Hype on the way to the NFL Draft is always going to be there. No one will deny that but what happens on the way to the party? Agents and scouts and our beloved CBS Sports and ESPN go crazy. They literally go for 3 months solid trying to prove who can predict the exact order of selection and hype it up even more. But prior to the start of the glory run for the athletes and their families they are lead to believe that they will be selected and be selected in the money rounds.
USC has seen its share of early departures and in the Helton era we have not seen the type of excitement pre-draft turn in to the actual high draft round selections. Vera Tucker was the closest to a perfect expectation short of Sam Darnold who was going from #1 to #2 back and forth to sell those front row tickets.
This years Trojans did not go in the rounds they were hyped and from my far away perspective the League (NFL) has spoken. They are not convinced that the current USC Program is producing Alabama like results when the transition occurs from College to Pro ball. I for one would love to see a report on all the High Draft choices of Nick Saban's amazing run an how their first 3 years in the NFL actually turned out. Anyone have an opinion based on fact?
Setting the expectation should be a Key Performance Indicator of an Athletic Director in College. The expectations for the head coach should be to win the Division-win the Conference and then make the playoffs at a minimum. Ultimately winning the National Championship should be the goal. One additional goal should be the player development. How many players who graduate or opt out get selected in the top 2 rounds? This should matter as it leads to the Alabama factor that all programs are trying to emulate. Without this to secure their future role as head coach you are pushing rope up a hill.
Fight On and congrats to the Trojans who did sign Drafted or UnDrafted with the NFL
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