Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo, a shoe-in for the first round, at this point, is absolutely on fire so far this season.   With 8.5 sacks in eight games, Orakpo is tied for seventh nationally while leading the Big 12. From the article, “Orakpo bench presses 515 pounds, or about twice his playing weight. He has run an electronically timed 4.7 in the 40. And he possesses an NBA-esque 42-inch vertical jump to go with 8 percent body fat.” This reminds me a lot of Vernon Gholston from last season; a freak athlete who played defensive end in college, but will likely make the jump to outside linebacker at the next level. With Orakpo’s Combine numbers likely to be outstanding, I wouldn’t be surprised if we started talking about the Texas star being taken among the Top 15 picks.

- Virginia linebacker Clint Sintim is a player whose stock is currently on the rise in scouting circles.

- Northern Illinois defensive end Larry English has been getting plenty of looks from NFL scouts. I got the chance to see English play in person when he played against Minnesota in Week 1. While he’s not that big, he is a smart player with very good instincts and tends to have a nice pass rush throughout the game. He’ll likely be another player to make the jump to outside linebacker at the next level, so it could take him a bit longer than other players to develop as he gets used to the position.

Don’t be surprised if LSU defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois decides to enter the draft after this season. From what I’ve been told, he is seriously considering leaving LSU for next April’s NFL Draft. According to one of my sources, those in the know say that Jean-Francois, a 6-3, 281 lb defensive lineman could run as fast as a 4.4 second 40-yard dash. If he were to do that at the Combine or his Pro Day, you can almost guarantee that he’d be a strong bet to be taken in the first round.

Broncos rookie offensive tackle Ryan Clady hasn’t allowed a sack through seven games this season. What makes this most impressive is that the Broncos are fifth in the NFL with 37 passing attempts per game. He has also committed just two penalties. Of the four rookies starting at tackle in the NFL, Clady is the only one not to allow a sack. Like Joe Thomas two years ago, Clady could earn a trip to the Pro Bowl, however he likely won’t get serious consideration for the Offensive Rookie of the Year.

- Real GM has a great interview with a college scout in the NFL. This interview gives insight into several players with opinions and analysis on a handful of prospects in this year’s draft.

- Sam Houston State and ex/Oklahoma Sooner quarterback Rhett Bomar has accepted an invitation to the East-West Shrine Game.

- Oklahoma State tight end Brandon Pettigrew has gained plenty of attention from NFL scouts.

I’ve updated the tight ends and offensive tackles in my positional rankings. Continue to check back for updates.

- Georgia defensive tackle Jeff Owens has mentioned applying for a medical redshirt this year rather than the NFL draft to return for one more year with the Bulldogs. Owens suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier this season.

- While the SEC likely won’t have a Heisman Trophy winner this season, they could very easily have at least three to four Top 10 picks in the 2009 draft. With Andre Smith, Michael Oher, Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno, you have four right there. With the amount of talent coming out of just this conference, we should have some nice looking drafts in the next few years.

I’ve updated my rankings for quarterbacks, running backs, fullbacks, and wide receivers, so feel free to check those out. I added a couple of underclassmen as well as rearranging several senior prospects.

- Georgia Tech defensive end Michael Johnson will be going up against Virginia offensive tackle Eugene Monroe this weekend in one of the best one-on-one matchups of the season. This could be a very big game for each of these players. Johnson has yet to have a real “breakout” game that has showed scouts why they have him rated as one of the top prospects in the 2009 draft. Monroe has had a bit of an up and down season so far. A big game against Johnson would elevate his stock to a likely Top 10 pick.

- Oregon center Max Unger’s stock is rising and he is among the top players at his position on some teams’ boards. Because of his versatility, having played both tackle and center while at Oregon, I really think that Unger should have a good chance of being a productive player at the next level. With his experience, he also should be a fairly safe pick for the team that drafts him.

- Clemson running back James Davis is taking a positive view on this season despite the Tigers’ 3-4 start. Davis is still among the top senior running back prospects for this year’s draft.

- Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins is a future starting cornerback in the NFL. With Illinois cornerback Vonte Davis’ inconsistent play so far this year, I have no doubt that Jenkins is the top cornerback eligible for this year’s draft.

