College stats don't always add up to NFL riches

Do impressive college statistics mean big money for players taken in the NFL Draft? Not by what happened over the weekend when pro teams plucked the lucky 252 names.Consider the fate of the draft-eligible 2007 NCAA Division I leaders in several statistical categories, none of which were first-round picks.-- Central Florida running back Kevin Smith led the nation in rushing with 2,567 yards, the second most in history behind Barry Sanders' 2,628 yards in 1988. The junior initially said he would return to school, but then changed his mind and entered the draft. Whoops.NFL scouts expressed doubts about his size (6-1, 211 pounds) and are worried about his staggering 450 carries last year (70 more than any other D-I player). Smith went in the third round to Detroit with the 64th pick. The next two backs behind Smith on the '07 rushing list, Tulane's Matt Forte (2,127 yards) and Rutgers' Ray Rice (2,012 yards), fared a little better going in the second round to Chicago (44th pick) and Baltimore (55th pick) respectively.None of the five running backs taken in the first round (Arkansas teammates Darren McFadden by Oakland and Felix Jones by Dallas, Oregon's Jonathan Stewart by Carolina, Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall by Pittsburgh and East Carolina's Chris Johnson by Tennessee) rushed for as many yards or touchdowns as Smith, Forte or Rice.-- It wasn't much better for quarterbacks as four of the top eight senior quarterbacks by D-I passing efficiency ratings couldn't crack the first round -- Louisville's Brian Brohm (second round, Green Bay), Oregon's Dennis Dixon (fifth round, Pittsburgh), Tulsa's Paul Smith (not drafted) and Hawaii's Colt Brennan (sixth round, Washington). Second in the nation in both passing yards (5,065) and TDs (47), Smith is still looking for work. The first quarterback taken was Boston College's Matt Ryan, picked third overall by Atlanta. Ryan slumped at the end of the season to finish 61st nationally in passing efficiency, (388-of-664, 4,507 yards, 31 TDs, 19 ints.) In the Eagles' 3-3 finish, Ryan threw 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.Those stats moved Ryan ahead of the other 12 quarterbacks drafted? It makes about as much sense as one of Wesley Snipes' tax returns.Compare the numbers to Brennan (359-of-510, 4,343 yards, 38 TDs, 17 ints), who in his last five regular-season games led Hawaii to its first-ever BCS bowl threw for 18 TDs, 4 ints. against respectable competition (Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada all went to bowls as well as Pac-10 member Washington).But Brennan and the Warriors were mugged by Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Then he reportedly struggled at Senior Bowl practices in January. So Brennan plummeted down draft boards quicker than Britney Spears' latest single.-- Wide receivers had it even worse. The top three draft-eligible D-I wideouts by yards per game were Kansas State's Jordy Nelson (second round, Green Bay), Louisville's Harry Douglas (third round, Atlanta) and Houston's Donnie Avery (second round, St. Louis). But at least they can't complain about lesser college guys grabbing that big first-round money as no WR was taken in first round for the first time since 1990. Six went in the first round last year.-- Defensive players also saw their numbers disregarded. The top four senior tacklers in the nation last year were linebackers -- Colorado's Jordon Dizon (second round, Detroit), Idaho's David Vobora (the draft's "Mr. Irrelevant'' as the final pick by St. Louis) and Alabama-Birmingham's Will Dunbar and Tulsa's Chris Chamberlain (both not drafted). Last year, these four combined for 597 tackles, 8 interceptions, seven sacks and six forced fumbles.But they watched Southern Cal's Keith Rivers become the first LB taken, ninth overall by Cincinnati. Rivers had a whopping 78 tackles with no sacks or interceptions last year in 12 games -- this while playing on a defense that saw four of his teammates picked in the first two rounds. Please explain this, Mel Kiper.-- So what stat does the NFL truly pays heed to? One word: Sacks.Virginia defensive end Chris Long and Ohio State counterpart Vernon Gholston tied for second in the nation with 14 sacks. Long went second overall to St. Louis and Gholston sixth to the New York Jets.All told seven defensive linemen went in the first round with five more going in the second round. That's only two fewer than the combined number of quarterbacks and wide receivers in the first two rounds.So the moral appears to be that if you can't find a good quarterback, get somebody to smash the other guy's signal-caller. And with that in mind, eight offensive linemen were drafted in the first round, the most ever. Retired ABC icon Keith Jackson no doubt is thrilled his "big uglies'' have earned this much respect.(John Lindsay writes for Scripps Howard News Service. Contact him at lindsayj(at)shns.com)