Hurricanes back on the NFL draft radar

No, this does not mean that the Miami Hurricanes from 2000-2004 are back. It would be very hard to replicate what those Miami teams did in terms of athletes being drafted.

When it comes to the NFL Draft, the University of Miami holds records for the most players selected in the first round (six in 2004), as well as the most first-round draft picks in a two-year (11 from 2003-'04), three-year (15 from '02-'04) and four-year (19 from '01-'04) span.

From 1995-2008, Miami set a record for consecutive NFL Drafts with at least one player selected in the first round.

As of late, Miami has not necessarily had the same talent level in Coral Gables. Since 2004, when Miami had six players selected in the first round -- nine total -- they've only once topped that in total players drafted. That year was 2006, which saw six players go through the first three rounds.

Over the past three years, however, only 9 players have been drafted from Miami, four of which were first-round picks.

Today, The Miami Herald is reporting that a scout, who has visited the University of Miami a lot, told them "this is Miami's best class in five years."

The scout added, "I really like the quarterback. Heck, last year, the best prospect was a guy playing basketball! Now you're looking at several early-round picks, a real solid group of prospects."

The player the scout was referring to is Jimmy Graham, a former athlete at Miami. Graham finished his only season with the Hurricanes with 17 catches for 213 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Because the ACC is often scrutinized as being less physical and more speed oriented than other major conferences, the Hurricanes' upcoming game with Ohio State will serve as a scale. The scout also noted that "this is a benchmark game because the ACC isn't as physical as the Big Ten. NFL people will put a lot of stock in this game."

(Side note: The sport's experts admit to gauging talent by conference. Does this give validity to the SEC-being-dominant discussions? Leave a comment; I digress.)

According to both ESPN's Todd McShay and the featured scout, the Miami players that will be closely followed are defensive end Allen Bailey, cornerback Brandon Harris, offensive tackle Orlando Franklin, linebacker Colin McCarthy and receiver Leonard Hankerson.

Another two scouts added that they will be watching several other players, including running backs Damien Berry and Graig Cooper, and cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke.

 

Courtesy of NBC Sports