Kealing: Talib brings notoriety to football

Thursday, May 3, 2007

This column started as a lesson in why Jayhawk nation needs to chill out and quit feeling Brandon Rush and Julian Wright owe them something other than the two years they played.

I still think that, but I think that Aqib Talib being named the No. 5-best prospect in NCAA Division I football is an even bigger deal. Talib, the junior cornerback out of Richardson, Texas, has long been declared the best recruit of the Mark Mangino era, at least in terms of draftability. But to rank him as the fifth-best prospect is unheard of.

His companions in the top five include quarterback Brian Brohm of Louisville, who was the Orange Bowl MVP. In the Cardinals’ victory against Wake Forest, he completed 24-for-31 passes for 311 yards. Also ranking in the top five, again, according to Sports Illustrated, is Darren McFadden of Arkansas. The running back, who has a Web site devoted to his promotion, www.darrenmcfadden.org, rushed for almost 1,650 yards with 14 touchdowns.

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Still, tall cornerbacks have a long history of busting as well. For Talib to be successful, he’s going to have to get faster. As was seen when Jon Cornish fell out of the draft, teams want someone who puts up numbers at the Combine.

Incidentally, the next highest-ranked Big 12 Conference player is wide receiver Limas Sweed of Texas at No. 9. In fact, it is because of players like 6-foot-5, 219-pound Limas Sweed that Talib is even ranked so high.

The old, conventional wisdom says that the 6-2, 180-pound Talib is too big to play at corner back. But as receivers grow taller and bigger, the football players tasked to keep them from getting the ball need to get bigger as well.

That’s why a big guy like Talib gets the chance to be drafted in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft.

The best cornerback in the NFL is, almost without question, Champ Bailey. He is fast, skilled and smart. He’s also a couple inches smaller than Talib. Bailey’s not going anywhere, but he’s already been in the league eight years.

If he were being drafted this year, he may not have gone as highly as he did in 1998. He went seventh. This year, the first cornerback taken was Darelle Revis at No. 14. He’s 6-0. The next cornerback taken was Aaron Ross, who stands 6-1, at No. 20.

Talib will also have to show his potential at every opportunity. With 2.8 passes defended per game, on average, he easily eclipses the competition.

The next closest corner in 2006, in terms of passes defended, was previously mentioned Aaron Ross. He had 1.7 passes defended per game.

All of this bodes well for Talib, who has an opportunity to be the first Jayhawk taken in the first round of the NFL Draft since Dana Stubblefield, all the way back in 1994.

Did I mention Talib’s only a junior? He doesn’t HAVE to enter his name in the draft in 2008. But, assuming he has an injury-free junior campaign, he should.

Talib could come back for a senior season at the Kansas, but here we are back at Brandon Rush and Julian Wright.

If Talib is taken at No. 32, as at least one draft is projecting, he stands to make almost $2 million a year immediately. The Seattle Seahawks drafted Kelly Jennings with the No. 31 pick in 2006. Also a cornerback, he signed a five-year deal valued at $9.7 million.

If Talib goes in the first round, that’s his future. If Rush and Wright go in the first round, that’s their future as well. These players are all good enough to play for megabucks. They deserve your support.

Don’t let Jayhawk nation be known as a group of fans who are ungrateful to anyone but those who come here for all four years. You won’t like the results.

Kealing is a Chesterfield, Mo., senior in journalism and political science.

— Edited by Mark Vierthaler

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