DEUCES WILD

By Harold McIlvain II

Lights. Cameras. NFL Draft.

Looking back at the past decade, it’s not too difficult to see how much of a spectacle the NFL Draft has become to fans across the nation.

Radio City Music Hall in New York City has played stage to some memorable moments since it began hosting the event in 2006, including the whole Brady Quinn green room debacle that happened back in 2007.

(But after the last couple of seasons, Quinn might be wishing he were still in that green room.)

All the other league drafts just don’t compare to the NFL’s. Basketball has its moments, while baseball can be entertaining, but the excitement generated a good month before the football event even happens just sets this draft apart.

And with first round starting this Thursday, NFL fans will be watching with so many intriguing people and items that will make the draft Another one to remember heading into the 2010 football season:

Oakland Raiders: After taking wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey way too high in the draft last year, it will be interesting to see how the franchise messes up again.

Jon Gruden, ESPN analyst: The Monday Night Football commentator was able to watch film while meeting quarterbacks of the future before the draft. With Gurden’s clear man-love of all signal-callers, I’m betting he had a contract stipulation that let him do staged events with young quarterbacks. No way he could pass up an opportunity to sit down with the QBs after having five in training camp at one time as a head coach.

C.J. Spiller, Ryan Mathews and Dez Bryant: It’s never to early to start thinking about the fantasy football season. This is a trio of guys that could make a big impact if they find a home with a starting spot on draft day.

Malcolm Sheppard and Mitch Petrus: These are the former Razorbacks with the best draft prospects this year, and it will be interesting to see which teams they end up going to at the weekend.

Sheppard could be drafted as high as the third round, while Petrus must have impressed organizations after benching 225 pounds 45 times, tying a combine record. (Don’t try that in the home kids.)

Jimmy Clausen, quarterback: The former Notre Dame signal caller could go just about anywhere in the draft at this point. Clausen could go as high as fourth overall or drop out of the top 15 all together. It was announced he didn’t plan on attending the draft, so there goes another shot at a green room situation.

Mel Kiper’s hair: I don’t think the draft would be the same without the hair of the go-to draft expert. It is always perfectly sculpted and has become so famous that people might know more about his hair than they know about him. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t buy a shampoo bottle if Mel was on it.

St. Louis Rams fans: After the team went 1-15 last year, this could be the only night fans are able to cheer on the team for a good while. Having the first pick doesn’t hurt.

Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers quarterback: Who might be looking forward to the draft more than any prospect this year? This guy. After taking a hit for his conduct off the field, Big Ben might be able to get out of the spotlight for a bit – unless they trade him on draft day.

The prospects from small schools: In the 2006 draft, the Saints took an opportunity to draft a tall wideout from Hofstra University. It turned this Marques Colston guy was pretty good, as he caught 70 balls for over 1,000 yards during his rookie year.

Sam Bradford, quarterback: There are some questions ranging from the injuries to the system he played in at Oklahoma, but he looks like the best quarterback in the draft and could be selected first overall.

ESPN coverage: If you haven’t gotten enough of experts breaking down prospects for the last month, don’t worry because ESPN will have you covered with 20 different people talking. They usually go with two different tables just to fit everyone in to discuss.

It’s always nice to see who the next big thing could be coming from the lower rounds and from a smaller school. These stories make draft day much better when you hear about people overcoming doubt from scouts.

Bad predictions: Player evaluation for sure isn’t an exact science. Player are busts all the time and don’t live up to the hype. But it’s always fun looking back at when experts like Kiper are ridiculously wrong, including when Marshall Faulk was labeled as a “non-impact player.”

Tim Tebow, quarterback: Who is going to take a shot on the Florida Gator product? Perhaps the Jaguars? Will he even be a first round pick? We’ll just have to watch the draft to find out.

Harold McIlvain II is an assistant sports editor for The Arkansas Traveler. His columns appear every other Wednesday.