My college football game watching has been cut into by a phenomenon known as the Pittsburgh Pirates...Don't worry I will come strong not 1/2 half ass'd. The college season starts for me in the summer...I watch countless games preparing for the up coming season.

Its my humble opinion the Steelers have quality depth at

OL
DL
TE
CB

The Steelers have decent depth at

RB
Wr
ILB

The Steelers major need areas are

OLB
QB
S

Things can change. I do not trust Cris Carter or Jason Worilds...Both players may have a chance to prove their worth based upon the health of James Harrison. The Steelers have 3 safeties on the roster over 30...The Steelers have 3 quarterbacks on the roster over 30.

I believe there are 15 OLB's/ DE's who could be drafted in the first two rounds

Not in order

1.Jarvis Jones UGA
2.Chase Thomas Stanford
3.Jaime Collins Sout. Miss
4.Sean Porter TX Am
5.Rien Long WSU
6.Sam Montgomery LSU
7.Barkevious Mingo LSU
8.Alex Okafor TX
9.Jackson Jeffcoat Tx
10.Brandon Jenkins FSU
11.Bjoren Warner FSU
12.John Simon Ohio St
13.Corey Lemonier Auburn
14.James Gayle TCU
15. Mike Buchanan Illinois

I believe there are 18 safeties that could go in the 1st 4 rounds

1.T.J. McDonald Southern California
2.Robert Lester Alabama
3.Bacarri Rambo Georgia
4.John Boyett Oregon
5.Malcolm Bronson McNeese State
6.Javon Harris Oklahoma
7.Eric Reid LSU
8.Dexter McCoil Tulsa
9.Rashard Hall Clemson
10.Prentiss Waggner Tennessee
11.Tony Jefferson Oklahoma
12.Nick Moody Florida State
13.C.J. Barnett Ohio State
14.Nickoe Whitley Mississippi State
15.Lamarcus Joyner Florida State
16.Kenny Vaccaro Texas
17.Terence Garvin West Virginia
18.Rontez Miles California (PA)

Barring a major injury this draft class should fill the Steelers draft needs. The Steelers may be able to draft a special WR/ TE/ ILB/ RB in the 1st 2 rounds and still get a high quality player of need in the middle rounds of the draft.

Some lesser known players to watch for

Running back

1.Orleans Darkwa Tulane
2.Dennis Johnson Arkansas
3.Zach Line SMU
4.Braden Wilson Kansas St FB/Hback

Tight End

1.Jack Doyle WKU
2.DC Jefferson Rutgers
3.Travis Tannahill Kansas St

Wr

1.Quinton Patton LA Tech
2.Xaiver Boyce Norfolk St
3.Eddie Poole Bethune Cookman
4.Marlon Brown UGA
5.Josh Jarobe Ark St

OLB

1.Cornelius Washington UGA
2.Devon Kennard USC
3.Quanterous Smith WKU
4.Ben Obaskei Indiana St
5.Jomarcus Savage Grambling

ILB

1.Kenny Diemens Michigan
2.Patrick Larimore UCLA
3.Glenn Carson PSU
4. Shaq Wilson South Carolina
5.Kiko Alonso Oregon

S

1.Pat Hinkel Miami Oh
2.Malcom Bronson Mcnesse St
3.Kejuan Riley Alabama St
4.Kareem Peterson WKU

Less then a month until kickoff

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In the lesser known players you will find some arrests and guilty pleas in the Wr group...Most are 2-3 years old and the players have avoided trouble...Xaiver Boyce has beat 2 of the three charges...Last charge is being adjudicated presently.

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FC, thats a fantastic write up and great primer for upcoming college season

one thing stuck out to me as odd. 18 safeties in first 4 rounds? I can't claim your wrong, but that number seems off the charts to me. Especially in an era where nickel CB is basically base defense and most teams strive to get in single high nickel or nickel 2 man coverage by 2nd down.

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Colbert on the #Steelers RB situation: "Where we were in running game last year was indicative in the talent at the position.''

I am not saying 18 will go...Maybe 11 of the 18....The other seven go in rounds 5 and 6.

The talent level is rich at safety so its hard to rank them...After you get past the 1st 7 the safety class clumps together depending on need, system, style of play....Teams will rank them differently.

The past two safety drafts have sucked...Its a need for many teams. Early retirements injuries have allowed some shitty players to stick around the NFL because of the need at the position....Who is the starting SS for the Bengals? Darnell Bing...I mean Taylor Mays. The best young defense in football my ass...They will not be able to protect the back end

I said it on the Podcast in April...I would not be surprised if 22 safeties were drafted in 2013. That's a huge number...Its a position of need for 26 teams IMO.

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Good work on this topic FC! I was thinking of posting something similar, but never got around to it.

We agree on OLB and S being the top two needs. QB, I could give a shit less about. Ride Ben until his arm falls off, suck for a year, and then draft the next franchise QB. You can always find an adequate 2nd or 3rd string guy floating around in FA just like they did with Batch and Leftwich.

TE is going to be a big need next year. Either they re-sign an aging Heath Miller, or they need to replace him outright. We both like Saunders, but I'm note sure he is the answer. RB and WR depend on what happens with Mendenhall and Wallace. Both could be needs.

ILB? Foote is done and we need to see what we've got in Spence.

CB could be another need. They are only 4 deep right now, Lewis will be a FA, and Ike will be a year older and carry a big salary. Depth at the very least will be needed.

OL and DL are probably the only two spots on the roster that dont need addressed. What a difference a couple of drafts makes.

In the PAC 12- Chase Thomas is the shit. Rien Long... I guess we'll see. He's not exactly surrounded by talent.

Stanford's new coach will bring them back down to earth. He's not nearly the coach Harbaugh was. If there are eligible juniors with real prospects they will go to draft next year after the comedown from Luck and Harbaugh leaving.

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If a guy posts on a bulletin board service, and nobody reads it, did he have anything to say?

Sorry boys its Travis Long Wash St.

Rien played earlier in the decade

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Either way... Wazzoo is a hard program to do much with these days. A lot of talent that used to wind up there now is at BSU or Utah.

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If a guy posts on a bulletin board service, and nobody reads it, did he have anything to say?

Will see. I agree about the talent level. Mike Leach is a mad man...Respect the Pirate Jones...I'm telling you in a few years Wash St could be hell on wheels

Long is a great player who was stuck on a shitty team.

36 starts
Put up respectable numbers with limited talent surrounding him.

If Long played at Montana I would be interested...He actually has performed really well against some quality Pac 10 teams....He started since he was a true freshman.

I watch him play...I see no difference between Travis and Chris Long when he played at UVA...They are not related...I did check. Non stop motor...Great technician.

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Was pissed that UK retained Joker Phillips and didn't go after Leach. The best bet a program like UK has to succeed is a sort of a gimmicky offense because they'll never have the talent the top dogs of the league have (sort of what worked for Hal Mumme with the Air Raid offense in the Tim Couch days). Phillips is in over his head and sucked out all the good feelings Rich Brooks had built up by the end of his time at Kentucky. Considering season ticket sales are down close to 30% and at best they're a 4-5 team this year, no way he lasts past this season IMO. Missed their chance with Leach.

/collegefootballrant

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“It’s not hunger that drives me, it’s not hunger that needs to drive our football team. Hunger and thirst are things that can be quenched. We have to be a driven group, we have to seek greatness.” – Mike Tomlin