KcMizzou
12-16-2007, 11:52 AM
Ankle injury could keep Coffman from going pro
COLUMBIA, MO. — Chase Coffman's sprained ankle might have made his decision about staying at Missouri or leaving for the NFL after this season a little bit easier.
Coffman said the sprained ankle he suffered in the first half Nov. 24 against Kansas has healed enough for him to play in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, but it will need arthroscopic surgery at season's end.
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Coffman said that he has filed paperwork with the NFL's College Advisory Committee but that his injury might hamper his chances of forgoing his senior season for the NFL.
"It changes things a little bit," Coffman said. "I sent that thing in a week or so ago. So whenever that gets back, I'll kind of sit down and make a decision then. As of right now, I'm pretty sure I'll be staying."
Coffman is one of five Missouri players seeking an evaluation from the NFL's College Advisory Committee. Quarterback Chase Daniel, safety William Moore, defensive end Stryker Sulak and defensive tackle Ziggy Hood also submitted paperwork last week.
Coffman's injury kept him out of the second half against Kansas and the Big 12 championship game against Oklahoma, thus limiting the hype about his draft potential. According to NFLDraftScout.com, the draft rankings featured in USA Today Sports Weekly, Coffman is projected to be a third-round pick and is considered the sixth-best tight end in the 2009 class. Earlier in the season, several mock draft sites had him a third-round pick for the 2008 draft, but those projections have trailed off.
The draft prospects of Daniel, however, have risen significantly. NFLDraftScout.com has Daniel as the second-best quarterback in the 2009 draft and a first- or second-round pick.
Daniel said an NFL evaluation wasn't even a blip on his radar until he was asked about it by several people during the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York earlier this month. When he got back to Columbia, teammates started asking him about leaving, and he decided to fill out the paperwork.
"I hadn't even given any thought of it at all," Daniel said. "I guess for some reason because I got invited to the Heisman from the Big 12 championship game, people realized how much better I was or something like that.
"I was like, 'Did my stock just go up?'"
Moore's stock went up after senior safety Pig Brown went down with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Moore's seven interceptions tied for third in the country. He was second on the team with 104 tackles (63 solo, 41 assists), nine tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble. He was a second-team AP All-American.
He is listed as the third-best free safety in the 2009 class and a possible second-round pick.
"I'd like to know where I stand right now," Moore said. "It's worth a look, but graduation is the No. 1 key right now. I know that's what my mom wants, and that's something I want, too."
Daniel also talked about finishing his education before looking at the NFL.
"My whole philosophy on it is if the university thinks that the smart thing to do is to send the evaluation in, then why not do it?" Daniel said. "But it would take a whole heck of a lot for me to leave. ... I promised four years of scholarship to (Missouri), and I've only fulfilled three."
Sulak and Hood are two surprises for possible early entrance into the NFL draft. Neither has prospects for 2008, but Sulak is projected as a fourth- or fifth-round pick, and Hood is projected as a fifth- or sixth-round pick in the 2009 draft.
Moore said he talked to receiver Will Franklin about the evaluation process before he filed the paperwork. Franklin sought an evaluation last season and, despite receiving a fourth-round projection, opted to come back for his senior season. Moore and Daniel said they probably will speak with Franklin and tight end Martin Rucker, who also received an evaluation last year, when they get word from the NFL later this year.
"The biggest thing is just knowing," Daniel said. "First round, second round, you obviously have a decision to make. But third, fourth, fifth round, it's, 'What do I need to work on for the next level?' You put that in with your workout this summer and hope to make it better."
MU ALL-AMERICANS
Rucker and receiver Jeremy Maclin were named consensus All-Americans after landing on the first teams of three of the five All-America teams.
Rucker was an American Football Coaches Association first-team All-American, a Football Writers Association first-team All-American and an Associated Press first-team All-American. Maclin was a first-teamer on the FWAA, AP and Sporting News All-America teams.
Rucker and Maclin are the eighth and ninth consensus All-Americans in the program's history. Both players will have their caricatures hanging on a wall with other All-Americans and hall of famers in the football facility.
gwatson@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8038
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/mizzou/story/852D09834AD0462F862573B30016CC72?OpenDocument
COLUMBIA, MO. — Chase Coffman's sprained ankle might have made his decision about staying at Missouri or leaving for the NFL after this season a little bit easier.
