Post by MizzouTiger on Jan 27, 2008 14:18:09 GMT -5
collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=766335
Waiting a Year Pays Off for Some Players
Steve Megargee
Rivals.com College Football Staff Writer
MOBILE, Ala. — USC offensive tackle Sam Baker already had enjoyed the type of career that would make him the envy of just about any player in the country.
He had been a part of two national championship teams. He spent three years as a starting left tackle for one of the best programs in the country. He earned All-America honors as a junior.
All those accomplishments made Baker a likely first-round pick last year if he'd chosen to enter the NFL Draft, but he delayed the potential multimillion-dollar signing bonus for a chance at winning one more title.
"I wanted to win another national championship," Baker said. "I wanted to do that and get my degree. And with a coach like Coach (Pete) Carroll, I just wanted to be in that environment again and just have some fun."
The season didn't work out quite the way Baker expected for himself or his team.
USC's dreams of a national title ended with regular-season losses to Stanford and Oregon, though the Trojans still won the Rose Bowl to finish second in one poll and third in the other. And Baker sat out three games with a strained left hamstring.
Does he regret delaying the start of his pro career? Not at all.
"The NFL is always going to be there," Baker said. "For me, I wanted to be as good as I possibly could be before I got there. It's always been my dream. I didn't want to disrespect my dream."
Baker's comments reflect the consensus attitude among the Senior Bowl performers. Even the ones who experienced disappointing seasons don't have any second thoughts about staying in school.
Michigan quarterback Chad Henne returned for a senior season along with star teammates Mike Hart and Jake Long in hopes of delivering the Wolverines a national title. Michigan instead finished 9-4 and Henne missed two games with a knee injury.
Notre Dame safety Tom Zbikowski came back and ended his career as a member of the first nine-loss team in Fighting Irish history.
But both believe they made the right decision.
"We still had stuff to prove," said Henne, who earned his degree last month. "We hadn't won a bowl game. We hadn't beaten Ohio State. We were definitely looking forward to the season. We had a great senior group coming back. We had high expectations. Obviously it didn't go the way we wanted, but we finished strong, sent Coach (Lloyd) Carr out the right way, and us seniors also."
They could have more reason to feel good about their decisions when the draft arrives. Frank Coyle of www.draftinsiders.com doesn't believe any of the Senior Bowl players hurt their draft prospects significantly by returning to school for their final seasons.
"Most of the kids have improved their stock," Coyle said.
For instance, Zbikowski didn't earn any All-America honors last season after being selected as an Associated Press third-team All-American his sophomore and junior years. But that doesn't necessarily mean he failed to improve. Zbikowski picked off two passes, forced three fumbles and recovered two fumbles this season. He didn't pick off any passes in 2006 and forced and recovered only one fumble.
"I definitely got better," Zbikowski said. "I was getting back to making plays, forcing fumbles, getting interceptions and that kind of stuff. It definitely felt good."
Coyle agrees that Zbikowski benefited himself considerably by returning for his senior season. Coyle rates Zbikowski as the No. 74 prospect in this draft class.
"There were some real coverage issues related to him last year, and I couldn't see him being a top-100 kid," Coyle said. "He's improved."
Baker perhaps had the most to lose by returning for his senior season because he probably would have been taken in the first round. Even though injuries limited him for much of his senior season, Baker still arrived at Senior Bowl week as one of the nation's top offensive line prospects.
Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin, a former USC offensive coordinator who is coaching the North team, believes Baker developed into a more complete player over the past season.
"He's helped himself a lot by coming back another year," Kiffin said. "I know he's had some injuries, but I think he's taken his game to another level as far as being physical. If there was something he needed to improve on, it was being physical and finishing every snap. This year at SC, he did that."
Most mock drafts have Baker being picked in the first round. Even if he gets taken later than expected and slips into the second round, Baker won't have any regrets.
Perhaps he lost a few dollars by sticking around for his senior year, but the memories he accumulated are priceless.
"Just going to the Rose Bowl game and winning it as a senior was one of the best feelings I've ever had," Baker said. "That one moment right there made it all worth it."
