Sporting News says Jared Crick best player in college football

by Dan Kadar on May 30, 2010 9:50 AM EDT in 2011 NFL Draft

It's the time of the year where college football annuals hit the stands. The amount of glossy covers in the sports section at Borders resembles Archimedes' Burning Mirrors. (Classical studies humor!)

Take these annuals for what you will. One of them has Oklahoma first in the nation, which is kind of crazy. I like them because it helps educate me some on every team in a quick way.

Regardless, each one always has some wildly noteworthy inclusion. In the Sporting News annual, the editors picked Nebraska junior defensive tackle Jared Crick as the best player in college football.

Obviously being the best player in college football doesn't always mean being the best draft-eligible player in the nation. But it's interesting, especially since TSN also names Crick a Heisman Trophy candidate.

"The most disruptive defender in the college game. Think Ndamukong Suh. He's that good," is how TSN described him.

High praise.

The rest of TSN's top five college players are (in order), Patrick Peterson (CB, LSU), Mark Ingram (RB, Alabama), Ryan Mallett (QB, Arkansas), Kellen Moore (QB, Boise State).

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WOW

thats pretty crazy. Im curious to see if he matches last years play without Suh

by Yankees10 on May 30, 2010 11:05 AM EDT reply actions

Personally

I think Ingram is the best

by Yankees10 on May 30, 2010 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions

His backup

is just as good as he is. Ingram is pretty good, but not the best in the nation.

If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik

by Bestjagfan on May 30, 2010 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions

disagree

by Yankees10 on May 30, 2010 7:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Ok

If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik

by Bestjagfan on May 31, 2010 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Interesting pick

I’ve got Peterson atop my board.

You don't seem to want to accept the fact you're dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who's the best, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands. A man who's been trained to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke. In *St. Louis* his job was to dispose of enemy personnel. To kill! Period! Win by attrition. Well, *Steven Jackson* was the best.

by 3k on May 30, 2010 1:59 PM EDT reply actions

Auburn

Isn’t going to be in nearly anyones pre-season top 25 this year, I guarantee that. But watch out once the season starts. I’m not being an overhyping, homer douche bag here. Auburn has some serious talent on both sides of the ball, more so on offense of course. All the players are bought in, and our offense could be the top in the SEC West, if not the entire SEC. Just sayin, I wouldn’t be surprised to see us in a BCS bowl at the end of the year.

Not sayin its gonna happen, but Cam Newton brings the possibility of it happening.

If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik

by Bestjagfan on May 30, 2010 5:12 PM EDT reply actions

I agree with u, but the jags will still be bad

"Young men, I have no doubt that you're gonna do well today. But I have 1 favor to ask of you... SAVE JIMMY JOHNSON'S ASS FOR ME!" Lou Holtz

by TheRealSlimShady on May 31, 2010 1:31 AM EDT up reply actions

Clausen will be bad

"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"

Real fans don’t need a reason.

by TheTealDeal on May 31, 2010 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions

irrelevant? How does the success of clausen affect the success of the jags?

I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.

by bross09 on May 31, 2010 8:19 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm eating Taco Bell

I rest my case

Follow me on Twitter

by Adam Stites on May 31, 2010 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

+1

Would you like to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or my blog...well you can't.

by SagehenMacGyver47 on Jun 1, 2010 6:53 PM EDT up reply actions

I was messin with him, he messed with me

"Young men, I have no doubt that you're gonna do well today. But I have 1 favor to ask of you... SAVE JIMMY JOHNSON'S ASS FOR ME!" Lou Holtz

by TheRealSlimShady on Jun 1, 2010 1:44 AM EDT up reply actions

yeah…now I see it. it just felt extremely random and irrelevant.

I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.

by bross09 on Jun 1, 2010 11:02 AM EDT up reply actions

haha, just a little mind game

"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"

Real fans don’t need a reason.

by TheTealDeal on Jun 1, 2010 10:10 PM EDT up reply actions

If Crick really does become as good as Suh

why would any top High School DT in the country want to go anywhere else but to play for Pelini?

Sa da tey? OH, cole me down on the panny sty!

by FreeBradshaw on May 30, 2010 5:54 PM EDT reply actions

also coached Dorsey

Would you like to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or my blog...well you can't.

by SagehenMacGyver47 on Jun 1, 2010 6:54 PM EDT up reply actions

exactly

"What's your plan?? Rob Fort Knox on elephant back? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard....."

by FreeBradshaw on Jun 1, 2010 8:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Tyson Jackson, Phillip Dillard, Al Woods, Laron Landry, etc…

I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.

by bross09 on Jun 2, 2010 12:22 AM EDT up reply actions

Dillard eh....