Coffman said the sprained ankle he suffered in the first half Nov. 24 against Kansas has healed enough for him to play in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, but it will need arthroscopic surgery at season's end.
*
Coffman said that he has filed paperwork with the NFL's College Advisory Committee but that his injury might hamper his chances of forgoing his senior season for the NFL.
"It changes things a little bit," Coffman said. "I sent that thing in a week or so ago. So whenever that gets back, I'll kind of sit down and make a decision then. As of right now, I'm pretty sure I'll be staying."
Coffman is one of five Missouri players seeking an evaluation from the NFL's College Advisory Committee. Quarterback Chase Daniel, safety William Moore, defensive end Stryker Sulak and defensive tackle Ziggy Hood also submitted paperwork last week.
Coffman's injury kept him out of the second half against Kansas and the Big 12 championship game against Oklahoma, thus limiting the hype about his draft potential. According to NFLDraftScout.com, the draft rankings featured in USA Today Sports Weekly, Coffman is projected to be a third-round pick and is considered the sixth-best tight end in the 2009 class. Earlier in the season, several mock draft sites had him a third-round pick for the 2008 draft, but those projections have trailed off.
The draft prospects of Daniel, however, have risen significantly. NFLDraftScout.com has Daniel as the second-best quarterback in the 2009 draft and a first- or second-round pick.
Daniel said an NFL evaluation wasn't even a blip on his radar until he was asked about it by several people during the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York earlier this month. When he got back to Columbia, teammates started asking him about leaving, and he decided to fill out the paperwork.
"I hadn't even given any thought of it at all," Daniel said. "I guess for some reason because I got invited to the Heisman from the Big 12 championship game, people realized how much better I was or something like that.
"I was like, 'Did my stock just go up?'"
Moore's stock went up after senior safety Pig Brown went down with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Moore's seven interceptions tied for third in the country. He was second on the team with 104 tackles (63 solo, 41 assists), nine tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble. He was a second-team AP All-American.
He is listed as the third-best free safety in the 2009 class and a possible second-round pick.
"I'd like to know where I stand right now," Moore said. "It's worth a look, but graduation is the No. 1 key right now. I know that's what my mom wants, and that's something I want, too."
Daniel also talked about finishing his education before looking at the NFL.
"My whole philosophy on it is if the university thinks that the smart thing to do is to send the evaluation in, then why not do it?" Daniel said. "But it would take a whole heck of a lot for me to leave. ... I promised four years of scholarship to (Missouri), and I've only fulfilled three."
Sulak and Hood are two surprises for possible early entrance into the NFL draft. Neither has prospects for 2008, but Sulak is projected as a fourth- or fifth-round pick, and Hood is projected as a fifth- or sixth-round pick in the 2009 draft.
Moore said he talked to receiver Will Franklin about the evaluation process before he filed the paperwork. Franklin sought an evaluation last season and, despite receiving a fourth-round projection, opted to come back for his senior season. Moore and Daniel said they probably will speak with Franklin and tight end Martin Rucker, who also received an evaluation last year, when they get word from the NFL later this year.
"The biggest thing is just knowing," Daniel said. "First round, second round, you obviously have a decision to make. But third, fourth, fifth round, it's, 'What do I need to work on for the next level?' You put that in with your workout this summer and hope to make it better."
MU ALL-AMERICANS
Rucker and receiver Jeremy Maclin were named consensus All-Americans after landing on the first teams of three of the five All-America teams.
Rucker was an American Football Coaches Association first-team All-American, a Football Writers Association first-team All-American and an Associated Press first-team All-American. Maclin was a first-teamer on the FWAA, AP and Sporting News All-America teams.
Rucker and Maclin are the eighth and ninth consensus All-Americans in the program's history. Both players will have their caricatures hanging on a wall with other All-Americans and hall of famers in the football facility.
gwatson@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8038
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/mizzou/story/852D09834AD0462F862573B30016CC72?OpenDocument