The Senior Bowl-Come Get the Best before it's Gone!

In this day and age of money-grubbing and excessive greed in sports, it is a breath of fresh air to see a group of athletes who understand the importance of an education and completing their college degrees. Such is the case when you look at what is going on down in Mobile, Alabama. The Senior Bowl showcases the graduating players who are attempting to work their way into the eyes and hearts of NFL scouts and onto a professional roster. This year's exposition will feature the two most productive and exciting wide receivers in Boise State history. "Faster than a lightning bolt" Titus Young and Austin "Sticky Hands" Pettis take to the field to try and impress.

According to reports, many people have become enamored with Titus;

"Boise State's Titus Young was great in and out of his breaks. He can drop his weight without having to gear down and is a savvy route runner. In fact, he's a confident route runner -- he knows what he's doing. He was very streaky catching the ball today, but we are going to keep a close eye on him on how he handles adversity and how he carries himself. There are times when he looks like he's the most confident player on the field and has a swagger, but then the second he dropped one pass, it seemed like he went into a shell."

On the other hand, Pettis has some work to do;

"Pettis does a good job of getting his head around when a pass is coming in, but his greatest liability Monday was his route running in drills. The receiver coach repeatedly corrected Pettis’s mistakes with his breaks, pointing out his tendency to round off his routes or tip off his break with his shoulder at the top of his routes. Pettis eventually showed improvement in this area, but a few minutes later he was getting repeated coaching on his run blocking. Pettis needs to work on his hand placement, his initial punch and using his legs to sustain blocks. Although known for his ability to adjust to the errant throw, he had a pass thrown somewhat low and behind him bounce off his hands. This was not a standout day for Pettis."

That is great to hear about Young, and at the same time a little disappointing about Pettis. There is no arguing that the Senior Bowl and the East-West Shrine Game are important for scouts to see many of these players in person, and some for the first time. However, the decision to draft someone should involve more than just dissecting an athlete's every move over a period of 6 days. This phrase breeds contempt and loathing in the minds of many people (when said in the same breath as BCS), but it is important to look at their "body of work."

Pettis and Young have done nothing but tear up opposing defenses since they were freshman. It even got to the point during their senior season that they were literally unstoppable. Game film and pure stats should be something that is taken into account by these scouts, possibly even more than how the kids perform during that one pressure-filled week in humid Alabama.

We all know that the Senior Bowl Weigh In and the Combine is the definition of a meat market. Seriously. Every single player is weighed, measured, tested (for body fat, etc) and picked over with a fine-tooth comb for any imperfections or "fudging" that may have taken place on college rosters. Their height is measured to the 1/8th of an inch and their weight to a fraction of a pound. If you don't have the "NFL Body," you are automatically looked at and thought of differently, regardless of skill level. Think about it, the scouts will poke, prod, touch, weigh, measure, and run any other test available on these players over and over again. It's like picking out a choice specimen. If that's not the definition of a meat market, I don't know what is.

It is extremely tough to make an NFL roster and even more difficult to keep your spot on one. With as productive as Titus and Austin have been at Boise State, as well as many other players from different schools, they should be able to make the cut and be playing on Sundays next season. It's just too bad they have to go through the physical and mental gauntlet of NFL scouts to prove their worth.