I’ve posted a new mock draft with several changes to the draft order along with a few new players that have entered the first round. I’m planning on updating the player rankings soon as well. One last thing, we are in the process of developing a newsletter, so for those of you that have submitted an email address to the newsletter on the front page, you can expect to receive a copy of our first newsletter relatively soon.

- Iowa running back Shonn Greene has become one of the top backs in all of college football this season. Greene, a junior, has considered leaving for the draft after this year.

- Texas quarterback Colt McCoy regarding the NFL Draft: “I’m going to play here for four years.” With this being his third year with the Longhorns, McCoy is stating that he plans on returning to school for his senior season. While his decision could always change, this would likely be the best move for McCoy.

-Giants quarterback Eli Manning and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will always be linked back to the 2004 NFL Draft.

With the senior quarterback class being extremely poor this year, there has been added talk about which underclassmen could leave for the 2009 draft. I already discussed Texas’ Colt McCoy, but now we’ll go over Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and USC’s Mark Sanchez. Bradford, according to some scouts, could be a Top 5 pick if he were to enter the draft. While it may be best for Bradford to stay in school for another year or two, he’s certainly ready to make the jump to the next level. He’s got a strong arm with great accuracy and some of the best passing efficiency in the country. If he were to come out, I think that he’d be a guaranteed Top 10 pick. Mark Sanchez on the other hand, may be a bit of a different story. Because this is just his first year starting, teams may be a bit more hesitant towards taking Sanchez high in the first-round. While he still would be taken among the Top 32 picks, I don’t think he’d be a Top 10 pick.

- NFL scouts currently project only defensive end Brian Orakpo, defensive tackle Roy Miller, linebackers Roddrick Muckelroy and Sergio Kindle, and offensive linemen Adam Ulatoski and Kyle Hix as sure-fire, high NFL draft picks.

- Clemson junior running back C.J. Spiller plans on returning to school for his senior season rather than leave early for the NFL Draft. In my opinion, this is probably the best move for him. He’s not going to pass up Chris Wells, Knowshon Moreno or LeSean McCoy and may not even pass James Davis in the rankings, whereas next year, he’d likely be among the backs that are eligible for the draft.

- Missouri safety William Moore has no regrets for returning to school for his senior season. Moore is the top senior safety on my board and is expected to a Day 1 pick come April.

- Tony Pauline takes a look at several players who have surprised scouts so far this season.

- Oklahoma’s Nic Harris has made the move from safety to linebacker, a switch that he would have likely had to make at the next level.

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy has had discussions with Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel about leaving early for the 2009 NFL Draft. Daniel said he and McCoy had discussed working out together in preparation for April’s draft if McCoy decided to skip his senior season. While McCoy has been by far one of the best college quarterbacks so far this season, he may not find the same type of success at the next level. McCoy is a great fit in the Longhorns’ spread offense in which he is able to use his athleticism and weapons around him. In a more pro-style offense it may be a different story.

- Cal’s Alex Mack is one of the top offensive linemen and arguably the top center in the country. In my opinion, Mack has the chance to be selected in the first round of the 2009 draft if he is able to perform well in offseason workouts.

- Ohio State left tackle Alex Boone is on track to being a second round pick next April. I personally feel that Boone is a bit underrated. He hasn’t gotten the same publicity that Michael Oher and Andre Smith have gotten, however I definitely think that he could end up being a starter in the NFL. It may take him a year to adjust to the game, but he definitely has the size and tools needed to become a nice player for the team that drafts him.

The combination of left tackle Andre Smith and center Antoine Caldwell is one reason why Alabama has risen to the #2 team in the nation. At this point, assuming he enters the draft, Smith is looking like a Top 5 pick, while Caldwell should go in the second or third round.

- Just behind Andre Smith on many teams’ boards is Ole Miss tackle Michael Oher. A senior with a dominating combination of size and athleticism, Oher should be a Top 10 pick this year.

- While his senior season hasn’t been outstanding thus far, Virginia offensive tackle Eugene Monroe is still on pace to be one of the first offensive tackles off the board come next April. A finesse tackle with great quickness and athleticism, Monroe still needs to work on becoming a better run blocker in order to become an elite prospect.