MAILBAG: Sept. 27

Q: Why don't you give any time to Division II athletes? Many of these players are stars in the NFL at present. What can a Division II player do to get some recognition? -- Lloyd, New York, N.Y.
MEL -- You don't see that many Division II, Division III or NAIA players, or even any Division I-AA players, who will figure in the first three rounds of the 2002 draft. Last year Will Peterson of Division I-AA Western Illinois went in the third round to the Giants. Of course, he was a transfer from Michigan. Center Robert Garza of Division II Texas A&M-Kingsville went in the fourth round. And some other Division II players went late in the draft. You don't see it too often. Sylvester Morris went in the first round out of Jackson State in 2000.

Not many Division II, III or NAIA players will carry that high of a grade.

It happens periodically in Division I-AA. But not many in Division II, III or NAIA will carry that high of a grade. However, some non-Division I-A players to watch this year are quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan of UC Davis, quarterback Dusty Bonner of Valdosta State (a transfer from Kentucky), RB Lamar Gordon of North Dakota State, DE Greg Scott from Hampton, MLB Robert Taylor of Grambling, CB Joseph Jefferson from Western Kentucky, CB Dante Wesley from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, DB James Bracey from Mesa State and PK Cameron Paterka from North Dakota.

Then there's RB Adrian Peterson of Division I-AA George Southern. But the top non-Division I players would be Gordon and O'Sullivan from UC Davis, which has a rich history of producing quarterbacks. Everyone is evaluated, but it's not often when you get a player from Division II, III or NAIA that goes in the first few rounds.

Q: Do you think South Carolina has improved enough over the last few years to beat Tennessee on the road? -- Josh Price, Columbia, S.C.
MEL -- South Carolina is playing good enough defensive football. Kalimba Edwards, my second highest-rated senior prospect in the nation, is having an excellent year. He's a great defensive end in the Jevon Kearse mold. And the defensive secondary is led by Sheldon Brown. The defense will keep them in games. To win on the road in college football, teams need to bring the defense and have great special teams. The Gamecocks have had some special-teams breakdowns along the way, but defensively they are outstanding.

Offensively, they don't have a lot of great skill-position talent. They have an excellent running back in Derek Watson. Andrew Pinnock had a big game last week against Mississippi State. The quarterback position got a boost from backup Corey Jenkins running the football in almost a single-wing type of offense. He got 75 yards rushing, most of it in one quarter. They don't have dynamic skill talent, particularly at receiver, that teams need to excel against quality opposition. The Gamecocks rely on low-scoring games against quality teams.

Q: Do you see the Texans or anyone else moving up to select David Carr of Fresno State as the No. 1 pick next draft? And do you think any other QBs, like a Ken Dorsey, will be thought of that highly? -- Dave Karpuk, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
MEL -- Dorsey is a junior, so we'll have to see how he performs before we think about him in terms of the NFL draft. Carr is the highest-rated senior QB and the fourth highest-rated player on my board. If juniors entered the mix, a few more players may slide ahead of him, but he will be a highly rated player who could go No. 1. Besides Carr, other potential No. 1 picks for the Houston Texans will be John Henderson of Tennessee, fourth-year junior Julius Peppers of North Carolina and Kalimba Edwards.

Q: What will it take for Boston College RB William Green to make a run as a late Heisman candidate? -- Terrel Wilson, New York, N.Y.
MEL -- Green is among the top-10 Heisman contenders, but he's not in the top five. He's not higher because Boston College won't be a top-25 team. It's difficult to compete for the Heisman without being on a top-25 team. You almost need to have a team in the mix for the national championship.

I believe David Carr is the top Heisman candidate. Why? Because he's been on a successful team. Green, though, is a great player, a big back and a decisive north-south runner. With Lee Suggs out for the season, T.J. Duckett and Green are the two highest-rated junior running backs in the country. Green has great size at 6-foot-1, 223 pounds. Duckett (6-2, 254) is a Jerome Bettis type. If one or both came out in the draft, they would project with DeShaun Foster at the top of the RB group.

