ESPN College Football

California led the way in the Pac-12 for what was a poor showing in the 2012 NFL draft, with just 28 total players selected. It seemed perfectly reasonable to project more than 40 picks a few weeks and months ago.

In 2011, 37 players were drafted, one fewer than the SEC. This year, the SEC led the way with 42 draft picks. The Big Ten was second with 41 and the ACC was third with 31. The 10-team Big 12 had 25, which actually puts it ahead of the Pac-12 by a per-team measure.

California had six players drafted, tied for the second-most by Cal, which also had six players picked in both the 1977 and 2008 drafts. A school-record 10 Cal players were chosen in 1952.

There were plenty of negatives from the weekend, starting with Washington RB Chris Polk, who some had projected going as early as the second round, not getting picked. The reported explanation is concern that Polk has a shoulder problem. Polk and his horrible, no-good shoulder rushed for an often punishing 4,049 yards in his career, the second-most in school history.

The Philadelphia Eagles committed grand larceny when they signed him as a free agent.

Other negatives: Character counts. The Pac-12 bad boys, Arizona State LB Vontaze Burfict and Oregon CB Cliff Harris, both once viewed as potential first-round picks, weren't drafted.

Oregon QB Darron Thomas, who surprised many when he opted to enter the draft a year early, went undrafted. (Meanwhile, in Eugene, Ducks fans watched redshirt freshman Marcus Mariota dominate the spring game in the competition with Bryan Bennett to replace Thomas).

Other undrafted notables: Arizona State WR Gerell Robinson, Oregon S Eddie Pleasant, Oregon State WR James Rodgers, Stanford WR Chris Owusu, Stanford S Delano Howell and Washington WR Jermaine Kearse.

Here's the conference draft tally. UCLA and Washington State had no players selected.

California: 6
Oregon: 4
Stanford: 4
Arizona: 3
USC: 3
Arizona State: 2
Colorado: 2
Washington: 2
Oregon State: 1
Utah: 1

And here's the round-by-round.

First round
1. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford: Indianapolis
4. Matt Kalil, OT, USC: Minnesota
24. David DeCastro, OG, Stanford: Pittsburgh
28. Nick Perry, DE, USC: Green Bay

Second round
2. Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford: Indianapolis
5. Mitchell Schwartz, OT, California: Cleveland
10. Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford, Miami
14. Mychal Kendricks, LB, California: Philadelphia
25. Brock Osweiler, QB Arizona State: Denver Broncos
29. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon: San Francisco 49ers

Third round
7. Bryan Anger, P, California: Jacksonville
16. Brandon Hardin, S, Oregon State: Chicago Bears
25. Nick Foles, QB, Arizona: Philadelphia
32. Tony Bergstrom, OL, Utah: Oakland

Fourth round
6. Omar Bolden, CB, Arizona State: Denver
14. Alameda Ta'amu, DT, Washington: Pittsburgh
33. Rhett Ellison, FB/TE, USC: Minnesota

Fifth round
16. Senio Kelemete, OT, Washington: Arizona
20. Josh Kaddu, LB, Oregon: Miami
25. Ryan Miller, OG, Colorado: Cleveland
31. Marvin Jones, WR, California: Cincinnati
33. Juron Criner, WR, Arizona: Oakland

Sixth round
8. Mark Asper, OG, Oregon: Buffalo

Seventh round
9. D.J. Campbell, S, California: Carolina
12. Trevor Guyton, DE, California: Minnesota
24. Toney Clemons, WR, Colorado, Pittsburgh
33. David Paulson, TE, Oregon, Pittsburgh
38. Trevin Wade, CB, Arizona: Cleveland

Happy Friday.

