Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Lost in the Orange Bowl beach parties, lavish surroundings and media attention is the fact that many players will be strapping on their shoulder pads and lacing up their cleats for the final time as collegians.
Virginia Tech has a 20-member senior class, Kansas boasts 12 players nearing the end of their eligibility, and each team has several players who could test the professional waters after Thursday’s bowl game.
Among the Hokie seniors are star linebackers Xavier Adibi and Vince Hall, leading wide receivers Josh Morgan, Eddie Royal and Justin Harper, and stellar offensive tackle Duane Brown. Kansas will lose seven starters to graduation after the Orange Bowl, including leading rusher Brandon McAnderson, leading receiver Marcus Henry, experienced offensive tackle Cesar Rodriguez and first team All-Big 12 defensive tackle James McClinton.
“This bowl game for me is kind of bittersweet,” Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. “There’s guys on this football team, especially on the defensive side of the ball, that I’m going to miss. I’ve seen these guys come in as young people and grow to be young men and I think all of the guys have graduated and I’m very proud of that.
“I’m going to miss them when they move on. Maybe I should see if you guys (reporters) have any jobs out there I might want to move on to after this.”
Though Foster was undoubtedly joking about making a foray into the journalism business after the Orange Bowl, the seniors on his team and on Mark Mangino’s Kansas team will be sorely missed. Kansas will lose 44 percent of its 2007 receptions and 42 percent of its rushing yardage with its outgoing senior class.
In addition to that major subtraction, the Jayhawks and Hokies could wave goodbye to some valuable juniors after the Orange Bowl. Kansas offensive tackle Anthony Collins and cornerback Aqib Talib are set to explore their NFL Draft possibilities this spring, as are Virginia Tech cornerbacks Brandon Flowers and Victor Harris.
All four of the successful juniors have submitted inquiries to a council that helps college players gauge their draft status in the months leading up to the draft in April. Flowers said he had received his paperwork and is projected as a second round pick, but none of the other three players reported any word on his draft stock. Talib said he had not checked his voice mail on his cell phone for three days because he had been so focused on the trip to Miami and preparations for the Orange Bowl.
No matter who chooses to go or stay, the upperclassmen on this year’s Kansas team have seen a drastic change in their four or five years in the program. When most of this season’s seniors arrived in Lawrence, the team was coming off of a miserable 2-10 campaign and headed for two consecutive sub-.500 seasons. The team flirted with national relevance in 2005 when it earned a trip to the Fort Worth Bowl, but the senior class’ 2007 success has been unprecedented in the recent history of Kansas football.
“It’s kind of hard to put into words because it’s one of the best things that could happen,” Rodriguez said. “To come in when we were just awful – we were 2-10 – and to come out 11-1, it’s a great season and a great way to go out and be remembered. We’ve been working for five years, some guys four, to have one great game.”
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