Chris Simms omits the stars of the South Carolina football player from the NFL Draft ranking.
The draft season is coming, with professional days and off-season training in session, while college athletes prepare for careers at the next level. Some of these future NFL players reside in South Carolina, including one that was seen from day one as a unanimous first round choice.
Well, almost unanimously …
Jaycee Horn ended his three-year term with the Gamecocks this fall, and will soon wait to hear his name called out on the first day of the NFL Draft. He has been seen as a mid-round selection, usually falling between choices # 12 and # 25.
His last season with Gamecocks was the best so far, transporting in two interceptions and locking opposing receivers to the lowest completion totals at the Southeast Conference. This group of SEC corners includes the possible choice among the top 10, Patrick Surtain.
Despite these impressive numbers, and your posting of some incredible numbers at Gamecocks’ Pro Day last week, a leading NFL analyst failed to list Horn as one of the six best cornerbacks in the next draft.
NBC Sports’ Chris Simms listed Caleb Farley, Tyson Campbell, Patrick Surtain, Aaron Robinson, Paulson Adebo and Marco Wilson above Horn in their standings. Some skyscrapers, to be sure, since most see Campbell, Robinson, Adebo and Wilson as two or three days of choice. In addition, three of these six players come from the SEC, with only Surtain receiving the praise and NFL score Horn has during the off-season recruiting process.
Horn ruled out the omission, knowing he was likely to be the first or second defensive player to leave the board at the end of April. Simms forgot more football than most people know, and maybe he sees something on the tape that most people don’t, but his attempt to get attention here was a little short, considering he also stopped choosing Greg Newsome and Asante Samuel.
Time will tell whether their predictions will materialize regarding the careers of these candidates in the NFL, but it is obvious that the order in which these candidates leave the board is far from mirroring Simms’ ranking.