Waiting a Year Pays Off for Some Players
Steve Megargee
Rivals.com College Football Staff Writer
MOBILE, Ala. — USC offensive tackle Sam Baker already had enjoyed the type of career that would make him the envy of just about any player in the country.
He had been a part of two national championship teams. He spent three years as a starting left tackle for one of the best programs in the country. He earned All-America honors as a junior.
All those accomplishments made Baker a likely first-round pick last year if he'd chosen to enter the NFL Draft, but he delayed the potential multimillion-dollar signing bonus for a chance at winning one more title.
"I wanted to win another national championship," Baker said. "I wanted to do that and get my degree. And with a coach like Coach (Pete) Carroll, I just wanted to be in that environment again and just have some fun."
The season didn't work out quite the way Baker expected for himself or his team.
USC's dreams of a national title ended with regular-season losses to Stanford and Oregon, though the Trojans still won the Rose Bowl to finish second in one poll and third in the other. And Baker sat out three games with a strained left hamstring.
Does he regret delaying the start of his pro career? Not at all.
"The NFL is always going to be there," Baker said. "For me, I wanted to be as good as I possibly could be before I got there. It's always been my dream. I didn't want to disrespect my dream."
Baker's comments reflect the consensus attitude among the Senior Bowl performers. Even the ones who experienced disappointing seasons don't have any second thoughts about staying in school.
Michigan quarterback Chad Henne returned for a senior season along with star teammates Mike Hart and Jake Long in hopes of delivering the Wolverines a national title. Michigan instead finished 9-4 and Henne missed two games with a knee injury.
Notre Dame safety Tom Zbikowski came back and ended his career as a member of the first nine-loss team in Fighting Irish history.
But both believe they made the right decision.
"We still had stuff to prove," said Henne, who earned his degree last month. "We hadn't won a bowl game. We hadn't beaten Ohio State. We were definitely looking forward to the season. We had a great senior group coming back. We had high expectations. Obviously it didn't go the way we wanted, but we finished strong, sent Coach (Lloyd) Carr out the right way, and us seniors also."
They could have more reason to feel good about their decisions when the draft arrives. Frank Coyle of www.draftinsiders.com doesn't believe any of the Senior Bowl players hurt their draft prospects significantly by returning to school for their final seasons.
"Most of the kids have improved their stock," Coyle said.
For instance, Zbikowski didn't earn any All-America honors last season after being selected as an Associated Press third-team All-American his sophomore and junior years. But that doesn't necessarily mean he failed to improve. Zbikowski picked off two passes, forced three fumbles and recovered two fumbles this season. He didn't pick off any passes in 2006 and forced and recovered only one fumble.
"I definitely got better," Zbikowski said. "I was getting back to making plays, forcing fumbles, getting interceptions and that kind of stuff. It definitely felt good."
Coyle agrees that Zbikowski benefited himself considerably by returning for his senior season. Coyle rates Zbikowski as the No. 74 prospect in this draft class.
"There were some real coverage issues related to him last year, and I couldn't see him being a top-100 kid," Coyle said. "He's improved."
Baker perhaps had the most to lose by returning for his senior season because he probably would have been taken in the first round. Even though injuries limited him for much of his senior season, Baker still arrived at Senior Bowl week as one of the nation's top offensive line prospects.
Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin, a former USC offensive coordinator who is coaching the North team, believes Baker developed into a more complete player over the past season.
"He's helped himself a lot by coming back another year," Kiffin said. "I know he's had some injuries, but I think he's taken his game to another level as far as being physical. If there was something he needed to improve on, it was being physical and finishing every snap. This year at SC, he did that."
Most mock drafts have Baker being picked in the first round. Even if he gets taken later than expected and slips into the second round, Baker won't have any regrets.
Perhaps he lost a few dollars by sticking around for his senior year, but the memories he accumulated are priceless.
"Just going to the Rose Bowl game and winning it as a senior was one of the best feelings I've ever had," Baker said. "That one moment right there made it all worth it."