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Seventh-round Dish: What a relief it is
April 30, 2006 Print it


By War Room scouts
For Sporting News


Round 7 is one of extreme emotions for the players. For the remaining highly rated prospects such as Texas DT Rodrique Wright, Maryland CB Gerrick McPhearson, Auburn WR Devin Aromashodu, Auburn DE Stanley McClover, Syracuse DE James Wyche and Southern California G Fred Matua, there is a sense of relief that they didn't go undrafted.

The chips on their shoulders already had started to grow, and we will soon find out whether their long wait will serve as additional motivation to show everyone that a mistake was made.

For players with reasonable expectations, who hoped that they would be drafted late and join the elite group of college football players who get a chance to be selected by an NFL team, hearing their name called after almost 18 hours of waiting, was very exhilarating.

The surprise picks, players without expectations of being picked, are beside themselves at being considered an "elite" player, as many come from small schools and have played below the radar.

In the hours following the draft, there is a frenzy of phone calls as the teams try to sign the top remaining players to free agent contracts, in most cases with just a token signing bonus. But where bidding wars begin, the bonus can be $10,000, $15,000, or in extreme cases, $20,000. The players whose phones already have started ringing and will have the biggest demand are:

Anwar Phillips, CB, Penn State
Manaia Brown, DT, Brigham Young
Steve Weatherford, P, Illinois
DonTrell Moore, RB, New Mexico
Mike Bell, RB, Arizona
Andre Hall, RB, South Florida
Gerald Riggs Jr., RB, Tennessee
Greg Lee, WR, Pittsburgh
Hank Baskett, WR, New Mexico
Martin Nance, WR, Miami (Ohio)
Jon Scifres, K, Southwest Missouri State
Patrick Ross, C, Boston College
Mike Degory, C, Florida
Adam Stenavich, G, Michigan