• Arizona's Tra'Mayne Bondurant hopes to "spur" the defense this fall. An update on the alleged brawl that involved several Wildcats.
• Arizona State will take a break, but it ran the ball well during the first day of full-pads.
• California QB Zach Maynard is now an established player for the Bears.
• Is the plot about to thicken at QB for Colorado?
• USC coach Lane Kiffin has been immortalized by Oregon -- in the Ducks' own way. Former Ducks CB Cliff Harris is looking for redemption in the NFL.
• Oregon State sophomore cornerback Malcolm Marable is going to pay for driving fast.
• Stanford and Northwestern are ready to get brainy together.
• At USC, QBs Cody Kessler and Max Wittek are both going to get a lot of time this spring.
• Hoops? No, March is all about football for Utah.
• Would the Sun Bowl be enough for Washington fans?

With the combine completed, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay have updated their respective rankings and boards. Kiper also offers his winners from the combine and those leaving us with questions.

Some of the Pac-12 winners include LaMichael James (Oregon, RB), Coby Fleener (Stanford, TE) and Matt Kalil (USC, OT).

If Fleener runs in the 4.5 range at his pro day, he could be in the first round. The Giants make sense. He is now an option as the first tight end off the board.

Question mark players include Vontaze Burfict (ASU, LB), Cliff Harris (Oregon, DB) and Marc Tyler (USC, RB).

(On Burfict) He already carries attitude questions, and Burfict needed to turn heads with workouts. Heads were turned, but for the wrong reason. He looked sluggish, to put it mildly. Once a first-round guy, he could be in the middle rounds if he doesn't recover.

Yikes.

Kiper also updated his top five players by position. The conference is well represented with Andrew Luck (Stanford, QB), James, Rhett Ellison (USC, FB), Fleener, Kalil, Jonathan Martin (Stanford, OT), David DeCastro (Stanford, OG), Burfict and Bryan Anger (Cal, P) and appearing in the top three of their respective position groups.

Finally, the rankings. No shock that Kiper and McShay both have Luck as the No. 1 overall pick. Here's McShay's take:

Luck's combine workout showed he is more athletic than most thought, and combined with his once-in-a-generation skill set he appears to be a lock as the No. 1 overall pick to the Colts.

Other conference players appearing in McShay's top 32 are Kalil, DeCastro, Martin and Brock Osweiler (ASU, QB).

While McShay ranks Robert Griffin III second, Kiper has Kalil in the No. 2 spot.

Kalil confirmed that he is a good athlete for his position. The tape is great, and it's hard to see him falling outside the top five. The plus for him is he might not need time to develop at right tackle, a common break-in spot for many left tackles.

Tyler gets me a job as a waiter, after that Tyler's pushing a gun in my mouth and saying, the first step to eternal life is you have to die. For a long time though, Tyler and I were best friends. People are always asking, did I know about Tyler Durden.

• A look at former Arizona CB Trevin Wade at the NFL combine.
• At this point, new Arizona State coach Todd Graham can only talk a good game, and he's doing that.
• A couple of former Colorado Buffaloes are up for the Hall of Fame.
• Racing a drag for former Oregon CB Cliff Harris at NFL combine. More on the possibility of Oregon and the NCAA reaching a summary disposition.
• Oregon State sets its spring practice dates.
• Rumor has it that Stanford is looking for a new QB.
• Checking in with new UCLA receivers coach Eric Yarber, who's well-known around the Pac-12.
• Yarber will be squaring off with new USC defensive backs coach Marvin Sanders.
• How did former Utah players do at the NFL combine.
• Former Washington RB Greg Lewis is a candidate for the Hall of Fame.
• Who are some potential breakout players for Washington State this spring?
• By the way, the usual Pac-12 chat on Thursday will be today at 3 p.m. ET or noon PDT because I'll be in Tucson on Thursday.

Cornerback Cliff Harris admitted during media interviews at the NFL combine that he likes to drive fast -- see his citation for driving 118 mph last June, a significant step toward his ultimate dismissal from Oregon.

His biggest problem now, however, is his apparent inability to run fast. Harris clocked a 4.64 40-yard dash Tuesday, a pedestrian time for a prospective NFL cornerback.

