Buffs Spruce, Nembot, Crawley Ready For NFL Draft

BOULDER — For hundreds of college football players across the nation, the work has been completed for weeks — and by the end of the weekend, the waiting will be over as well.

At least three Colorado Buffaloes are hoping the wait will be worth it. Wide receiver Nelson Spruce, cornerback Ken Crawley and offensive lineman Stephane Nembot are all projected as late-round picks, meaning by Saturday night, they could know what uniform they'll be wearing next.

“I've done everything that I can to this point, and now I'm just waiting for it to be over,” said Spruce, who wrapped up his CU career with more than 40 Buffs records to his name. “I'm more anxious than nervous. I'm ready to get started with the next step in the process.”

With 266 all-time NFL draft picks, Colorado is 22nd in the nation and fourth in the Pac-12 in number of players selected by NFL teams.

Spruce, Nembot and Crawley have all been in contact with a number of NFL teams since the NFL Combine and CU's Pro Day in Boulder in March. Contact with teams is by no means a guarantee that they'll be selected, but it's still a strong indication that teams are interested in adding them to their rosters.

“I think there's definitely some interest there,” Spruce said. “I've had about 20 to 25 calls in the last few days from teams wanting to verify my draft number, things like that. I'll just have to wait and see how much interest there is when it gets here.”

The draft begins Thursday at 6 p.m. in Chicago with the first round, and will be televised by ESPN and the NFL Network. Rounds 2 and 3 will be held Friday, beginning at 5 p.m., with the final four rounds set to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday.

“Since I started playing football when I was about 7 years old, playing in the NFL is something I wanted to do,” Spruce said. “Now the next step is just a few days away. I'm just going to try to keep my normal routine and wait for it to happen. It's probably one of the biggest steps in my life, but I'm ready for it to be over and move on to the next step.”

Here's a look at how some draft experts are rating the Buffs and where they project them to be picked:

NELSON SPRUCE: The most prolific receiver in Pac-12 history with a league-record 294 receptions, there are no doubts about Spruce's ability to catch the ball. The experts at NFL.com and CBSSports.com list sure hands, precise route running, great ball skills, consistency, reliability and toughness as some of his main strengths. As for his weaknesses, they point to a lack of explosiveness and “average” straight-line speed.

One plus in Spruce's favor is his ability to play special teams. He can return kicks and punts and has played on coverage teams. NFL.com calls him a “hard-nosed slot returner with value as a punt returner.”

NFL.com projects Spruce as a sixth- or seventh-round pick. CBS Sports ranks him as the 40th receiver available in the draft.

KENNETH CRAWLEY: A three-year starter for the Buffs who played nearly 80 percent of CU's defensive snaps over his four-year career, Crawley boosted his stock with a good performance at the East-West Shrine Game. Experts list his overall athleticism, tackle production, run support and ability to mirror receivers' movement as among his strengths. On the other side of the ledger, they point to his tendency to be undisciplined in deep-ball coverage, a lack of interceptions (just three in his career) and a relatively thin frame as weaknesses.

NFL.com projects him as a sixth- or seventh-round pick. CBS Sports ranks him as the No. 29 cornerback in the draft.

STEPHANE NEMBOT: Without a doubt, the most intriguing of the three CU prospects. A tremendous physical specimen — he checked in at the NFL Combine at 6-foot-6, 322 pounds — Nembot had one of the best bench press performances at the Combine, reeling off 32 repetitions of 225 pounds. The downside, of course, is that he's still a relative neophyte to the game — the native of Cameroon didn't start playing football until his junior year in high school. “Raw talent” is a description that shows up in virtually every discussion about Nembot.

Among his strengths stressed by the experts are his improvement (his sacks allowed totals dropped each of his last three seasons), his overall quickness and athleticism and his vast potential. CBS Sports said, “With some patience, he could develop into a starter at the next level, likely remaining outside at tackle because of his length and athleticism.”

As for his weaknesses, the experts criticize his footwork, particularly in the run game, his inability to recover when pass rushers feint to the outside and then drop underneath, and a tendency to play with his pads too high. And, while his relative newness to the game means big potential, it also means he still has plenty to learn at a level where mistakes are exposed in a hurry.

NFL.com projects him as a sixth- or seventh-round pick. CBS Sports rates him as the No. 21 tackle in the draft.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu