Hogs running backs make big splash in NFL Draft
Posted on Friday, January 2, 2009
JASON DECROW Associated Press Running back Darren McFadden, University of Arkansas, holds up a Jersey after being announced as the fourth pick overall by the Oakland Raiders in the NFL Draft Saturday, April 26, 2008 in New York.
The best corps of running backs in Arkansas football history might be the best in college football history.
Decision-makers in the National Football League obviously thought highly of the Razorback backfield in 2008, drafting three Arkansas ballcarriers, including two in the first round.
The selection of former Hog running backs Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis in April's NFL Draft is the Northwest Arkansas Times' No. 4 College Sports Story of 2008.
In their Razorback careers, the trio combined for 8,504 rushing yards (most by McFadden), 1,197 receiving yards (most by Hillis), 205 passing yards (all by McFadden), 3,140 return yards (most by Jones) and 115 total touchdowns. And McFadden and Jones only played at Arkansas for three years.
At the start of UA spring semester classes back in January, McFadden and Jones held a joint press conference to announce their decisions to forego their senior seasons and turn pro.
"I felt like we were like brothers," McFadden said at the press conference. "We've grown so close, and it was important we do this together.
"... Football is a high-risk injury sport, so you look at what's best for your future and your family's future."
Both guys then moved on to Texas to train for February's NFL Combine, where draft hopefuls are measured in everything from body-fat percentage to 40-yard-dash times.
Like former Arkansas QB Matt Jones and former Hog CB Chris Houston did at combines past, McFadden turned heads with his 40 time. He blazed down the turf of the RCA Dome in Indianapolis in an unofficial time of 4.27 seconds, which was later changed to 4.33.
"That's the kind of time that most people who go to this event will talk about for years to come," said Vic Carucci of NFL.com. "I think it exhibits what a lot of us thought [McFadden] was about - dominance."
Jones also ran well at the combine (4.47). Former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and ESPN NFL analyst Ron Jaworski was high on Jones' ability in the days leading up to the draft.
"Quite honestly, I don't see a whole lot of difference between Darren McFadden and Felix Jones," Jaworski said. "There's an area I actually like Felix a little bit better, and that's his ability to pick up the blitz. You have to trust me on this. I think that's one thing that has become much more predominant in scouting players at the collegiate level as you project them to the pro game - can they block."
Jones' time spent behind McFadden at Arkansas had some wondering if he could carry a full load at running back.
"They want to know if I'm an every-down back," Jones said. "It's pretty good when they ask me that because I didn't have a chance to show them here at Arkansas. But once I get to a team and get the chance to show them, the team will really be happy."
Along with other top draft prospects Michigan OT Jake Long, Virginia DE Chris Long, LSU DT Glenn Dorsey, Ohio State LB Vernon Gholston and Boston College QB Matt Ryan, McFadden was invited to Radio City Music Hall in New York to attend the draft itself.
"I've been enjoying it all," McFadden said. "Got out here Monday, spent some time with some [New York school] kids, seen the city ... It's been a whirlwind. It got to the point where I just wanted to sit back and find out where I'm going and get it over with."
Many experts believed that McFadden should probably go ahead and start looking for a place to live while in NYC. It was widely known that the New York Jets coveted McFadden's big-play ability at the No. 6 overall pick.
But it was also rumored that Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis had become enamored with the former Hog's blazing speed.
With Jake Long (Miami), Chris Long (St. Louis) and Ryan (Atlanta) all off the board, the Raiders grabbed McFadden with the No. 4 overall pick.
"If it would have been New York, I would have been very happy to be here, but Oakland decided to go ahead and grab me," McFadden said right after his selection. "I'm very happy to be there. It's not disappointing. I'm happy to be going No. 4."
When the Dallas Cowboys drafted Jones at No. 22 over "every-down back" Rashard Mendenhall, some experts were quick to criticize.
Jean-Jaques Taylor of the Dallas Morning News wrote, "You don't draft a complementary player in the first round when you have an opportunity to select a franchise back. Ever. But that's what the Cowboys did Saturday.
"It's a decision Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips and whoever else helped make it will regret."
There didn't seem to be much to regret when Mendenhall suffered an early seasonending injury and Felix Jones was making game-breaking plays on a weekly basis. But Jones himself was lost for the season with a toe injury in mid-November.
Though the drafting of McFadden and Jones created some Day 1 buzz, it was hardly noticed when another Arkansas running back was drafted on Day 2 in the seventh round. The Denver Broncos took a late-round flyer on former Hog fullback Hillis and it paid off.
As Denver running backs continued to fall throughout the season, Hillis got more work in the tailback rotation. He had 343 rushing yards, 179 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns on the year before a hamstring injury against the Chiefs ended his season on Dec. 7.
Unfortunately, all three former Hog runners suffered through injury-plagued rookie seasons. McFadden was in and out of the lineup while Jones and Hillis were lost for the season.
Whether any or all ever reach stardom at the pro level remains to be seen, but there's no denying the impact all three made as Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and Associated Press contributed to this story.
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