Writes ESPN.com's Steve Muench:

Former Oregon CB Cliff Harris played in just six games in 2011 before being dismissed form the team, so he needed a solid week both on and off the field. No word yet on how he interviewed, but Harris did not perform as well as expected during drills. He stumbled early on, didn't show great body control overall and failed to field the ball cleanly, including two double-catches in the final drill.

It's also worth noting that the defensive backs end their session with a ball-skills competition, and an excited Harris punted the ball after that second double-catch. While it's good to see competitive spirit coming out and it's important not to exaggerate here, Harris should be more careful and avoid drawing any kind of attention that could be viewed as negative. He needs to show teams he's not going to be a distraction going forward.

Harris wasn't the only Pac-12 DB to run poorly. Former California safety Sean Cattouse ran a 4.74.

Former Arizona CB Trevin Wade ran a middle-of-the-pack 4.59. Former Arizona State CB Omar Bolden didn't run the 40, but did lead all defensive backs with 24 reps at 225 pounds.

Harris will get an opportunity to run again during individual workouts with NFL scouts, as will Bolden, who's status on draft boards won't be established until he shows how well his surgically repaired knee is responding.

Billy, this is Chad Bradford. He's a relief pitcher. He is one of the most undervalued players in baseball. His defect is that he throws funny. Nobody in the big leagues cares about him because he looks funny. This guy could be not just the best pitcher in our bullpen, but one of the most effective relief pitchers in all of baseball. This guy should cost $3 million a year. We can get him for $237,000.

• Former Arizona stars Nick Foles and Juron Criner aren't that fast.
• Former Arizona State quarterback Brock Osweiler didn't do much at the NFL combine.
• A Colorado spring practice primer.
• Former Oregon cornerback Cliff Harris owns up to some "boneheaded" mistakes.
• Checking in with former Oregon State receiver James Rodgers at the NFL combine.
• Some notes from Stanford coach David Shaw's pre-spring news conference. The quarterback competition is wide open.
• Who is the No. 1 player to watch this spring for USC? It might surprise you (but I agree with the selection).
• Checking in with former Utah players at the NFL combine.
• What did former Washington running back Chris Polk have to say at the NFL combine?
• Washington State is undergoing tough training under new coach Mike Leach.

What is it with defensive backs driving in the state of Oregon?

Oregon State cornerback Malcolm Marable has been suspended indefinitely after he was cited for driving 104 mph on Interstate 5 in a 65-mph zone around 1 a.m. on Sunday.

You might recall that former Oregon CB Cliff Harris, who was heading into the 2011 season as a returning All-American, was stopped last June while driving 118 mph at 4:30 a.m. That began Harris' downward spiral into suspension and then dismissal from the Ducks.

So you could conclude that Harris was a bit quicker than Marable, but neither was able to outrun the ole blue lights.

This is further bad news for the Beavers' defensive backfield. Coach Mike Riley previously suspended two other cornerbacks indefinitely: Sean Martin for an alleged DUI and Mishawn Cummings for an undisclosed team rules violation.

None of these three, however, are returning starters. Jordan Poyer and Rashaad Reynolds started every game last year at the two corners.

The Pac-12 will send 45 players to the NFL combine, which starts Wednesday in Indianapolis.

You can see the complete list of invitees here. And here's the schedule -- things don't really start rolling until Thursday.

There are plenty of subplots for the Pac-12 players on hand.

