DT Nick Fairley To Enter NFL Draft

According to ESPN's Joe Schad, Auburn star defensive tackle Nick Fairley will skip his senior season and enter the NFL Draft. The 6'5, 298 kid from Mobile, AL projects as one of the top prospects and joins quarterback Cam Newton as early draft entries fresh off of from Auburn's National Championship team, which Fairley flashed much of his formidable talents while dominating Oregon's offensive line.

The Carolina Panthers hold the draft's top pick and could use the disruptive DT on their front line, but the last time a defensive tackle went #1 overall was Dan Wilkinson back in '94. Fairley has also been rumored to be a dirty player and a bit immature, but talent such as his may be hard to pass on. Think a slightly taller and less quick version of Warren Sapp. This past season Fairley accumulated 12 sacks from the DT position, which is no easy feat.

Defensive minded Ron Rivera was recently named the Panthers head coach so expect Carolina to take a serious look at Fairley. Either way, Nick is set to make a ton of money.

-ALR

Heisman Winner Cam Newton Will Enter NFL Draft

This was a no-brainer. Last night, Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton announced that he will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft. Newton led Auburn to their first BCS championship this past season while putting up 2854 passing yards and 30 TD's and 1473 with 20 TDs on the ground.

The 6'6, 250 lb junior college transfer does not come without baggage, as he was under well-documented scrutiny by the NCAA for his father Cecil Newton allegedly shopping his son's eligibility to Mississippi St. for about $180,000. I guess Cecil was looking to get an early return on investment for Cam and working on his negotiation skills. With a pop like that, who needs an agent?

Cam began his college career as Tim Tebow's backup at Florida before leaving the school in 2008 after being arrested for possession of a stolen laptop. The charges in the case were subsequently dropped and Newton spent the 2009 football season playing (and rapping) for Blinn Junior College in TX.

While Newton has excellent size and measurables for an NFL quarterback, he will definitely need time to develop his passing skills and ability to read coverages as he played in a spread offense at Auburn. Cam wasn't asked to take many snaps under center and will need to work on his footwork leading up to the draft. He has deceptive speed, a strong arm and is a proven winner, many of the same qualities/deficiencies as Tebow when he entered the draft and so far he has turned out OK for the Broncos.

Right now I would say Newton is a 2nd rounder with a chance to go late in the first round to a team with an established QB that will allow Cam a chance to develop. Of course with quite a few teams needing quaterbacks early in the draft he has a shot to go mid first round.

And if Cecil has anything to do with it, expect to see Cammy Cam Juice on your local super market shelves sooner than later.

-ALR

College Football Bowl Schedule

The regular season of College Football has been decided and we are now approaching Bowl Season. The complete schedule of games can be viewed here, but I wanted to give a quick prediction on the BCS Games.

BCS National Championship #1 Auburn Tigers v #2 Oregon Ducks

After 13 games, this game is what the college football landscape tries to get to. During the college season, I have written a few times about the ease of schedule Boise St and TCU had to get to the championship game, but at the end of the season it did not matter because Auburn and Oregon posted undefeated seasons to get to the big game. Here is the tale of the tape...

Auburn is led by probable Heisman Trophy winner Cameron Newton. Cam has put up one of the best single seasons statistically in the history of the FBS, rivaling Tim Tebow of 2007. Newton has accounted for over 2500 passing yards, 1400 rushing yards and 20+ touchdowns both passing and running. Clearly offense will not be a problem for the Auburn Tigers, but defense maybe. The Auburn Defensive Secondary gave 3256 yards of passing offense this season, which put the Tigers in a few holes they had to dig themselves out of. Notably against Alabama who put up 377 yards and the first meeting against South Carolina who gave them 305 yards in the air. To me this begs of an offensive shootout, but I will get to that in a moment.

Oregon has a Heisman hopeful in LaMichael James, who led the Ducks in rushing with 1682 yards and 22 touchdowns. QB Darron Thomas wasn't too shabby either, accounting for 28 touchdowns and 2518 through the air. The Oregon offense was notorious for fast starts and then pulling away in the 4th quarter while the defense held its opponents to next to nothing. Honorable mention to the Oregon Duck mascot for doing as many push-ups as the scoreboard dictates.

Anyway, my prediction is Auburn in close offensive game. I think Cam Newton is going to have a Vince Young type moment, by winning the game in the final seconds.

