NFL draft this weekend keeps players on their toes
To prepare for the scrimmage Saturday, senior defensive tackle Rodney Leisle will spend the day in front of the television.
“I’ll have my eyes glued,” Leisle said.
The NFL draft will be telecast on ESPN starting at 9 a.m. Leisle will contemplate what would have happened if he had not decided to stay for his senior year of college.
“I’ll be wondering where I would have gone, of course. But my time will come,” he said.
For corner Ricky Manning, tight end Mike Seidman and the other members of the class of 2002, there will be no wondering. Saturday and Sunday will be the days of reckoning.
“Any California team would be ideal,” Manning said. “I’ve been training like crazy. Every team says, ‘You’re a first day pick.’”
Manning and Seidman are both expected to go late on the first day in the third round, or more likely on the second day when rounds four through seven take place. Punter Nate Fikse could also be selected on the second day or go undrafted and be subject to a bidding war in free agency.
While Manning, Seidman, and Fikse were the only Bruins invited to the NFL combine, several others are hoping to be drafted or signed as free agents. Tackle Mike Saffer has a chance to get drafted in the last rounds. Former quarterback Cory Paus, linebacker Marcus Reese, kicker Chris Griffith, defensive tackles Sean Phillips and Steve Morgan, defensive end Rusty Williams, tackle Bryce Bohlander, corner Joe Hunter have been training and most of them have agents.
With the exception of Morgan, who underwent off-season knee surgery, they all participated in the pro day workouts at UCLA. Also, Audie Attar, who played at Boise State last season after being kicked off the team in spring, is trying to make the next level.
For Manning, who has been ranked between eighth and 14th at corner, his biggest challenge lies in his stature.
“If I was just 5’11”, I’d be a first-rounder,” he said. “A lot of teams are using the height against me. Teams want bigger corners to cover the bigger wide receivers.”
“I’m at a disadvantage because teams are looking at numbers not film,” he continued. “My big advantage will be when I step on the green and show my heart.”
Teams may also look at the fact that Manning’s trial for a fight outside a bar in Westwood last year goes to trial May 6.
Seidman feels he is at a disadvantage as well because he has been hampered by a hernia this off-season. He had surgery after the pro workouts at UCLA.
“I had been training a lot and was upset I couldn’t train at the combine with all those coaches there,” Seidman told the Orange County Register.
“I look at this process like one long job interview,” he added.
The process culminates tomorrow as former Bruins watch their future unfold from the comfort of their own homes.
How’s that for reality TV?
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