• Arizona quarterback Nick Foles is among a handful of quarterbacks vying to be the third quarterback off the board after Stanford's Andrew Luck and Baylor's Robert Griffin. And, by the way, you might want to toss Arizona State quarterback Brock Osweiler into the mix there, too.
• Arizona State cornerback Omar Bolden, who sat out the entire 2011 season, will try to prove his knee is 100 percent.
• Will Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict be able to rehabilitate his image, both with a strong performance and convincing interview? The scuttlebutt for him since the start of the season has been almost entirely negative, with the latest being this: He's a "fake tough guy." Even worse than rumors like that is the more measurable claim that he may show up out of shape.
• Oregon cornerback Cliff Harris, who essentially missed the entire season due to suspension, will need to show some newfound maturity. And he'll need to test well to distract from the challenge he may face producing that.
• Oregon running back LaMichael James could substantially boost his stock will an impressive 40-yard dash, which would prove he has elite speed and offset size concerns.
• The same could be said for Washington running back Chris Polk, whose biggest knock is an apparent lack of top-end speed.
• Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas, a surprise early entry into the draft, will get a chance to prove he's worthy.
• Washington defensive tackle Alameda Ta'amu entered the 2011 season looking like a potential first-round pick, but his stock slid with a lackluster season. He also didn't impress during Senior Bowl practices. But 330 pound DTs are hard to find, particularly ones as athletic as Ta'amu. A good combine could get him back on the first-day radar.
• Receivers Chris Owusu of Stanford and James Rodgers of Oregon State also need to overcome health issues. Rodgers needs to show his quickness is back after major knee surgery. Owusu will need to address issues with multiple concussions.
• A guy the Pac-12 blog is curious about: Cal linebacker Mychal Kendricks. The conference defensive player of the year seems like a guy who might surprise folks and push into the early rounds.
• The Pac-12 is sending a strong group of offensive linemen into the combine, with USC's Matt Kalil and the Stanford tandem of Jonathan Martin and David DeCastro likely first-round picks. But what about the other seven guys? Who might step up and generate some buzz? Perhaps Cal's Mitchell Schwartz?

I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is.

• Arizona fans will need to wait two weeks for Davonte Neal to make his college decision.
• Arizona State's spring football schedule.
• California adds two more signees to its recruiting class.
• A former Colorado signee has big issues.
• Some Oregon notes, including an item of former cornerback Cliff Harris getting invited to the NFL combine.
• Oregon State has a lot of history with its top recruit.
• What about Stanford's QB situation?
• A recap of UCLA's signing day.
• Former USC players are heading to the NFL combine.
• Is Utah about to lose an assistant coach to Nevada? A full consideration of Brian Johnson as the Utes' new -- and youthful -- offensive coordinator.
• With Chris Polk gone, where does Washington stand at running back.
• One of Washington State's greats got some spotlight with the Super Bowl.

The 2011 season is over. That means report cards are due.

And our last grade: Pac-12

Offense: The Pac-12 is known for offense and QBs, and 2011 was no different. Stanford's Andrew Luck and USC's Matt Barkley were among the best in the nation, but Oregon again was the conference's top offense in total offense, scoring and rushing. Eight Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 45 in the nation in total offense, including five in the top 25. Seven ranked in the top 45 in scoring, including four in the top 25. Seven ranked in the top 38 in passing efficiency, including four in the top 12. While the conference is known for passing, offenses also typically run well. The results there were mixed in 2011. Oregon and Stanford were both elite running teams, but six teams ranked 80th or worse in rushing. Protecting the QB was a good projector of success in the conference. USC, Stanford and Oregon did it very well. Washington State, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Oregon State and California did not. When you look at the conference's offensive numbers, Oregon, Stanford and USC were good in just about every meaningful category. That should come as no surprise. And the only team that had any success with consistently bad offensive numbers was Utah, which obviously relied on its defense. As far as star quality, the Pac-12 produced All-Americans at every position -- QB, RB, TE, WR and O-line.

