Let's wrap this up and get to the good stuff.
(NOTE: Draft stock reflects where players would be drafted were they to come out for this year's draft. Obviously, there are "risers" who would be late picks this year that could come on for their senior years, but that's not the intent here. It's just to give you names to look out for over the next few weeks. Non-eligible prospects won't have a round grade. Potential first or second round picks regardless of class are in bold. BCS games are underlined out of disdain for the BCS.)
Fri., Jan. 7th
LSU v. Texas A&M: AT&T Cotton Bowl (Arlington, TX), 8:00pm ET, FOX
LSU: Drake Nevis, DT (Sr., 1st-2nd), Kelvin Sheppard, ILB (Sr., 3rd-4th), Terrence Toliver, WR (Sr., 3rd-5th), Joe Barksdale, OT (Sr., 3rd-6th), Lazarius Levington, DT/DE (Sr., 6th-UD), Josh Jasper, K (Sr., 7th-UD), Patrick Peterson, CB (Jr., 1st), T-Bob Hebert, C (Jr., 4th-6th), Karnell Hatcher, SS (Jr., 4th-7th), Brandon Taylor*, FS (Jr., 6th-UD), Lavar Edwards, DE (RS Soph., 4th-6th), Alex Hurst, OT (RS Soph., 4th-7th), Russell Shepard, WR (Soph.), Rueben Randle, WR (Soph.), Barkevious Mingo, DE (Fr.), Michael Brockers, DT (Fr.), Tyrann Matheiu, CB (Fr.), Craig Loston, FS (Fr.)
* - Taylor has been out since early November when he injured his leg against Bama.
Texas A&M: Von Miller, 3-4 OLB (Sr., 1st), Kyle Hix, OT (Sr., 5th-7th), Jerrod Johnson, QB/WR (Sr., 7th-UD), Jeff Fuller, WR (Jr., 2nd-4th), Ryan Tannehill, QB (Jr., 6th-UD), Cyrus Gray, RB (Jr., 6th-UD), Tony Jerod-Eddie, DT (Jr., 7th-UD), Christine Michael*, RB (Soph.), Patrick Lewis, G (Soph.), Sean Porter, OLB (Soph.), Jake Matthews, OT (Fr.), Damontre Moore, OLB (Fr.), Luke Joeckel, OT (Fr.)
* - Christine Michael has been out since Oct. 30, when he broke his leg against Texas Tech.
3k's Rams pick: Drake Nevis, DT - LSU
This was tough, with defensive game changers like Patrick Peterson and Von Miller and a solid WR prospect in Jeff Fuller. But Nevis makes too much sense. Nevis is chaotically disruptive in every facet of the game. He is strong enough to explode through the middle, quick enough to get the jump on slower offensive linemen, and athletic enough to evade larger guards and centers. If for some reason (and I can't think of one except a future off-field incident) he drops to the mid-2nd, Spags and Co. shouldn't blink on this.
Sat., Jan. 8th
Pittsburgh v. Kentucky: BBVA Compass Bowl (Birmingham, AL), 12:00pm ET, ESPN
Pitt: Jabaal Sheard, DE (Sr., 2nd-3rd), Jason Pinkston, OT (Sr., 2nd-4th), Greg Romeus*, DE (Sr., 3rd-6th), Dom DeCicco, SS (Sr., 7th-UD), Jon Baldwin, WR (Jr., 1st-2nd), Chris Jacobson, G (Jr., 4th-6th), Brandon Lindsey, DE (Jr., 4th-7th), Lucas Nix, G (Jr., 5th-7th), Jarred Holley, FS (RS Soph., 4th-6th), Dion Lewis, RB (Soph.), Devin Street, WR (Fr.)
* - Romeus' senior season was ended with a torn knee ligament which he suffered after undergoing back surgery. Yikes.
UK: Derrick Locke, RB (Sr., 3rd-6th), Mike Hartline, QB (Sr., 5th-7th), Ricky Lumpkin, DT (Sr., 6th-UD), Chris Matthews, WR (7th-UD), Randall Cobb, WR (Jr., 4th-6th), Danny Trevathian, OLB (Jr., 5th-7th), Ronnie Sneed, ILB (Jr., 7th-UD), Collins Ukwu, DE/3-4 OLB (RS Soph., 4th-6th), Larry Warford, G (Soph.), Jordan Aumiller, TE (Fr.)
3k's Rams pick: Derrick Locke, RB - School
I know most Rams fans are looking for any kind of WR talent to upgrade Sam's options in 2011, but I'm looking for specifics, one of those being gamebreaking ability. I mean the Jacoby Ford-type gamebreaking ability where you know what he's going to do but he does it anyway because he's quick, fast and smart. Locke fits that mold. I worry that given Ford's production this year, someone will overpay for Locke early on day 3. Hell, a year from now, it might not look like that team overpaid. But right now, I think he's headed for the mid to late 4th round, and for the Rams, he'd be an attractive option to spell Jackson (for about a 1:4 or 1:5 ratio), help out in returns and add diversity to a pasty (not misspelled. It's just pasty.) offense.
Sun., Jan. 9th
Nevada v. Boston College: Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (San Francisco, CA), 9:00pm ET, ESPN
Nevada: Dontay Moch, OLB (Sr., 2nd-3rd), Colin Kaepernick, QB (Sr., 4th-6th), Virgil Green, TE (Sr., 6th-7th), Vai Taua, RB (Sr., 6th-UD), John Bender, G (Sr., 7th-UD), James-Michael Johnson, ILB (Jr., 3rd-5th), Brandon Marshall, OLB (Jr., 7tth-UD), Brandon Wimberly, WR (RS Soph., 6th-UD), Chris Barker, G (RS Soph., 7th-UD)
BC: Anthony Castonzo, OT (Sr., 1st-2nd), Mark Herzlich, OLB (Sr., 2nd-4th), Rich Lapham, OT (Sr., 7th-UD), Alex Albright*, 3-4 OLB (Sr., 7th-UD), Damik Scafe, DT (Sr., 7th-UD), Thomas Claiborne, G (Sr., 7th-UD), Donnie Fletcher, CB (Jr., 4th-5th), Montel Harris*, RB (Jr., 6th-UD), Chris Pantale, TE (RS Soph., 6th-UD), Luke Kuechly, ILB (Soph.), Kevin Pierre-Louis, OLB (Fr.), Bobby Swigert, WR (Fr.)
* - Albright and Harris are out with injuries.
3k's Rams pick: N/A
Cop out? I guess. But with this slate, I'll take the heat. I know some people might be high on Moch or Herzlich, but I have issues with the technical side of Moch's game and as much as it feels like an asshole to point out, I have to wait to hear more about the medical details of Herzlich's battle. Maybe instead of N/A, I should have picked 'TBD.'
Mon., Jan. 10th
Oregon v. Auburn: Tostitos BCS National Championship (Glendale, AZ), 8:30pm ET, ESPN
Oregon: Casey Matthews, ILB (Sr., 3rd-5th), Brandon Bair, 3-4 DE (Sr., 5th-7th), Jeff Maehl, WR (Sr., 6th-7th), Kenny Rowe, OLB (Sr., 7th-UD), Bo Thran, OT (Sr., 7th-UD), Talmadge Jackson, CB (Sr., 7th-UD), David Paulson, TE (Jr., 5th-7th), LaMichael James, RB (RS Soph., 1st-2nd), Darron Thomas, QB/ATH (RS Soph., 4th-5th), Kenjon Barner, RB (RS Soph., 4th-5th), John Boyett, FS (RS Soph., 4th-7th), Cliff Harris, CB (Soph.), Bo Lokombo, OLB (Fr.), Wade Keliipki, DT (Fr.)
Auburn: Lee Ziemba, G (Sr., 3rd-4th), Josh Bynes, ILB (Sr., 5th-7th), Mike Blanc, DT (Sr., 6th-UD), Craig Stevens, OLB (Sr., 7th-UD), Nick Fairley, DT (Jr., 1st), Cam Newton, QB (Jr., 1st-2nd), Neiko Thorpe, CB (Jr., 4th-6th), Darvin Adams, WR (Jr., 6th-7th), T'Sharvan Bell, CB (RS Soph., 5th-7th), Philip Lutzenkirchen, TE (Soph.), Daren Bates, SS (Soph.), Emory Blake, WR (Soph.), Michael Dyer, RB (Fr.), Corey Lemonier, DE (Fr.)
3k's Rams pick: Nick Fairley, DT - Auburn
Although I'm not entirely sold on Fairley, having exploded this year after limited time (two starts) in his sophomore season and having spent 2008 playing JUCO ball, he's been great this year. His build is great, and his athleticism and burst are obvious. He does seem to send himself off on some plays, but it's not as bad as others. He'll have plenty of focus in the championship; if he has a monster game (and even if he doesn't), he'll likely be gone by 14. But if he's there, this is an opportunity to add a disruptive force to our interior D-line.