Michael Crabtree played his high school football at Dallas’ Carter High School.  Crabtree was a quarterback in high school, but he used his natural athletic ability to become an All-American receiver for Mike Leach’s Texas Tech Red Raiders.  The result was he became a two-time Biletnikoff Award winner and made a decision to go pro after just two years of college football–Crabtree redshirted his first year.

It is impossible to know where Crabtree might go, but most seem to think he is a first rounder.  NFL Draft Site and Walter Football have Crabtree being drafted 4th by the Seattle Seahawks.  DraftCountdown has Crabtree going 8th to the Jacksonville Jaguars and NFLDraftDog has him going 5th to the Cleveland Browns.

Matthew Stafford is the glamour pick for this year’s draft.  Considered by many to be the top quarterback in the

2009 NFL Draft, Stafford seems to show up on the cover of everyone’s front page.  Stafford played high school football at Higland Park High School near Dallas where he led the Scots to a dominating performance his senior year and a state championship.

Most expect him to go in the top 5 of the draft.  In fact, it seems most people think that the Detroit Lions will pick him at number 1.  If the Lions don’t take him, well, the St. Louis Rams are sitting at number 2, and they may not pass on the “golden boy” with the “golden arm.”  It seems that Stafford did not disappoint during his school’s pro day.

While these two players are potential first round and top 10 picks, there are a few other players from the Dallas-Fort Worth area that may get picked in the draft. 

Phillip Hunt was a stand out defensive end for the University of Houston Cougars.  Hunt was a product of Dunbar High School from Fort Worth.  His senior year at Houston, Hunt took the coaching of former Dallas Cowboy Jim Jeffcoat and became the all-time sack leader for the Cougars and number two in sacks in the Bowl Championship Subdivsion just behind TCU’s Jerry Hughes.

Because Hunt is a little undersized for an NFL defensive end, many are projecting him as a pass rush-specialist or outside linebacker.  Depending on who you are, he seems to be projected a 6th or 7th round pick.

Jason Phillips was a mainstay for the TCU Horned Frogs the last four years.  Phillips’ accomplishments and stories are the stuff of legends around Fort Worth.  The Waller native came to TCU after playing an option quarterback in high school for his father.

Presently, Phillips is rehabbing a knee injury he suffered at the combine, but NFL teams shouldn’t worry about his toughness.  Phillips missed exactly one game in four years for the Frogs.  He will most likely play inside linebacker for someone, and he will probably be a second day pick.

The pride of Azle, TX is James Casey.  Casey, who spend three years in the Chicago White Socks farm system, played two years at Rice before opting to turn pro.  Casey is seen as a tight end or H-back.  He is very versitile playing seven different positions in one game.  Casey finished second nationally in receptions last year for the Owls.

Casey is a little small for an NFL tight end, and at 25 years of age he might not gain much more mass, but he is a very good athlete that a team can find a unique use for.  Look for Cassey to be drafted by the 5th round.

There are several other college seniors who are looking to be drafted this year.  SMU star kicker Thomas Morstead will look to get a shot at making a team.  Quarterback Chase Daniel, the former Southlake Carroll Dragon and Missouri Tiger, will also be looking for a shot to make a team.

At TCU’s Pro Day, 12 players participated.  In addition to Jason Phillips, the Frog seniors Blake Schlueter, Shae Reagan, Robert Henson, Aaron Brown, Stephen Hodge, Steven Coleman, Giles Montgomery, Heath Raetz, James Vess, Cody Moore and Justin Watts.

I caught up with Blake Schueleter at a neaby restaurant, and he told me that his performance at TCU’s Pro Day may have moved him from being an undrafted free agent to a 7th round draft choice.  It seems that the scouts were impressed with Schlueter’s athleticism (he ran a 4.7 40 yard dash).

Here is to hoping there will be success for Dallas-Fort Worth players in the 2009 NFL Draft.

By now, most people have heard about the release of nine players from their scholarships at SMU.  It has raised all kinds of publicity for SMU, much of which they did not want.  Head coach June Jones released a statement which reads in part

A few student-athletes failed to adhere to our department policies and/or team rules, and because of that, they are no longer part of our program,

At first glance, it looks as if Jones got rid of some “bad apples.”  What fan doesn’t want bad apples gone from their team?  Remove the bad apples, and Jones is freed up to do what he was brought to SMU to do which is win.

However, look at the statement a little closer.  Check out the part where it says, “. . . failed to adhere to our department policies and/or team rules.”  That is a key statement based on what has happened since the story came out.

One of the players, Jordan Johnson, has revealed that he was not released based on Jones’ much publicized “three strikes” policy.  Jones received some attention last fall when he suspended 17 players, including 3 starters, for violating his three-strikes policy last season.  Johnson has told anyone who will listen that he didn’t even have one strike, much less three.

Johnson appeared on the Michael Irvin show and stated his case.  He came across as a good kid who often answered with “no sir” and “yes sir.”  Further, Johnson revealed that he wasn’t the only one among the nine who might have gotten a little bit of a bad deal.  This is what he told Dallas Morning News reporter Bobbie Roquemore:

I don’t understand it,” said Johnson, who had six tackles in four games last season. “He told me there were three of us that didn’t deserve to be taken off scholarship, and I was one of the people. I don’t understand what’s going on, and I want my name to be clean.

So what is going on here?  It gets better.  According to Chris Dell of the SMU Daily Campus, as many as three players might appeal their suspension.  Joining Johnson in appealing the decision will be sophomore linebacker Taylor Bon and redshirt freshman linebacker Benjamin Goldthorpe.

Scholarships are renewed yearly, and coaches can fail to renew them for various reasons.  It might not be popular, but it is reality. [As an aside, if you are a high school athlete, and you are getting ready to go to college to play football, read Andy Staples’ article giving advice to incoming recruits.]

SMU Athletic Director Steve Orsini defended Jones’ actions by referring to the scholarship as a contract.  That might be hard to hear, but it is true.  Further, Orsini is right when he says that an athletic department is not run like a company’s HR department.

So, what gives?  Is this Jones’ way of cleaning out former coach Phil Bennett recruits?  No, because there are still Bennett recruits on the team.  What about the number of players released?  They released nine players.  Some have suggested that Jones did it to accommodate the incoming class.  But, Dr. Saturday at Yahoo Sports crunched the numbers and it doesn’t appear that SMU needed to release nine players to meet their scholarship limits.  However, a little extra room does mean that a walk-on or two could pick up a promised scholarship.

Something really seems fishy in Highland Park.  How does Jones justify his actions?  When Jones was brought to SMU, he was supposed to work a miraculous turn-around much like he did in his first year at Hawaii.  But, Jones learned that it wouldn’t be that easy.

He found out that screen passes could be intercepted and that there is good football being played in the DFW area (see TCU), and he also learned there are some pretty good teams in the Conference USA (see Rice).  He also learned he had to have some kind of a running game to keep the pressure off of true freshman quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell.  The Mustangs led in the fourth quarter of more than one game last season, but they were unable to hold the lead because their running game was atrocious.

Jones is in his right to release those players, and it may be that a good kid or two got caught up in a program in transition.  That doesn’t make it any easier for players like Jordan Johnson and Taylor Bon.  However, those young men just learned a valuable lesson a little sooner than some of their teammates.  No, life is not always fair.  Such is the case in the athletic world, but it is seen often in the business world.  One can only hope, that one or more of the players appealing the release can win their appeal and receive a scholarship for the rest of their time at SMU.