Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Draft Hopefuls Now Playing Waiting Game
April 19, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — The workouts, pro days, and combines have been completed. The numbers have been logged and the interviews have been conducted.
All that's left now for college football's NFL hopefuls — including roughly a dozen Colorado players — is the waiting game ahead of next week's NFL Draft, which begins Thursday (April 26) and wraps up Saturday (April 28).
With all due acknowledgements to the late, great Tom Petty, the waiting may indeed be the hardest part.
"That's all you're doing now," said former Buffs running back Phillip Lindsay, one of those players hoping to hear is name called next week. "You're thinking about all the possibilities. You're impatient, you're nervous, you're excited. Everything is pretty much done, so it's nerve-wracking just waiting for it to happen."
Of course, players like Lindsay haven't really put their preparation on hold. Lindsay conducted this interview after finishing roughly a half hour of fielding punts in CU's Champions Center, honing just one more part of his craft he believes might help him make an NFL roster.
But as for the process of players impressing scouts and front office personnel to the point that they will be enticed to use a draft pick on them, that part of the game is over. Those personnel are now huddled in their respective cities, refining and revising their draft boards, assessing what needs are their biggest priorities and what players might best fill those needs.
"You just wait for your name, hope that you are put in a good position and they need you," Lindsay said. "You want to be something they're looking for. You did everything you could to show that you could play, and now you wait."
Colorado ended a two-year draft drought last season when four Buffs heard their names called over the three days: Chidobe Awuzie (second round), Ahkello Witherspoon (third), Tedric Thompson (fourth) and Jordan Carrell (seventh).
That string should continue this year, as cornerback Isaiah Oliver — who elected to turn pro after his junior season — is being projected as a late-first to mid-second round pick. Oliver is ranked the 29th-best player available by CBSSports.com and the 44th-best player available by former Dallas Cowboys player personnel guru Gil Brandt. Mock drafts project him being taken anywhere from the 18th pick in the first round (NFL.com) to the middle of the second round.
Lindsay, meanwhile, is being projected as a late-round pick — fifth through seventh — by a number of draft websites. His stock rose considerably after a standout pro day in mid-March in Boulder, when he put up numbers that were better than many of the running backs who had been invited to the annual NFL Combine.
Another former Buff whose name has popped into some mock drafts is safety Afolabi Laguda, projected as a possible seventh-round pick.
The first round of the draft will be held Thursday beginning at 6 p.m., rounds 2 and 3 will be held Friday at 5 p.m., with rounds 4-7 set for Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.
Lindsay has talked to some of those former Buffs who were drafted last year. From then, he learned that teams may be calling over the next week or so — but it's just to make sure they have the correct phone number in case they do select him. Those calls, he's been told, could even come on draft day.
"What's scary and nerve-wracking is you may get a call on draft day and you think you are ready to get drafted, but they're just checking to see if it's your number just in case they do draft you, see what airline you use," Lindsay said. "I've been warned about that by Chido, Ahkello … you just don't know what's going to happen. I'm just ready to get it over with and get back to practicing and playing ball."
The draft is by no means the end of the process. Almost as soon as the final round is completed Saturday afternoon, teams will begin signing "priority free agents," players they have scouted and identified as possibly being able to fill a need.
A number of Buffs have had success in that regard in recent years, including such current NFL players as DB Kenneth Crawley (New Orleans Saints) and DL Josh Tupou (Cincinnati Bengals).
That's when several other former Buffs could be contacted by team. Other former Buffs who are seen as having a chance to either hear their names called in the late rounds or sign free agent deals include offensive linemen Jeromy Irwin and Gerrad Kough; wide receivers Bryce Bobo, Devin Ross and Shay Fields; defensive linemen Derek McCartney, Leo Jackson III and Timothy Coleman; and tight end George Frazier.
Colorado has had 270 players drafted over the years, which currently ranks No. 22 in the nation and fourth in the Pac-12. The Buffs have also had 24 first-round picks. Colorado's last first-round selections came in 2011, when offensive lineman Nate Solder was taken with the 17th overall pick by New England and cornerback Jimmy Smith was taken 27th by Baltimore.
Lindsay, naturally, would love to hear his name called — but more than anything, he just wants to move on to the next step in the process and get back on the field in pads.
"I do know there's nothing else I can do," Lindsay said. "The only thing I can do now is be positive and will myself, my mind into getting drafted. I'm just ready to get back to work."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