Q: Fresno State beat Tulsa by 19 points Saturday, but it could have been by much more. Fresno State's Pat Hill has a policy of not running up the score. If the 'Dogs run the table, will this policy hurt their chances of landing a BCS game? -- Tim Lewis, Fowler, Calif.
MEL -- No, it won't hurt them. We had Hill on College GameDay on ESPN Radio last weekend after the Tulsa game. I made the point to Hill that it will be important how well Colorado, Wisconsin and Oregon State finish out the season because they were the three teams Fresno State beat. In order to get more credibility for those wins, Fresno State needs these three teams to play well. They can't have down years.

Oregon State lost defensive back Calvin Carlyle to injury and is depleted at receiver. We'll have to wait and see on the Beavers, who have a big game hosting UCLA on Saturday. If they can upset UCLA, that will help Fresno State. Colorado is on the way to having a bounce-back year and has big games down the road. If the Buffaloes can upset someone along the way, that would be huge as well. Wisconsin has had a solid year so far and could have beaten Oregon. Their performances will impact Fresno State a lot more than whether or not it can run up scores against mediocre and below-average opponents.

Q: So, Mel, Dwight Freeney (Syracuse) isn't good enough to make your Big Board? Seems as if many of your media colleagues -- and coaches at Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Central Florida and Auburn -- think he's the best and most disruptive defensive player in the nation. It's spelled F-R-E-E-N-E-Y, Mel! -- Mike Voiland, Ithaca, N.Y.
MEL -- When I highlighted the top 30 college players in the nation before the season, Freeney was No. 26. He has excellent ability to get off the edge and sack quarterbacks. He had 4½ against Michael Vick last year, and already has eight this year. He has already established himself as a dominant figure.

However, Freeney (6-1, 250) doesn't have the ideal size for the NFL. In a four-man front, do you use him as a situational player? Can he hold up full-time? Could he be a linebacker? That's doubtful. He may have to be a defensive end in the Hugh Douglas mold. Looking at what Douglas has done, if Freeney is in the right scheme, he could be effective.

Freeney may gradually push his way into the top 25 among senior prospects. Remember, this is strictly for the NFL draft. Right now he's in the 29-35 area. He's on the cusp of being a top 25 prospect. There is no question he is one of the best college defensive players in the country, but his size is the question mark when you project him into the NFL. NFL offensive tackles are 320 pounds, but they are quick, have great feet and know every trick in the book. He could get overpowered against the run. And if he can't get that outside charge, it becomes very difficult.

Q: Why do you continue to leave Toledo RB Chester Taylor off your list of pro prospects? All he does is rip opposing teams apart and has all the tools to be a great NFL back, and you shun him week upon week. At least give him some Heisman consideration after a five-touchdown performance. -- Jim Jefferson, Ohio
MEL -- You have to applaud Taylor. He has been a great player in the Mid-American Conference. He has done the job against virtually every opponent. Historically, though, running backs do drop down a bit. They don't necessarily carry grades as high as players at other positions. That's just the way it is because you are talking about evaluating players from one level to the next.

Taylor, though, will have a chance to play in the NFL. He may go in the second- to third-round area. That's the best-case scenario, depending on how he performs at the postseason all-star games. There is no question, he's in the running for the Heisman Trophy. He's not in the top five because Toledo, while having a great year with a chance to go to a bowl game, won't be good enough to help him win a Heisman Trophy. But if he continues to put up the numbers he has so far, there's no question he could be in the top five. In evaluating for the NFL draft, he could be among the top five running backs by the end of the year.

