"The Stack" 3-2-18
The NFL Combine is underway in Indianapolis. Coaching staffs and front offices have flocked to Indy to see who they might draft in April.
Coming up Friday: More conference tournament previews plus reaction to other sports headlines
The Stack is back on this Friday, but it isn’t our last post of the week. No, we have posts Saturday, Sunday and into next week too with all of the conference tournaments starting up and championship games to boot. Arizona head coach Sean Miller was awfully defiant in his press conference yesterday afternoon. The university apparently backs him which is slightly shocking. Then the fans give him a standing ovation last night? Um, why? Well we know why, but those fans should be smarter than that. What Miller has done may hurt Arizona down the road. Anyway, another short blog today with only one conference tournament starting to let’s get right to “the stack” for today, Friday, March 2nd:
NFL Combine getting going
The NFL Combine is underway in Indianapolis and offensive lineman and running backs will be doing drills and workouts today. There have already been measurements and plenty of chatter and draft fodder. Who among the quarterbacks will shine and solidify themselves as the top quarterback in this draft class? We know Sam Darnold from USC will not be throwing. Saquon Barkley working out today is interesting only from the standpoint that Barkley is an absolute beast and will be a top five pick for sure. I of course and interested in my South Dakota State boys, tight end Dallas Goedert and wide receiver Jake Wieneke. Hopefully they both do well. Offensive line is still a weak spot so who can make a name for themselves there? It’s going to be an absolutely bananas draft in the first round with a lot of guys in the mix to be picked. I can’t wait to who does good and raises their stock versus those whose stock takes a hit with a bad workout. Interviews! Interviews are important too.
There is plenty of actual NFL talk at this thing too. The Minnesota Vikings are being brought up a lot because of their quarterback position. Head coach Mike Zimmer says if he doesn’t get it right this time he’ll be fired. I doubt that, but everyone is so fascinated by what the Vikings will do and what that will do to the rest of the free agent and rookie quarterbacks. It’s going to be fun to watch. Also, the Seattle Seahawks are apparently looking for any takers on defensive lineman Michael Bennett. We’ll see if anyone gets interested. Should be a fun next few days in Indianapolis as we creep closer and closer to the NFL Draft.
Horizon League tournament preview
The lone tournament starting today is the Horizon League conference tournament in Detroit. It’s hard not to pick Northern Kentucky who made it last year for the first time even though Wright State has been the better team for most of this season. I’ll go with the slight upset here over Northern Kentucky and take Scott Nagy and Wright State though if/when they win it all. Which is a big if. I’ll have no quarrels if Northern Kentucky wins either.
Predicted winner: Wright State
Coming up Saturday: More conference tournament previews plus the first ticket is about to get punched.
Listen to this week's "The Sports Block" podcast here.
Listen to this week's "The Sports Block" SDSU Jackrabbit edition here.
