It’s that time of year again. Syracuse’s graduating football seniors will huddle around their televisions for this weekend’s NFL Draft to see if they will be selected. Among SU’s top prospects are wide receiver Johnnie Morant, offensive tackle Kevin Sampson and linebacker Rich Scanlon.

Some SU players are going to watch the draft in their apartments in Syracuse, but others – like Sampson – are heading home to watch the event with their family.

‘They’re going nuts over it just like I am,’ Sampson said. ‘It is the most exciting time in my whole life. They’re backing me 100 percent and just being real supportive.’

A few months ago, few scouts knew of Sampson, and for that matter, neither did most Syracuse fans. But Sampson drew attention to himself with a 4.96 second 40-yard dash, making him one of the fastest lineman in the nation. Now, some scouts say he could be drafted as high as the second round.

‘People say (Sampson) has been coming on late, but I think he’s always been an interest to everybody,’ said Tony Softli, director of college scouting for the Carolina Panthers. ‘He’s very athletic for a tackle and will continue to be better under the right coaching in the NFL.’

‘He has come on like gangbusters,’ national editor for NFL.com Gil Brandt said. ‘He’s probably gotten a whole bunch of free American Airlines tickets because he’s been flown all over the country.’

While some scouts believe that there is a possibility that Sampson will be selected in the first two rounds, others believe that’s an exaggeration. Everyone agrees, though, that Sampson will be drafted sometime.

‘I’m an offensive lineman guy, so I can evaluate them best,’ Sampson’s agent Joe Linta said. ‘I saw him play in a few games, and I told (Sampson) on Sept. 30, ‘you’ll play in NFL.”

Sampson believes he has the tenacity to make it in the NFL, and he admits that it’s not always the first draft picks that end up being the top players.

‘I think that scouting is an inexact science,’ Sampson said. ‘There are mistakes and upsets, but I’m confident in the player that I am. I know my type of work ethic, I know what I’m capable of and I believe in myself.’

The Orangemen’s top prospect going into Saturday’s draft, though, is Morant. Though scouts have problems with Morant’s lack of consistency and inability to run crisp pass routes, experts like Dennis Bishop of NFLDraftBlitz.com think that Morant will go early in the third round.

‘Morant has the size-speed combination that makes scouts salivate,’ Bishop said. ‘If this was not the best wide receiver draft in recent memory, Morant could have easily been a second-rounder this year.’

If Morant does go in the third round, though, he has no need to worry. Morant’s agent, Gary Wichard, believes that Morant has the talent to become the next Terrell Owens, who was drafted with the 28th pick of the third round by the San Francisco 49ers in 1996.

‘He fits because he has size that is rare,’ Wichard said. ‘Anyone that’s watched Terrell Owens come from Tennessee-Chattanooga as a third-round pick (eight) years ago understands what Johnnie Morant can be.’

Along with Morant and Sampson, multiple teams have expressed interest in Scanlon and defensive end Josh Thomas. Alan Herman, who represents both players, believes the biggest selling point for Thomas and Scanlon is their ability to think on the field.

‘They’ve got speed, they’ve got strength, and in this case they’re both especially bright,’ Herman said. ‘Having those characteristics usually leads to a player being successful in the NFL.’

Scanlon is a player that has risen in value since the end of the season. Bishop (NFLDraftBlitz.com) said teams became interested in the linebacker when they saw what he could do at Pro Day. Scouts believe Scanlon can contribute to an NFL team immediately because he is a team player, who is also smart.

‘Prior to his workouts, I had Scanlon pegged as a perfect fit for New England’s system as a sixth or seventh-round pick,’ Bishop said. ‘He has since shown that he has the physical ability to play with just about any team.’

Morant, Scanlon and Sampson are confident that they will be drafted, but there are other Orangemen who are not sure what the weekend will bring. One of these players is center Nick Romeo.

‘There has been some interest,’ Romeo’s agent Bret Tessler said. ‘We’re feeling pretty good about the draft, but you never really know for sure.’

Romeo said he has two options if he isn’t drafted. He will either become a free agent or take a job offer from the Carrier Corporation.

‘Coaches here want you to be successful academically as well as on the field,’ Romeo said. ‘If you don’t make it in football, you definitely have a great educational background.’

Another player unsure of whether he’ll be drafted is defensive tackle Christian Ferrara. Ferrara convinced some agents he is a worthwhile pick at Pro Day when he posted a 4.81 second 40-yard dash and weighed less than 300 pounds.

Though Romeo and Ferrara aren’t considered definite draft picks, they can always count on draft day being filled with surprises.

‘Nobody can ever predict in the NFL Draft what’s going to happen,’ Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ‘We’re very hopeful we’ll have some guys who will be drafted, and we’re very hopeful we’ll have some other guys who will be signed as free agents.’

To Sampson, it doesn’t matter what team he plays for or what round he is picked. What matters is that he is playing the game he loves.

‘If I had really thought that I had played my last day of football when we’d played Notre Dame, then I might have different feelings,’ Sampson said. ‘But now I’m moving on to a completely different world.

‘I believe in myself, and the team that is going to invite me to their squad is going to believe in me too. With that mind-set, hard work and dedication, I think I’ll be fine.’

Published on April 22, 2004 at 12:00 pm