Q: Mel, I love your insight and passion about football. What does the future of Kansas State RB Josh Scobey look like as an NFL player? The guy doesn't get a lot of hype, but look at what he did last year against Tennessee and what he's done so far this year (280 yards and four TDs in about five-and-a-half quarters). What does he need to work on to turn the heads of NFL scouts and give him some consideration? -- Jason Farmer, Kansas City, Kan.
MEL -- He has a chance. Scobey has put up big numbers for Kansas State so far. Coming in from the juco ranks, Scobey was productive last year and has been solid this season. He will be looked at as a later-round draft prospect. Scobey is a bit upright in his style. He has some big games coming up. If Scobey continues to put up big numbers, we'll have to watch him more closely. There's a possibility he could elevate his draft stock. Right now he's in the second tier of running backs.

Q: I have two questions for you. First, what is your impression of Wisconsin's Anthony Davis? He reminds me of an Eric Metcalf-type player, and he is only a freshman. Second, who would you start at QB for the Badgers: Jim Sorgi or Brooks Bollinger? Bollinger did an admirable job his freshman year, but Sorgi is a more prototypical QB and makes us more explosive. Think about it: With Sorgi at QB, defenses can't stack eight men in the box, which gives Davis better running lanes. This also forces DBs to actually cover our receivers, which Oregon and Fresno State had difficulty doing. -- Ted Gross, Milwaukee, Wis.
MEL -- I went into the season thinking, as Barry Alvarez did, that Wisconsin would go with a running back by committee with Tyron Griffin, Jerone Pettus and Davis. But in the second half of the first game against Syracuse, it became the Anthony Davis show. Now, Griffin is transferring.

Wisconsin has not missed a beat running the football. This is a major surprise. The Badgers have had guys like Carl McCullough, Brent Moss, Terrell Fletcher, Ron Dayne and Michael Bennett. Under Alvarez, it's been almost a running-back factory. It's no different this year. But they didn't know who it would be at the outset.

Davis is quick and deceptively strong. He's an outstanding football player. As only a redshirt freshman, he looks like a star of the future. There's no question he's been one of the impact newcomers in college football this year and the reason why Wisconsin has been so competitive and hasn't experienced a dropoff. Keep in mind, Wisconsin has lost 14 players to the NFL, either through draft choices or through undrafted free agency, yet the Badgers have been able to perform at a solid level. In a lot of areas, they have been an outstanding team so far.

As for Bollinger and Sorgi, it depends on who Wisconsin is playing and how the game is going. Bollinger gives the Badgers a dimension running the football and scrambling, creating plays when the line breaks down. He can use his legs to pick up a first down or hit a receiver breaking open late. Sorgi offers a contrasting style. He's a drop-back passer. If Bollinger gets hurt, the Badgers have a quality backup in Sorgi. But he won't give them the running dimension Bollinger does. As the starter, Bollinger gives them what they need right now. But if the Badgers are behind, Sorgi can come off the bench, throw the football and rally the troops.

Q: With the Jamal Lewis injury this year, wouldn't the Ravens benefit from drafting a guy like Najeh Davenport from Miami and converting him from FB to RB? He's a bruiser, but also rather elusive and quick. -- Matt Leavey, Owings Mills, Md.
MEL -- The Ravens expect Lewis to be back and ready to go next year. For now they are trying to find somebody. Terry Allen, Moe Williams and Jason Brookins are there, so running back does appear to be a need. But they invested a high first-round pick in Lewis. He's still young and talented. We'll have to see how he comes back from the injury.

If he's back at full strength, running back won't be a need high in the draft. It will be a need, if none of the other backs emerge, particularly Williams and Brookins. Allen is at the end of his trail. The Ravens drafted Chris Barnes in the fifth round, but he didn't make the team.

A backup running back is not something a team looks for early in the draft. Look at what Denver did, getting Olandis Gary in the fourth round, Mike Anderson in the sixth round and Terrell Davis in the sixth. Lots of quality NFL backs have been drafted in the third round or lower. So a running back won't be a priority for the Ravens until maybe the second day of the draft. Meanwhile, Davenport is still projected as a fullback or a big back drafted in the first two or three rounds.