frank Beamer said.
Fitzgerald said he actually sleeps with two footballs, one he's had from high school and the other an NFL model a friend gave him a year or so ago.
"Keeps me motivated," he said.
Beamer would like to keep Fitzgerald on the sideline as much as possible, so Tech may well try to run tailback Kevin Jones even more. If Tech wins the toss, Beamer may choose to take the ball instead of deferring until the second half, as he usually does, to try to minimize Hall's absence as much as possible.
"I don't think you can do one thing [on Fitzgerald] the whole time," Beamer said. "You've got to go back and forth, outguess 'em, hopefully. For sure, we're going to know where he is."