Grade: B+

Defense: It was not a great year on defense in the conference. No team produced an elite defense. Utah ranked 19th in the nation in scoring defense (without playing Oregon or Stanford), and California ranked 25th in total defense. It's fair to say that five teams were good to solid on defense: Utah, Cal, Stanford, Oregon and USC. And the other seven were middling-to-poor. Perhaps the most telling number: Colorado, Oregon State, UCLA and Washington ranked from 102nd to 110th in third-down conversion defense. Not getting off the field is bad. Seven teams ranked 74th or below in the nation in scoring defense. Seven teams ranked 82nd or below in total defense. Eight teams ranked 75th or below in pass efficiency defense. The numbers against the run were better -- eight teams ranked from No. 4 to No. 67 in run defense -- but that could be attributed to a conference full of pass-first offenses. The A-list offensive talent always needs to be held into account when assessing Pac-12 defenses. Just as good defenses play great in the SEC because of bad offenses, good-to-middling defenses look middling-to-bad in the Pac-12 because of great offenses. In terms of star power, the conference didn't produce many All-Americans, though some recognition was landed by USC safety T.J. McDonald and Stanford OLB Chase Thomas. The two biggest names entering the season -- Arizona State LB Vontaze Burfict and Oregon CB Cliff Harris -- flopped, with Harris getting kicked off the team.

Grade: C-

Overall: The inaugural year of the Pac-12 produced three elite teams: Oregon, USC and Stanford. All three finished ranked in the top 7. The conference went 1-1 in BCS bowl games, with Oregon winning the Rose Bowl and Stanford falling a late field goal short of beating No. 3 Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. No season that produces two BCS bowl teams is a failure because that puts extra cash in every team's pocket. And the conference produced a glittering array of offensive talent that should light up NFL draft boards this spring. That's the good news. The bad news is a wide chasm between the three elite teams and everyone else: Eight teams won seven or fewer games. Further, the conference went 2-5 in bowl games and was a middling 7-7 against AQ nonconference foes in the regular season. The Pac-12's only victory over a nonconference foe that ended up ranked was Oregon's win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, though Utah did whip BYU, which finished 25th in the coaches poll. A few years ago, the main gripe centered on the conference producing depth but a lack of multiple elite teams -- a legit alternative to USC under Pete Carroll. Now the conference is producing multiple elite teams without the depth. The ideal scenario is at least two teams in the national picture along with multiple teams with eight or nine wins and seven or eight bowl-eligible teams. Ultimately, the Pac-12 probably rated as the nation's No. 3 conference in 2011, behind the SEC and Big 12. That's not bad. But it could be better.

Grade: C

Thursday, I don't care about you.

• Arizona quarterback Nick Foles will compete in the All-Star Football Challenge.
• New ASU coach Todd Graham is making progress on the recruiting front.
• Cal fans can still be thankful for this recruiting season.
• Some more fallout from Colorado recruit Yuri Wright and his infamous Tweets.
• Former Oregon cornerback Cliff Harris says he's still a 'Duck at heart.'
• Former Pac-12 players Ryan Katz (Oregon State), Dillon Baxter (USC) and Brice Butler (USC) are officially enrolled at San Diego State.
• Andrew Luck might not be the only No. 1 pick at Stanford.
• Washington's Chris Polk wins Seattle's Male Sports Star of the Year.
• A reaction to Texas Tech rejecting Mike Leach's settlement request.

Oregon running back Kenjon Barner thought about joining backfield mate and best buddy LaMichael James in the NFL draft, but instead he opted to step into James' big cleats and be the Ducks starter in 2012.

From the official release:

The 5-11, 195-pound Riverside, Calif., standout ranked as the Ducks’ second-leading rusher each of the past two seasons, running for 939 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2011 as a junior. Barner also caught 17 passes for 184 yards and three scores, including a 54-yard catch that resulted in a TD against Wisconsin in the 45-38 win in the 2012 Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO.

“This was a decision that wasn’t easy for me,” Barner said. “But after talking things over with my family and Coach (Gary) Campbell, as well as praying about it, I have decided that I will return to Oregon for my senior year.”

The multi-purpose back averaged 102.7 all-purpose yards in 12 of 14 games this season, eclipsing 100 yards on the ground in four games in 2011 and five times in his career.

He has rushed for 1,856 yards in his first three seasons at Oregon, standing 354 yards shy of equaling 10th on the school’s career rushing chart, has scored 26 touchdowns and broke the Ducks’ single-season record in kickoff return yards (1,020) in 2009.

From The Oregonian.