"What's your plan?? Rob Fort Knox on elephant back? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard....."

by FreeBradshaw on Jun 2, 2010 12:44 PM EDT up reply actions

we’ll wait and see.

I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.

by bross09 on Jun 3, 2010 11:52 AM EDT up reply actions

Oh, I never knew Dilliard and Landry played DT.

"Young men, I have no doubt that you're gonna do well today. But I have 1 favor to ask of you... SAVE JIMMY JOHNSON'S ASS FOR ME!" Lou Holtz

by TheRealSlimShady on Jun 3, 2010 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah…it was a well kept secret.

I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.

by bross09 on Jun 3, 2010 11:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Jake Locker???

"I'm pretty sure my cats been reading my diary"

by skywalker on May 30, 2010 7:49 PM EDT reply actions

Draft wise maybe

but there are better college QB’s

by Yankees10 on May 30, 2010 9:37 PM EDT up reply actions

OK how about Keenum?

by dbcouver on May 31, 2010 9:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Sure I guess

hes good

by Yankees10 on May 31, 2010 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Keenum is trash. He has terrible mid-to-deep accuracy

"Young men, I have no doubt that you're gonna do well today. But I have 1 favor to ask of you... SAVE JIMMY JOHNSON'S ASS FOR ME!" Lou Holtz

by TheRealSlimShady on Jun 1, 2010 1:45 AM EDT up reply actions

I wouldn't call it terrible

I’m not as concerned with his arm as I am his decision making and the fact that he comes from a very gimmicky spread offense.

Follow me on Twitter

by Adam Stites on Jun 1, 2010 2:03 AM EDT up reply actions

His arm is fine but he throws some passes that make you say WTF?!?

"Young men, I have no doubt that you're gonna do well today. But I have 1 favor to ask of you... SAVE JIMMY JOHNSON'S ASS FOR ME!" Lou Holtz

by TheRealSlimShady on Jun 2, 2010 1:24 AM EDT up reply actions

He's not Suh...

…but he’s really good.

Jared Crick vs. Baylor

At this point, I don’t think I’d rate him higher than Cameron Heyward, who plays defensive end but has a similar five tech-ish skill set.

But I do like him better than UNC’s Marvin Austin: Crick had more sacks and TFLs in the Baylor game than Austin had all season.

by Alo on May 30, 2010 9:52 PM EDT reply actions

I'm a little partial to Greg Romeus

I thought he’d be top 10 last year. I wish we’d (Rams) go back to a 3-4.

by dbcouver on May 31, 2010 9:29 AM EDT reply actions

the 3-4 isn’t inherently better than the 4-3. Both of last years super bowl teams were 4-3 teams. Its all about coaching and personnel.

Spagz is one of the best 4-3 Defensive minds in the league and he really knows 4-3 personnel. In a few years, with some solid drafting, you should see some good improvement on D.

I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.

by bross09 on May 31, 2010 8:22 PM EDT up reply actions

Plus it's hard too find 3-4 type players

because the body types and ablilitys are rare to find, plus few college teams run it

I'm getting tired of saying this: Dick LeBeau’s system is so complex very few rookies can make an impact.
We just dumped a problem WR just so we could draft another?

by Steel in FL on May 31, 2010 9:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Word

Though there are a lot of big time schools converting to the 3-4 this year.

If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik

by Bestjagfan on Jun 1, 2010 1:22 AM EDT up reply actions

just because few college teams run it doesn’t mean you can’t find 3-4 players. Tyson Jackson, Jared Odrick, Adam Carriker…all 3-4 DEs but all were 4-3 DTs. Many 3-4 Rushers come from 4-3 systems. guys can transition.

I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.

by bross09 on Jun 1, 2010 11:08 AM EDT up reply actions

Greg Romeus is good, but I wouldn’t have him as my #1 guy. I’d probably have him closer to this site’s #18 overall ranking.

Romeus should be very productive this year, but he lacks the elite first step most top-flight pass rushers possess.

That showed up most prominently in his matchup last year against Anthony Davis. Romeus did some damage early in the game when he was able to use his punch to knock Davis off balance, but he didn’t have much success when he tried to “run the arc” around Davis. When he tried off a spin move, Davis put him on the ground.

His combination of size, power, and good (but not great) speed makes him an intriguing prospect, but I’m not sure he’s destined for the top ten next April. And I’m inclined to think he’s better off as a 4-3 end, not a 3-4 OLB.

by Alo on Jun 1, 2010 1:05 AM EDT up reply actions