First early-exit news of the day: Adrian Peterson says "Not so fast, my friend!" to a Dallas Morning News report he had met with Bob Stoops to inform the coach he's entering the pro draft. Peterson says he's "uncertain" and has not hired an agent, though for the moment the decision is being held up only by a pending item in front of the Norman Board of Aldermen approving the temporary release of the feral hog from the Little River Zoo into specific on-campus classrooms if Peterson says he's entering the draft...
...though sources close to the hog told The Oklahoman it's willing to negotiate if Adrian hires him as an agent...
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Elsewhere, nobody ever asked SMQ - who, you'll note, is not qualified, anyway - to assess the potential draft stock of Notre Dame running back Darius Walker or Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio State (who is not either of the other pass-catching Anthony Gonzalezes, though he is the synth player in the trio's sadcore group), but if they had, he would have expressed a moderate level of doubt. Because neither Walker nor Gonzalez - though both anecdotally and in very brief interviews strike SMQ as smart, amiable guys probably destined for success regardless their athletic fate - seems to really fit the mold of an early round, combine-topping stud, unless teams are putting more stock in the Wonderlic these days (after Vince Young, not bloody likely). At least not on the level that another season couldn't dramatically improve.
Clearly, though, they disagree: Gonzalez and his mountain training tent announce their intentions here, and Walker confirms he wants no part of the Jimmy Clausen Era brought to you by Jimmy Clausen here.
Gonzalez caught two passes Monday for 11 yards after Ted Ginn Jr. was felled by teammates; prior to that, he was ranked as the 84th-best prospect by Draft Board Insider, whose actual "insider" status SMQ has no way to judge. Walker, regularly stifled by an offense either riding Brady Quinn's arm to gaudy stats against bad defenses or frantically trying catch up against decent outfits, is not listed among the top 100 prospects, though SMQ thought he showed more speed on a couple good first half runs against LSU than he was thought to possess.
NFL: You want O'Quinn? Well, now it's a package deal.
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Anyway, SMQ is no scout. But here's Walker's career ledger...
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Carries | Yards | Per Carry | TD | Catches | Yards | Per Catch | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 185 | 786 | 4.2 | 7 | 10 | 74 | 7.4 | 0 |
| 2005 | 253 | 1196 | 4.7 | 9 | 43 | 351 | 8 | 2 |
| 2006 | 255 | 1267 | 5 | 7 | 56 | 391 | 7.2 | 1 |
| Career | 693 | 3,249 | 4.69 | 23 | 109 | 816 | 7.49 | 3 |
...and here's the tale of the tape on Gonzalez:
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Catches | Yards | Per Catch | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 8 | 179 | 22.4 | 2 |
| 2005 | 28 | 373 | 13.3 | 3 |
| 2006 | 51 | 734 | 14.4 | 8 |
| Career | 87 | 1,286 | 14.78 | 13 |
No official word yet on Gonzalez's mates Ginn Jr. and Antonio Pittman, though speculation is rampant both - along with tackle/recovering Gator bait Kirk Barton - are leaving. Here is a list of every underclassman declared to date for the draft, including jaw-dropping Idaho tight end Luke Smith-Anderson, who is in fact big (6'5", 250-ish) and the owner of decent days against Boise State, New Mexico State and Hawaii, which probably is comparable to running routes against the Arizona Cardinals. Hey-o!
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