Pac-12 Blog

Nine Pac-10 players rank on Kiper's top-five list by position

April, 1, 2010

4/01/10

9:21

PM ET

By Ted Miller | ESPN.com

A bevy of Pac-10 players may not be selected in the first round of the NFL draft on April 22, but the second and third rounds will feature plenty of West Coast flavor, at least according to Mel Kiper.

Kiper ranks nine conference players among the top-five at their respective positions.

California's Jahvid Best is No. 2 at running back.
Oregon's Ed Dickson is No. 3 at tight end. Arizona's Rob Gronkowski is No. 5.
Arizona State's Shawn Lauvao is the No. 3 offensive guard.
USC's Everson Griffen is No. 4 at defensive end. Cal's Tyson Alualu is No. 5
UCLA's Brian Price is No. 4 at defensive tackle.
Washington's Donald Butler is No. 3 at inside linebacker.
USC's Taylor Mays is No. 3 at safety.

Notice that seven different schools have players ranked. While no Oregon State or Stanford players were ranked, both schools are certain to produce draft picks: quarterback Sean Canfield and linebacker Keaton Kristick for the Beavers and running back Toby Gerhart and offensive lineman Chris Marinelli for the Cardinal.

That leaves out only Washington State, and center Kenny Alfred might just get picked late in the draft -- he's not off the radar.

Not since 2007 have all 10 conference teams had at least one player drafted -- see some lean years for Stanford, Washington and Arizona.

Ted Miller | email

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ESPN.com Pac-12 blogger
Covered college football since 1997
Wrote for Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Ted Miller

Miller has been covering college football since 1997, starting with Auburn and then heading West to Washington and the Pac-12. His columns for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer won first place in the 2007 APSE Best Writing contest. The Atlanta native and University of Richmond graduate presently lives with his wife in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Kevin Gemmell

Gemmell covered San Diego State and the Mountain West Conference for three years before joining ESPN.com. As a Santa Clara graduate, his hope is that the Broncos will one day re-institute football. Until then, he lives vicariously through his readers. Gemmell lives in California with his wife and son.

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