The three days at the combine were really enlightening, as to the quality of the draft class.  In these days I have seen the players who were in my top ten like Nakazawa, Akpan and Wiedeman fall dramatically, as well as the rise of players like Gavin, Stephens and Justin Morrow.  In the six matches we saw a mere eleven goals, five in the first match and a real lack of creativity in attack.  Players being heralded for there creative ability seemed rather pedestrian.

The one major plus this week was seeing a lot of smart possession soccer, a sign of the increasing quality of soccer in North America.  Very rarely did you see someone in a panic, and just kick the ball blindly into the air. The NCAA may not be the best system for grooming players to become professionals but the kids are getting better and the draft is deeper and deeper each year.

In a final recap of the week, I felt it would be best to categorize the players by my pro projection for them. Tomorrow I’ll go into further detail, as my final mock draft will be posted in the morning.

Honor Roll - Future Stars
Teal Bunbury
Blair Gavin
Amobi Okugo
Ike Opara
Tony Tchani

B Students - Future Regulars
Andre Akpan
Corbin Bone
Austin da Luz
Dilly Duka
Zac Herold
Sean Johnson
Zach Loyd
Jack McInerney
Justin Morrow
Brian Perk
Ofori Sarkodie
Zack Schilawski
Toni Stahl
Michael Stephens
Kwame Watson Siriboe
Drew Yates

Average Students - Future Role Players
Eric Alexander
Jovan Bubonja
Nick Cardenas
Phil Edginton
Irving Garcia
Two-Boys Gumede
Andrew Hoxie
Kyle Nakazawa
Chris Schuler
Seth Sinovic
Michael Thomas
Collen Warner
Andrew Wiedemen
Julien Edwards

Passing Grades -  Borderline Players
Orede Aiyegbusi
Samuel Appiah
Bright Dike
Brooks Haggerty
Martin Hedeveg
Nane Joseph
Steve Kinney
Isaac Kissi
Ross LeBeaux
Tennant McVea
Kwaku Nyameke
John Moore
Mike Pezza
Mike Seamon
Kevin Tangney
Othaniel Yanez
Jason Yiesley

Drop Outs - NCAA Peak
Kris Banghart
Tyler Barry
Nelson Becerra
Chad Borak
Ronnie Bouemboue
Fred Braun
Connor Chinn
Ben Clack
Justin Davis
Nick Elenz-Martin
David Estrada
Mauro Fuzetti
JT Noone
Connor O’Brien
Ryan Peterman
Tim Ream
Steffen Vroom
David Walker
Adam Welch