They are numbers that will make any Syracuse senior sit a little uneasy as he watches the NFL Draft this weekend.

A total offense that ranked 70th out of 117 Division I-A schools. A passing offense that ranked 91st. A defense that ranked 59th in points allowed. Not to mention a 6-6 record and no bowl appearance for the second consecutive year.

Add those numbers up and you have a struggling football team – one that appears much different than the bowl-bound SU squads of the 1990s that had dozens of NFL scouts drooling over eventual first-round picks like Marvin Harrison in 1996 and Donovan McNabb in 1998.

But despite SU’s poor showing on the playing field, Johnnie Morant, Kevin Sampson, Rich Scanlon, Nick Romeo and the rest of the graduating Orangemen can rest assured that scouts are still pursuing them with the same intensity as if nothing has changed.

‘I don’t think there’s a decline (in the draft position of SU players),’ said Alan Herman, Scanlon’s and Josh Thomas’ agent. ‘Players are measured on their individual abilities and how they project themselves to a professional league like the NFL. Has there been a decline at Syracuse in terms of their record? Yes. But I don’t think that is going to impact where these players are drafted.’

History is also on the side of the Syracuse seniors, because for the past two decades, not a single NFL Draft has gone by without an SU player being selected. Even after the 2002 season, in which the Orangemen went 4-8, Chris Davis and David Tyree were selected in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively.

‘There isn’t necessarily a correlation between having a poor season and not having top draft prospects,’ said Scott Wright, president of NFLDraftCountdown.com. ‘More often than not, the teams have poor seasons because they don’t have the best players, while teams like Miami win because they do.’

The theory that good teams will have more players drafted isn’t always true, though. Conventional wisdom suggests Syracuse would have had more draft picks the following April after going 10-3 and winning the Insight.com Bowl in 2001 than it would after finishing 6-5 and not playing in a bowl game in 2000. But only two Orangemen were selected from the 2001 squad, while four SU players from the 2000 team were drafted.

The reason being that scouts don’t grade players on what his team does, but rather what individual skills he possesses, said Tony Softli, director of college scouting for the Carolina Panthers.

‘We rank a player by his DNA, which is his film,’ Softli said. ‘That doesn’t lie.’

Softli’s strategy worked out well for the Panthers when they selected SU running back Dee Brown in the sixth round of the 2001 Draft.

After spending his entire rookie season on injured reserve with tendon and ligament damage in his left ankle, Brown rushed for 360 yards and four touchdowns and added 17 receptions for 86 yards and one touchdown in just four starts in 2002.

‘Syracuse always has its players pretty prepared for the NFL, more so than some players from other teams,’ Softli said. ‘(Syracuse) has some good guys in the league, and I expect (SU coaches) to continue producing guys who’ll be successful.’

Regardless of whether the Orangemen are winning or losing, one of the Panthers’ scouts always pays a visit to the Carrier Dome. The Panthers have seven regional scouts, who scour their designated areas nearly year-round, watching players develop from inexperienced freshmen into savvy veterans.

The Panthers and other NFL teams are also assisted by the services of National Football Scouting. But the most important scouting sessions don’t happen until the college football season ends.

In February, the top prospects are invited to participate in a series of workouts at the NFL Combine. In March, each school hosts a Pro Day in which all interested seniors work out in front of NFL scouts. Nearly 20 NFL assistant coaches and scouts attended Syracuse’s Pro Day on March 17.

‘If they know who you are, and they come personally to see you work out,’ Romeo said, ‘then I don’t think it really matters if you’re on a good team or a winless team.’

Still, some believe playing on a good team does help a player’s draft status.

‘Success and production are all part of the equation,’ said Morant’s agent, Gary Wichard. ‘Just look at some of the high-graded guys and what their team’s records were and what their performance levels were.’

With the exception of Antwan Odom and Justin Smiley from Alabama and Dunta Robinson from South Carolina, all the first-round selections in mock draft lists created by NFLDraftBlitz.com, NFLDraftCountdown.com and ESPN.com played on a bowl team. Once into the second round, though, Wichard’s observation doesn’t apply.

In the later rounds, picking a player from a mediocre team in a major conference can actually be safer than picking a standout from a mid-major or Division II school.

‘If the level of competition he played against is lower, that could be a concern,’ Softli said. ‘We’ll have discussions about a smaller-school guy versus a bigger-school guy. But with Syracuse, the level of competition is high.’

When considering the Orangemen played against Miami, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and West Virginia, the low national rankings and .500 record don’t seem as disconcerting.

Scouts won’t judge Morant by Syracuse’s 91st-ranked passing offense because they know there are some guys who don’t get many passes thrown to them, said Gil Brandt, national editor for NFL.com. Scouts would prefer to look at his ability to catch the ball along with his combination of size and speed, he said.

And when talent is the only thing being evaluated, Syracuse’s numbers and records go out the window come draft time.

‘The NFL scouting process is so thorough, they’ll find the good players no matter where they are or what team they are on,’ said Romeo’s agent, Brett Tessler. ‘Syracuse is always going to be a high-profile school with players who’ll get recognized.’

Published on April 22, 2004 at 12:00 pm