And Eugene Register-Guard, which notes that cornerback Cliff Harris also will join James in the NFL draft.

Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labours of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them.

• Former Arizona coach Mike Stoops has been supportive of new Wildcats coach Rich Rodriguez, which is nothing like things were at Michigan with the notoriously imperious and prickly Lloyd Carr. Rodriguez is getting his staff set.
• The endgame is still not clear in Arizona State's coaching search.
• California is going to take time off in advance of the Holiday Bowl.
• Colorado picks up a commitment for its D-line.
• Cliff Harris was just being Cliff Harris, which is why he's no longer playing for Oregon.
• Oregon State has picked up a big-time commitment at running back.
• Stanford report card: running backs.
• Who's the next candidate for UCLA?
• Here are USC's end-of-season awards.
• Is now-former Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist headed to Utah?
• Washington may be facing the Heisman Trophy winner in the Alamo Bowl.
• Washington State: Guess who's coming to dinner?
• It appears former BYU QB Jake Heaps will transfer to a Pac-12 team.

The tumultuous career of cornerback Cliff Harris is over at Oregon.

The school announced his dismissal from the team Monday for "a violation of team rules," though the press release didn't say whether it was something new or just a general accumulation of past transgressions.

This is a sad ending for an odd career.

Harris, who was suspended for the final five games this year, earned All-American honors in 2010 and was a consensus 2011 preseason All-American, but he never impressed Ducks coaches as much as he impressed some fans and some media. He didn't start until the second half of the 2010 season, and he didn't see much action when he returned from a suspension this year.

Harris was credited with just nine tackles and one interception in six games this season. He finished his career with 61 tackles and eight interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown. He scored touchdowns on four of 38 punt returns, though two were against woeful New Mexico in the 2010 opener.

He also was suspended from the team -- he missed the opener against LSU -- after he was stopped by police for driving 118 mph with a suspended license on the interstate. Dashboard camera footage from an Oregon State Police patrol car during the June 12, 4:30 a.m. traffic stop included this memorable exchange:

Patrolman: “Who’s got the marijuana in the car?”
Harris: "We smoked it all."

The good side of Harris was his quirky humor. Reporters loved his colorful quotes. The Pac-12 blog, in fact, recently got a couple of cheap laughs from fellow reporters after dinner in Eugene by imitating Harris' reported introductory line to his teammates in 2009: "My name is Cliff Harris, and I'm here to lock s--- down."

The bad side of Harris was his immaturity and poor decision-making. On the field, he could be brilliant. He was an extraordinary ballhawk. But he also was a poor-to-middling tackler and often got out of position. Many fans could never understand why coach Chip Kelly and defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said -- over and over and over again -- that CB Talmadge Jackson was their best defensive back in 2010. It was because Harris made two bad plays for every good one.

Still, there was always hope -- even after the traffic stop -- that he would grow up, see the light and become a true superstar at Oregon.

That's no longer an option in Eugene. Maybe he'll find maturity somewhere else?

Some perspective here.

Happy Friday.

• A young defensive end has caught up at Arizona.
• Arizona State running back Cameron Marshall has speed and family on both sides of the Territorial Cup.
• A win against Stanford could turn frowns upside down at California.
• Colorado's players are starting to figure out what coach Jon Embree wants.
• Oregon football players learn sign language and ... "O no!" suspended Ducks cornerback Cliff Harris has a court date.
• Oregon State seniors get ready for the final home game.
• Stanford intends to get its running game back on track.
• The final UCLA injury report. And if quarterback Kevin Prince gets hurt, freshman Brett Hundley will burn his redshirt.
• USC running back Curtis "Moody" McNeal has traveled a long way to land in the spotlight. Receiver Robert Woods will be a game-time decision.
• A strong finish is not a new thing for Utah.
• Quarterback Nick Montana gets his first start for Washington at Oregon State.
• Washington State gets ready for the tough Utah defense.
• College football has a new commissioner, and his name is Stewart Mandell.