OPEN SHOT: NFL Draft

Congratulations Jacob and Keenan!

I am proud to say that I was an assistant coach at Boyle County when Jacob played his high school career there. I am so proud of his accomplishments. He is truly a class act and will represent the University well.

It's ironic that he and Keenan were chosen back-to-back. Fans may recall the Jacob originally was not going to receive a scholarship from UK because the last remaining scholarship (to be allocated to a WR) was offered to Keenan instead. When Coach Brooks became head coach, he decided to extend a scholarship to Jacob as well. Jacob dreamed of wearing the blue and white. Both he AND Keenan exemplified the type of homegrown talents that we need much more of. Both of them took personal pride in the blue and white, displayed leadership and guts, and helped put our program on the map.

by ReverendBlue on Apr 27, 2008 3:27 PM EDT reply actions

Woodson

I cannot believe Woodson has lasted so long. Did these guys not watch him for the last two years?

Woodyard not being selected as of yet is also a surprise. I know he's bit undersized for the NFL but his motor and quickness seems to me to offset his height.

by Ken Howlett on Apr 27, 2008 4:25 PM EDT reply actions

Woodson to the Giants.

Congrats to him. It'll be tough to dislodge Manning, but he can at least compare college stories with Lorenzen. (j/k)

by David Hooper on Apr 27, 2008 4:36 PM EDT reply actions

giants?

not sure why the giants selected...they have manning, david carr, and lorenzen. nothing against carr, but i hope he's the casualty here.

GO BIG BLUE!! GO BIG BLUE!!

by UKWildCatFanatic on Apr 27, 2008 5:23 PM EDT reply actions

Puzzling to me also.

by Ken Howlett on Apr 27, 2008 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Stevie "See ya UL secondary" Johnson ...

... picked by Buffalo with the 17th pick of the 7th round. Good for him. After Lee Evans and Roscoe Parish the Bills don't have much at the wideout spot.

by Ken Howlett on Apr 27, 2008 5:48 PM EDT reply actions

Buffalo did draft WRJames Hardy ...

... out of IU. Both of those guys should make the team.

by Ken Howlett on Apr 27, 2008 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Wow ...

He wasn't projected to be drafted.

Pleasant surprise.

by Glenn Logan on Apr 27, 2008 6:22 PM EDT up reply actions

Amazing

I was watching the names of guys I'd never heard of keep popping up on the board at the QB position and was thinking the exact same thing "Have they not been watching this guy?" Honestly... Brink? O'Connell?

Its probably not a good position for Woodson to be in. Maybe he'll have a chance to be picked up as a rookie free agent somewhere else. I kept watching for Chicago or Detroit to pick up a young QB and every time they went past without Woodson I was stunned.

by chirop1 on Apr 27, 2008 6:32 PM EDT reply actions

I was thinking something similar.

Sometimes it's best for a player to not be drafted, because he can be pigeon-holed, where if he's a free agent he can shop around for the best spot for him. As you note Chicago, Carolina, Detroit, Tampa Bay or any number of teams would have been a much better spot for Woodson.

I feel that in his case his talent will prevail. There are a lot of bad QB's in the NFL. He'll hopefully find the best place for him.

by Ken Howlett on Apr 27, 2008 6:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Worst spot possible for Andre IMO

I can't imagine a worse situation in the entire NFL that he could have fallen into. The Giants obviously have Eli as their main man... then fellow Kentucky alum and fan favorite Jared "The Hefty Lefty" Lorenzen at number two... and they picked up Coughlin favorite David Carr in the off-season (he's the head coach for those of us who go into hibernation around the beginning of April not to awaken until October). I just don't see a way for the kid to make the roster; but there are 31 other teams in the league where I believe he could make a legit competition for the number 2 or 3 slots on their roster and probably one or two teams where he could make a real argument to start. (I'm looking at you Rex Grossman.)

by chirop1 on Apr 27, 2008 7:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Hard to disagree

by Ken Howlett on Apr 27, 2008 10:50 PM EDT up reply actions

chicago

as a huge hears fan, i kept hoping the bears would take him as the draft went on today. couldn't believe they didn't. wish he was a FA instead, so he could have still come to chicago.

i hope the bears go after woodyard...we love our LBs here.

GO BIG BLUE!! GO BIG BLUE!!

by UKWildCatFanatic on Apr 28, 2008 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions

Chicago

Chicago would have been a great destination for Woodson. I'm not a huge Bears fan but I do like Lovie Smith and love Devin Hester.

It would have been cool to have seen Brian Brohm QBing the Packers and Woodson the Bears. An already bitter, long-standing rivalry would have been elevated ... just a tad.

by Ken Howlett on Apr 28, 2008 12:35 AM EDT up reply actions

chicago

i had forgotten about the packers taking brohm...good to see they have faith in rodgers.

i think if the bears had taken woodson, you could seen him play brohm in a couple years. i really expected the bears to pick up a QB since they know grossman and orton aren't franchise guys. why not have a guy study a system for a year, and give him a chance next year? now they'll have to draft a QB next year, something the bears have had no success doing ever.

ok, that's enough ranting on the bears (at least on here)...glad to hear scott and woodyard have signed FA contracts with teams.