Rose Bowl #5 Wisconsin Badgers v #3 TCU Horned Frogs

This game TCU has a chance to prove why they belong in the elite of college football this season. Their schedule was a tad weak, but they did what they were supposed to do and run right through it. TCU is transferring to the Big 12, so if they keep up their pace, they will get automatic bowl bids anyway, but a win against Wisconsin would do wonders for the resume.

Wisconsin won the Big 10 by virtue of a higher BCS ranking than Ohio State and Michigan State. They put up gaudy offensive numbers, scoring 82 against Indiana and 70 against Northwestern. A 3 headed rushing attack was the staple of the offense. Each running back had 10+ touchdowns and over 800 yards on the ground, amazing sharing the load like that.

My prediction is Wisconsin by at least 10 points. As good as TCU is, I think they will run into a culture shock against this Badger team.

Fiesta Bowl UCONN Huskies v #7 Oklahoma Sooners

This is one of those trap games for Oklahoma. The Sooners are in a position of if they win people will say, "They were supposed to take care of the Huskies...". If they lose, they will be the talk of the sports world, like they were when the Adrian Peterson led Sooners lost to Boise St. I do not envy the position the Sooners are in, but I think they will find a way to take care of business this year...

Orange Bowl #4 Stanford Cardinals v #13 Virgina Tech Hokies

Potential #1 NFL draft pick, QB Andrew Luck had a 3000 yard passing season and also threw 28 touchdowns for the Cardinals. In this day of the athletic QB who is run first/pass maybe, Luck proved that you can win in college football passing first and running as an option. I think that will be key, as the Hokies have proven to be vulnerable in the secondary when the bright lights are on. I respect what the Hokies have done, winning 11 in a row after a horrendous start, but I don't think Tyrod Taylor will be able to keep the points flowing against the Stanford defense. Prediction - Stanford Cardinals by 13+

Sugar Bowl #6 Ohio State Buckeyes v #8 Arkansas Razorbacks

Razorback QB Ryan Mallet as been another good NFL prospect this season, and I think he will perform well at the next level. In this game, however, I see the swarming Buckeye defense getting a hold of him and providing Terrelle Pryor and the offense with good field position enough times to get the win.

Well there it is...

- @lostherod is the Twitter handle, feel free to follow and debate on any sports topic

Video: Michigan Woman Chest Passes Way To $123,000

During halftime of Saturday's Cam Newton for Heisman Farwell Tour (also known as the SEC Championship Game) Nikki Boon of Grandville, Mich. won the Dr. Pepper Tuition Throw contest in an unusual manner. Check the video:



Rick Barry would be proud. Nikki displayed excellent fundamentals on executing the chest pass and she took home $123,000 towards her college tuition. According to the Grand Rapid Press, she also credited Minnesota DE Ray Edwards for advisin her to go with the two hand pass rather than the traditional overhand motion, which scored the runner-up $23,000 in tuition for his efforts. But no one remember second place, kiddo.

 Said Boon after winning, "Thank God and Thank Dr. Pepper!" Amen to that. Oh, and Auburn went on to win the game 56-17 and all but officially secure a spot in the Tostitos  Bowl to face Oregon for the BCS Championship.

-ALR

More Publicity, More Problems for Cameron Newton

Auburn University's Heisman candidate quarterback Cameron Newton is back in the news again for the wrong reasons, this time for allegedly cheating academically while back at Florida (see here for the report). Apparently Newton handed in a paper that was written by another student. After asked to resubmit the paper Newton turned in a paper that was purchased off the net. Cam apparently is better at ripping apart defenses than pulling a fast one on NCAA instructors.

Newton has already been in the news recently for reports surrounding his recruitment prior to attending Auburn, where it is rumored that his services were being offered for cash. These reports were preceded by a 2008 arrest for stealing a laptop while Newton was at Florida. Newton transferred to Binn College in TX before helping Auburn to a No. 2 ranking in the current BCS standings.

It seems as if the kid cannot stay out of trouble, which will not bode well or Newton's draft status should he consider to skip his senior season(which may be the best option for the 6'6 athlete). Whether or not these reports will hurt Newton's Heisman chances are unknown but they definitely won't help.

Make the jump for the money after the season Cam; then you can get paid for while doing whatever you want. Just try not to get caught.

-ALR