UCLA All-Americans deal with hype of Saturday’s NFL draft

  Daily Bruin DeShaun Foster

By Hannah Gordon
Daily Bruin Reporter

This weekend former big men on campus will likely feel like
seventh graders at the school dance.

When the NFL draft commences Saturday morning on ESPN, several
former Bruins will hope to hear their names called. For some the
wait will last until Sunday afternoon, or they may never hear their
names called at all. But others may get lucky as early as the first
round.

With a full dance card, All-American tailback DeShaun Foster is
figured to be the first back off the board until several top
underclassmen are declared for the draft. Most people project
Foster will be the third running back taken after Boston
College’s William Green and Michigan State’s T.J.
Duckett.

  Daily Bruin Robert Thomas

The main concern with Foster is his tendency to fumble.
Otherwise, he is the consummate back who led the Pac-10 in rushing
with 1,109 yards (in only eight games), averaging 5.1 yards per
carry. While missing the last three games of the season due to an
NCAA suspension cost Foster, a strong performance at the Senior
Bowl and good numbers at the combine at UCLA’s pro day
boosted his stock.

But Foster tries not to follow the hype.

“I try to ignore all that,” Foster said at the NFL
combine in March. “That’ll drive you crazy. Draft day
decisions are all in one day. I just put my best foot forward and
go from there.”

Popular among NFL scouts, All-American Robert Thomas is the
consensus top middle and inside linebacker among draft gurus. But
in a weak year for linebackers, he is still projected to go in the
second round.

The biggest knock on Thomas is his 6-foot and 229-pound frame.
He is however the fastest linebacker in the draft which allows him
to be a sideline-to sideline player.

“I like to say my style is like a Junior Seau,”
Thomas said at the combine.

“Teams say, “˜Don’t worry about size.
We’ll find a place for you,'” Thomas added.

All Pac-10 defensive end Kenyon Coleman is projected by Pro
Football Weekly and The Sporting News as anywhere between a third
and sixth round pick in a deep year for defensive linemen. While he
has ideal size for a defensive end, he was criticized for not
making enough plays.

Second team all Pac-10 Marques Anderson is projected as a fourth
round pick by various sources and ranked as the No. 7 safety by Pro
Football Weekly. He helped himself by showing versatility in the
Senior Bowl and the East-West Shrine Game, playing corner as well
as safety.

Wide receiver Brian Poli-Dixon could go anywhere from the fourth
to the seventh round. The Sporting News ranks him as the No. 20
wide receiver. All Pac-10 tight end Bryan Fletcher is projected as
a seventh round pick. The Sporting News lists him as its No. 20
tight end.

“I hope somebody picks him up, I’m his biggest
fan,” fellow tight end and current junior Mike Seidman said.
“I check out (the draft Web sites) here and there but they
never get it right.”

Defensive tackles Ken Kocher and Anthony Fletcher and fullback
Ed Ieremia-Stansbury will likely sign as free agents if undrafted.
Weakside linebacker Ryan Nece could also be signed as a free
agent.

The free agent with the longest career ahead of him, however, is
probably long snapper Jeff Grau, the country’s top long
snapper. Grau could be drafted, but most teams would not spend a
draft pick on a specialist.

Not wanting to miss out on the party, backup quarterback Scott
McEwan is being looked at by Canadian Football League teams, but he
hopes to make it to an NFL camp. Center Troy Danoff also has a
chance to make it to training camp.

Back at UCLA, their old coaches are keeping an eye out like
mothers waiting outside at midnight.

“I’m proud of them,” UCLA quarterbacks coach
John Pearce said. “There are going to be a lot of smiling,
rich people come this weekend.”