The Big Twelve Conference had a solid showing in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft, with seven players taken in the initial thirty-two picks.
The St. Louis Rams took Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith with the second pick. A 6' 5", 309 pound converted tight end, Smith was the first non-special teams All American for Baylor since 1995.
Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree was picked tenth by the San Francisco 49ers. Crabtree is easily the most talented receiver in this years draft, but dropped quite a few spots due to concerns over his attitude and resilience.
Brian Orakpo, former defensive end for the Texas Longhorns, was picked by the Washington Redskins as the 13th pick in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft. By dropping to the Redskins, he is guaranteed to visit the state of Texas at least once every year, as he tees up Tony Romo in one of their two games every season.
Said Orakpo shortly after the pick was announced:
I can't put it into words how I feel right now. Being a first-round draft pick is a dream come true. It really shows how hard work pays off and is a tribute to my family, coaches, teammates – everyone that helped me get here. It was tough to wait a little longer than I expected, but when it came down to the Washington Redskins, I was really excited. I had a great visit their with Mr. Snyder, Vinny Cerrato and Coach Zorn. It just felt like the perfect fit. It's a lot like Texas, a great organization with a proud history, a winning tradition, great fans. I can't wait to get to work and do my best to help the Redskins. I told them when we had dinner on my visit there that I guaranteed them I would work as hard as anybody, and now I'm ready to show them.
The NFL has extended invitations to wide receiver Quan Cosby, defensive tackle Roy Miller, running back Chris Ogbonnaya, defensive end Brian Orakpo and corner back Ryan Palmer to participate in the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine. The Combine is a week long showcase that occurs every February in Indianapolis. College football players will perform physical and mental tests for coaches, GMs and scouts of the NFL.
Heading into the 2008 season, most pundits penciled the Texas Longhorns down as a three or four loss team. I personally thought we would see at least two losses. Instead, the unrespected, underrated Longhorns went 12-1, with a solid win over Oklahoma and dominating wins over Arkansas and Texas A&M.
By any reasonable measure, this is the second or third best season in the last twenty years.
Let's look back at some of the highlights...
Reports from his father and his former high school coach are that Texas Longhorn linebacker Sergio Kindle is returning for his senior season. It seems he wishes to abuse the Oklahoma Sooners one more time and then make a run for a national title.
In a related story, Sooner quarterback Sam Bradford has added another entry to his "Why I should leave for the NFL" column.
After being snubbed for the Davey O’Brien, the Maxwell, and the Heisman, Texas Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy makes the Football Writers Association of America's All-America Team. Longhorn defensive end Brian Orakpo also made the team, adding to his long list of awards.
As expected, it was announced today that Texas Longhorn Brian Orakpo won the Hendricks Award for the best defensive end in the country. He adds this to the Bronko Nagurski which he won on Sunday.
We’ll close an ugly weekend for the horns with some good news: Texas Longhorn senior defensive end Brian Orakpo won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s top defensive player.
The 6’4″, 253 pound Orakpo, a freak of nature, bench presses 515 pounds, squats 600, power cleans 380, runs a 4.6-second 40-yard dash, and has a vertical jump of 42 inches.
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According to the University of Texas:
Despite missing two and a half games with
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