GO BIG BLUE!! GO BIG BLUE!!

by UKWildCatFanatic on Apr 28, 2008 10:35 AM EDT up reply actions

Woodson was picked

up for draft picks. Coughlin & Co know what they have and know that his performance will equate to some future draft picks. Simple. I wish he would have gone higher but having to prove himself is nothing knew to Andre. We'll see him leading the Bengals or Bears in the near future. He'll be fine and represent UK in the pro's as we hoped he would.

I was glad to see all of our boys that got picked up today. The SEC sure is representing well as usual and it was nice to see a blue tint to it! :)

by bluecrip on Apr 27, 2008 10:09 PM EDT reply actions

"Picked up for draft picks"

While what you say makes sense... I just don't see it that way. This isn't Green Bay or San Francisco stockpiling Hasselback, Bono, Grbac and other QBs. Like I said, they have three quarterbacks who will make the roster as it is. I don't know of any teams who carry a fourth.

by chirop1 on Apr 28, 2008 7:09 AM EDT up reply actions

wow...

just in awe that woodyard didn't go.....really thought he was the cream of our crop

by spork on Apr 27, 2008 10:30 PM EDT reply actions

Woodyard went to the Broncos as UFA

As a Broncos fan, this makes me happy.

by David Hooper on Apr 28, 2008 8:32 AM EDT up reply actions

Woodson

Heard from a source fairly close to the Bears camp that Andre would have been the Bears selection in their first pick of the 7th round.
He apparently had some problems with the standardized testing that the NFL uses to evaluate potential players.
Woodyard's status is a mystery other than he was considered somewhat under sized as a linebacker.

by Blujean on Apr 28, 2008 11:37 AM EDT reply actions

Wonderlic

The report I read said that Woodson scored less than average, much less, on his Wonderlic test.

Why the NFL uses that test is a real head scratcher. There is a very long list of successful players who have scored poorly on the test. In my opinion it is not an idicator of future success in the NFL.

I am a BIG believer in talent eventually winning out over the GM's and scouts stupidity. I feel Andre' will have his chance to prove his worthiness, either with the Giants or some other team.

by Ken Howlett on Apr 28, 2008 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions

They cite a few reasons for the Wonderlic

The most important (as I understand) is that the Wonderlic is primarily a "fast-twitch" kind of mental test. The questions jump around a lot and the time constraints are very tight. Doing well requires a mind that adapts quickly and sees the solutions (or the path to the solution) automatically.

Other reasons cited: test of mental toughness under stress; willingness to fight through an uncomfortable challenge; and trainability. There's a lot of psychobabble associated with it that goes way past me, but it's basically the only mind test they have. Some coaches don't worry about that so much; others place a tremendous value on the grey matter.

It's also more important for QBs and OLs than anybody else. Very few (if any) people care how DLs do. The premise is that everything is designed to test the "quick-what's-the-answer" brain reflex. Whether it does that and whether the test is relevant are different issues. But those are the goals.

by David Hooper on Apr 28, 2008 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Wonderlic

To my knowledge you are exactly right.

Here is a sample of the Wonderlic test, as well as other Wonderlic info.

by Ken Howlett on Apr 28, 2008 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions

These things can

be a little hard to see chirop, it's okay. Woodson will hang out on the practice squad much like J-Lo did when he first joined the league (biggest differnce being that J-Lo wasn't drafted) while he is being shopped around. Should one of the other two QB's behind Manning suffer a blowout at 90mph Woodson will be there for insurance if they haven't shipped him off. What other reason does a team with three QB's draft another one, if they are not a SF or GB stockpiling QB's?

by bluecrip on Apr 28, 2008 1:25 PM EDT reply actions

Interesting Column

Found this at NFL.com...
http://www.nfl.com/draft/story;jsessionid=CCC95E27FC7AE7D12D7C08BC2C9BE126?id=09000d5d808086fb&t emplate=with-video&confirm=true

It could be a case of a columnist trying to stir up controversy (especially the Brady-Woodson comparison). I don't agree with it entirely, but it is not without merit.

by mrmondaynite on Apr 28, 2008 1:40 PM EDT reply actions

Nice write up

From the linked article: "How about a stretch of 153 passes during his career without an interception? And then another such streak -- the NCAA record -- of 325 after that?"

At one point during the coverage yesterday, I heard Kiper (I think) say that there were accuracy concerns on the short passes for Woodson. I almost threw my shoe at his hair. (Would have done more damage to my TV than his real life hair in all likelihood.)

by chirop1 on Apr 28, 2008 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions