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Much like the past few college football seasons, the first three rounds of the NFL Draft were dominated by the SEC -- 32 of the 97 draftees have come from the SEC, the most from one conference in a single draft (the previous record was 25 from the ACC in 2006).

Last year there were 16 SEC players drafted in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft.

Cornerback Tyrann Mathieu was one of six LSU players drafted -- all from the defense -- the most defensive players ever drafted from one school the first three rounds in a single draft.

LSU’s six players drafted are just one fewer than the entire Big Ten Conference.

The rest of the Day 2 roundup:
• The Cincinnati Bengals chose North Carolina RB Giovani Bernard with the 37th pick. That’s the latest the first running back has been chosen in the Common Draft Era.

• Then Notre Dame LB Manti Te’o was selected 38th overall by the San Diego Chargers, the first Notre Dame linebacker to get picked in the first two rounds since Courtney Watson (to the New Orleans Saints) in 2004.

The last Fighting Irish linebacker to go as high as Te’o was Demetrius Dubose (34th to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) in 1993.

• With the next pick, the New York Jets chose West Virginia QB Geno Smith. The Jets had a 24.7 Total QBR last season, 2nd-lowest in the NFL (only the Arizona Cardinals were worse). Since drafting Mark Sanchez, the Jets have not finished a season ranked higher than 16th in Total QBR.

It’s the highest a West Virginia quarterback has ever been drafted.

A few things to note about Smith’s college experience:

1) He attempted more than 96 percent of his passes out of a shotgun or pistol formation in his career. Dana Holgorsen introduced Smith to the pistol in 2011, and he threw 42 touchdowns and four interceptions out of that formation.

2) He threw 177 of his 518 passes (34.2 percent) at or behind the line of scrimmage last season, including a BCS AQ-high 112 screen passes. As a result, Smith’s average pass traveled only 7.7 yards past the line of scrimmage, the fewest air yards per attempt of any top QB prospect.

• Boise State has had six defensive backs drafted in the past seven years -- they had six drafted in the previous 40 years combined.

Since Chris Petersen took over as head coach in 2006, the Broncos have had eighth players selected in the first two rounds. Before 2006, Boise State had just two players ever chosen in the draft’s first two rounds.

• If we need more evidence that this is a passing league, there have been 16 cornerbacks selected and 11 wide receivers, the most of any position, and there have been nine safeties taken, tied for fourth-most.

• The 55 defensive players drafted is the most ever through three rounds.

• The 25 defensive backs taken is the most ever through three rounds.

• The six running backs is tied for the fewest through three rounds.

The first selections of the NFL Draft are just a day away. Here are our Top 10 overall stats to know on this year’s selections.

A lineman is likely No. 1
Luke Joeckel is primed to become just the fourth offensive lineman drafted first overall since the AFL and NFL held their first common draft in 1967. Each of the first three, Ron Yary in 1968, Orlando Pace in 1997 and Jake Long in 2008, made at least four Pro Bowl trips and were named 1st-team All-Pro a combined 10 times.

49ers will be a prominent factor, but will their draftees be prominent factors?
The San Francisco 49ers enter the draft with a league-high 13 picks and could become just the second team to make 13 or more picks in a draft in the last eight years, joining the 2010 Eagles. But the odds of any 49ers rookie making a major impact in 2013 are slim. The 49ers won the NFC last year despite getting only 12 games (and no starts) from their 2012 draft picks, both NFL lows.

Minimal skill position talent in top 10
The top of the 2013 draft class is expected to be heavy on linemen, with some draft experts projecting West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith as the only quarterback, running back or wide receiver to go in the top 10. The fewest offensive skill position players picked in the top 10 in the common draft era is one, done four times with the last in 1997. That year, it was all offensive linemen and defensive players before the Giants drafted WR Ike Hilliard seventh.

An Irish defender in the top 20
Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o could become the first Notre Dame defensive player to go in the top 20 since defensive tackle Bryant Young was drafted seventh in 1994. From 1995-2012, 59 different schools have had more defensive players drafted in the top 20 than Notre Dame, including New Mexico, Tennessee State and Division II Kutztown (Pa.).

Top-10 trades are frequent
Is your favorite team picking at the back of the draft? Don’t wait to tune in, as the rookie salary scale has made top picks tradable again. In the two drafts with the rookie scale (2011-12), teams have made six trades involving top-10 selections, including five on the day of the draft. There were four trades of top-10 selections in the previous six drafts combined (2005-10).

Raiders have missed out on some good ones
The Oakland Raiders are slated to pick third overall after not having a first-round pick in 2011 and 2012. But Oakland hasn’t had much success in the first round in recent years, drafting the likes of Rolando McClain, JaMarcus Russell, Fabian Washington and Robert Gallery, none of whom are currently with the team.

However, the players drafted with the pick AFTER McClain, Russell, Washington and Gallery have combined for 14 Pro Bowl selections. That would be C.J. Spiller, Calvin Johnson, Aaron Rodgers and Larry Fitzgerald.

The Raiders tend to like them fast
The Raiders have taken the player with the best 40-yard dash time in three of the last four drafts. From 2009-11, the Raiders selected Darrius Heyward-Bey, Jacoby Ford and Demarcus Van Dyke, all of whom were fastest in their combine class. Of those three, only Ford is still a Raider. Last year’s fastest player (cornerback Josh Robinson) was taken by the Vikings 29 picks before Oakland’s first selection. This year’s fastest player was Texas wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, who ran a 4.27 40-yard dash at the combine.

NFC East teams could use help halting deep threats
All four NFC East teams were ranked in the bottom six in Total QBR on defending throws deeper than 15 yards downfield. Of the eight free agent secondary signings by NFC East teams so far, only Philadelphia’s Cary Williams (four) had more than two interceptions last year.

The NFC East has the NFL’s touchdown leader (Tony Romo, 14) and completion percentage leader (Robert Griffin III, 55.7 percent) on throws at least 15 yards downfield. Eli Manning also had 22 plays of at least 30 yards on those throws, tied for second most in the league.

The Cardinals have many needs
How bad was it in Arizona last season? Four different quarterbacks had at least 50 dropbacks for the Cardinals, the most of any team. The Cardinals were the only team in 2012 without a receiving touchdown by a tight end. The Cardinals’ offensive line allowed ball carriers to be hit in the backfield on a league-high 22.4 percent of rushes, and none of the four Arizona backs with at least 50 rushes gained more yards per rush after contact thanthe league average (1.6). The Cardinals added Carson Palmer and Rashard Mendenhall this offseason.

Broncos could use Manning protection
The Broncos ranked 25th in the league with a 3.8 yards per rush average last season. Peyton Manning was sacked every 29.7 dropbacks last season, best among qualified quarterbacks, but four of the seven Broncos linemen with at least 250 snaps have had surgery since October and another (center Dan Koppen) is an unrestricted free agent. Only guard Louis Vasquez has been added so far in free agency to a Broncos’ line that could seek reinforcements at the draft.

With the college basketball season in the books, College Football Live embarked on its Spring Bus Tour, visiting eight schools. Today is the final stop, checking out the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame had a nearly perfect season that will likely be remembered best for one really imperfect night.

The Irish were unbeaten up until the BCS Championship Game, a run during which they had narrow victories over Stanford, Pittsburgh and USC.

This is the final year of Notre Dame’s full independence, as the Irish will start playing five games per year against the ACC starting in 2014. Many rivalries will end or become less frequent, including this year’s final trip to Ann Arbor before the Michigan series ends in 2014.

The Irish will lose some key players, most notably tight end Tyler Eifert and linebacker Manti Te'o.

A third straight top-10 recruiting class (No. 4 according to ESPN) includes four players in the top two at their position, most importantly No. 2 running back Greg Bryant.

Notre Dame will look to maintain a defense that was (until the BCS title game) on pace to have the lowest opponents' touchdown percentage on red zone possessions of any FBS defense in the last eight seasons.

The Irish allowed only eight red-zone touchdowns in the regular season, but yielded five to Alabama.

One of the things to watch will be the continued development of quarterback Everett Golson.

Golson completed 61 percent of his passes of 10 yards or longer in his final four games of the season. He had at least seven completions on passes of this distance in each of those games. In his first eight games, Golson had only two such games.

Eddie Lacy
Lacy was the beneficiary of one of the top offensive lines in football. Lacy gained 65 percent of his yards before initial contact and averaged 4.2 yards before contact per rush. He made it at least five yards past the line of scrimmage without being touched on 35.8 percent of his rushes.

Lacy runs downhill with 64.7 percent of his rushes coming between the tackles. Lacy averaged 7.6 yards per carry on such running plays with about one in every four attempts going for at least 10 yards.

In comparison to former Alabama running back Trent Richardson, Lacy averaged 2.5 more yards per rush inside the tackles in his final college season.

Montee Ball
Ball was undoubtedly the most productive back in FBS over the last two seasons. Ball led FBS in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and rushes of 15 yards or longer since the start of the 2011 season.

Ball gained 36.1 percent of his FBS-leading 3,750 yards on rushes outside of the tackles over the last two seasons. Ball averaged 7.1 yards per carry on such running plays with at about one in every four gaining at least 10 yards.

Andre Ellington
Ellington gained over 40 percent of his yards after contact in 2012 but struggled to gain tough yards against top competition. Ellington averaged twice as many yards after contact per rush against teams that did not finish the season ranked in the top 50 in total defense than he did against the five top-50 defenses that he faced.

Le’Veon Bell
Bell gained over half of his yards after contact and led BCS-AQ running backs with 921 yards after contact.

Marcus Lattimore
Lattimore gained 41 percent of his yards after contact in his career. Against SEC opponents, Lattimore was even better, gaining 43 percent of his yards after contact and averaging 2.0 yards after contact per rush.

Lattimore ran between the tackles on 78.9 percent of his career carries. He averaged at least 4.5 yards per carry inside the tackles in every season of his career. Lattimore was at his best in the fourth quarter, averaging 5.5 yards per run inside the tackles with 54.2 percent of his yards coming after contact.

With the college basketball season in the books, College Football Live embarks on its Spring Bus Tour, visiting eight schools. Today we take a trip to check out the Michigan State Spartans.

2012 Season Recap
Michigan State started strong with a win over No. 24 Boise State, with running back Le’Veon Bell running for 210 yards and two touchdowns on 44 carries and entering the very early Heisman conversation.

After starting 2-0, the Spartans lost six of their next nine games and had to win at Minnesota in the last week of the season to become bowl eligible.

In the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, the Spartans defense held their opponent to 20 points or fewer for the 10th time in 13 games and freshman QB Connor Cook led the team back from a 13-0 deficit in a 17-16 win over TCU.

Key Roster Notes
Bell and tight end Dion Sims are gone and four key defensive contributors will not be back, including DE William Gholston and CB Johnny Adams.

But seven offensive linemen with starting experience will return next season to protect senior QB Andrew Maxwell. His top five receivers from last season will return.

On defense, the Spartans’ top three tacklers and their interception leader -- CB Darqueze Dennard -- will be back.

2013 Outlook
In head coach Mark Dantonio’s first five seasons in East Lansing, Michigan State averaged 29.7 PPG. Last year the Spartans scored just 20.0 PPG, and with inconsistent play from Maxwell there will be competition to determine the starter, with sophomore Cook getting a chance.

They’ll need to replace Bell, who led all of FBS with 382 carries last year and served as the complete focal point for the offense.

A visit to Notre Dame will be the Spartans’ toughest non-conference test, but the rest of the schedule has them avoiding Wisconsin, Ohio State and Penn State in Big Ten play.

With the college basketball season in the books, College Football Live embarks on its Spring Bus Tour, visiting eight schools. Today we take a trip to check out the Michigan Wolverines.

2012 Season Recap
Michigan began the 2012 season with high expectations -- the Wolverines were ranked No. 8 in the AP preseason poll -- and had two games in the first four weeks against the teams that ended up playing for in the BCS Championship Game.

Eventual national champ and preseason No. 2 Alabama handed Michigan a 41-14 loss to open the season. The Wolverines turned it over three times against the Tide, a sign of things to come.

They committed 11 turnovers in their first four games, including six in South Bend three weeks later against No. 11 Notre Dame. Senior quarterback and Heisman contender Denard Robinson was responsible for five of the six turnovers, and 12 of the 27 that Michigan committed last season.

Robinson was injured against Nebraska in October, opening the door for Devin Gardner to step in at QB. Michigan won Gardner’s first three games at the helm and he’s the biggest reason for optimism in Ann Arbor.

Key Returning Players
Gardner was a more able passer than Robinson in a decent sample size (11 TD, 5 Int, 243.8 Pass YPG over five games). The key to Michigan’s 2013 season is Gardner sustaining that production over a full season.

Gardner’s favorite target, Jeremy Gallon will also be back. In the five games with Gardner under center, Gallon had 31 receptions for 511 yards and three touchdowns. Last year’s starting running back, Fitzgerald Toussaint will also be back in the fold.

Taylor Lewan passed up the NFL draft and will be back to protect Gardner’s blindside. Lewan’s presence will be crucial for the Wolverines, who lost three starters along the offensive line.

On defense, S Thomas Gordon, LB Desmond Morgan and LB Jake Ryan are expected to be major contributors -- all three players had at least 80 tackles last season. Michigan’s defense last season allowed 320.0 yards and 19.9 points per game, both in the top 20 nationally.

2013 Schedule
Michigan opens the season against Central Michigan on August 31 and hosts Notre Dame the following week. This season will be the last time the Irish visit Ann Arbor for the foreseeable future (Notre Dame opted out of its contract with Michigan).

The big one is November 30, when the Wolverines host the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big House. Michigan has lost to Ohio State in eight of the last nine seasons.

With the college basketball season in the books, College Football Live embarks on its Spring Bus Tour, visiting eight schools. Today we take a trip to check out Ohio State.

Ohio State’s one-year postseason ban is complete, one that prevented them from fully celebrating a perfect 12-0 season. Among the highlights was a dramatic comeback over Purdue, an overtime win over Wisconsin, and a 26-21 triumph over Michigan, the eighth time they beat the Wolverines in the last nine seasons.

Urban Meyer’s team returns most of its starting offense, but only one starter from its defensive front seven for his second season as coach.

That will be important, as the Buckeyes allowed 116.1 rushing yards per game, the 14th-lowest total among FBS teams.

In Meyer’s second season at Utah, his team went 12-0 and won the Fiesta Bowl. In his second year at Florida, the Gators went 13-1 and won the national title.

One other thing that will be interesting to watch will be whether Braxton Miller can put up Heisman-worthy numbers to match Johnny Manziel.

Last season, Miller accounted for 3,310 yards of offense and 28 touchdowns, great numbers, but those paled compared to Manziel’s 5,115 yards and 47 scores.

Miller will be working with a year of familiarity with the read option under his belt. He rushed for 676 yards on 80 rushes out of read option, with six touchdowns, including three of 50 yards or longer.

He was one of three BCS-AQ quarterbacks with at least six 100-yard games on the ground last season. The others were Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and Denard Robinson, who was primarily used as a running back late in the season.

In all, Miller averaged 101.2 yards per game on designed runs, with 12 touchdowns and 14 rushes of 20 yards or longer.

The Buckeyes also return Carlos Hyde, who ran for 970 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior. He has 23 career touchdowns and with another 16-touchdown season would move into the top-4 in school history for career touchdowns.

With the college basketball season in the books, College Football Live embarks on its Spring Bus Tour, visiting eight schools over two weeks. Today we take a trip to check out the Louisville Cardinals.

Louisville started last season 9-0, with its best win a 34-31 overtime triumph over Cincinnati. The Cardinals lost their next two games, to Syracuse and Connecticut but beat Rutgers to win the Big East (via four-team tiebreaker) and earn a BCS bowl berth.

They validated that with a 33-23 win over No. 3 Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

Looking to 2013, what would it take for the Cardinals to be considered a BCS title contender in the American Athletic Conference?

Louisville returns 12 defensive players who started at least three games last season and though running back Senorise Perry may not return immediately due to a torn ACL, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater returns with some Heisman buzz.

The last Heisman winner from the Big East was Geno Torretta from Miami (FL) in 1992, and the last Big East player invited to New York for the Heisman ceremony was Larry Fitzgerald in 2003.

Louisville fell behind in nine of its 13 games last season, but Bridgewater fared well when his team was trailing, leading the Cardinals to victory in seven of those nine instances.
Bridgewater had a plus-11 touchdown-to-interception differential when trailing, tied for third-best in FBS.

Bridgewater has been even better when trailing late in games, leading the Cardinals to three come-from-behind victories in the fourth quarter or overtime. He completed two-thirds of his passes with five touchdowns and one interception when trailing in the fourth quarter or overtime last season.

Bridgewater also converted 63.6 percent of his third-down passes against Florida in the Sugar Bowl, which was the highest percentage allowed by a Florida defense since the 2009 SEC Championship game.

Third-down efficiency is nothing new for Bridgewater. He converted 50.9 percent of his third-down passes in 2012, the highest percentage in FBS.

In the end, the biggest thing working against Bridgewater and the Cardinals is their schedule in the first year of the American Athletic Conference.

The toughest game on it is at Cincinnati to end the year, and the toughest game in non-conference may end up being at Kentucky.

With the college basketball season in the books, College Football Live embarks on its Spring Bus Tour, visiting eight schools over the next two weeks. Today we take a trip to check out the Texas A&M Aggies.

Texas A&M made a splash in its first season in the SEC, finishing with more than 10 wins for the first time since 1998 and beating former Big 12 rival Oklahoma 41-14 in the Cotton Bowl.

After winning Conference USA coach of the year honors twice in four years at Houston, Kevin Sumlin was the SEC coach of the year in his first season with the Aggies.

Sumlin’s spread offense took College Station by storm. The Aggies set a school record with 578 points and 7,260 yards, finishing in the top five in the nation in scoring and total offense.

Johnny Football
The biggest revelation was redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel. He became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, and is looking to join Archie Griffin as the only two-time Heisman winners.

Manziel shattered the SEC record for total offense in a season, accounting for over 70 percent of the Aggies yards. His 5,116 yards were nearly 800 more than the previous SEC record, set by Heisman winner Cam Newton in 2010.

He was the fifth player -- and first freshman -- in FBS history to pass for 3,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards in the same season. The only other player from a BCS-AQ conference to hit both those marks was Vince Young in 2005.

Deep in the Heart
All four of Texas A&M’s non-conference games are against in-state schools. The Aggies have dominated recent competition against all four of these opponents, with the last loss coming to the SMU Mustangs in 1984.

In fact, the schedule sets up well for Texas A&M to make a run at its first appearance in a BCS bowl game since it played in the Sugar Bowl at the end of the 1998 season.

The Aggies host Alabama, who they upset in Tuscaloosa last season, in their first SEC game of the season. The other big hurdle is a trip to Baton Rouge in November, where Texas A&M will look to avenge its loss to LSU last season.

Offensive Outlook
Manziel was at his best when he was improvising. He gained 857 of his 1,410 yards on the ground on scrambles. That was more than Braxton Miller, Marcus Mariota and Collin Klein combined.

In 2013, he’ll have to do so without one of his key blockers. Left tackle Luke Joeckel declared early for the NFL draft, and is currently atop the big board for both Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay.

The Aggies will also be without offensive coordinator Kilff Kingsbury, who took over as head coach of Texas Tech.

With the college basketball season in the books, College Football Live embarks on its Spring Bus Tour, visiting eight schools over the next two weeks. Today we take a trip to check out the LSU Tigers.

Since Les Miles took over as head coach prior to the 2005 season, LSU has been among the winningest programs in the country. The Tigers’ 85 wins under Les Miles are more than any school from a BCS-AQ conference.

But LSU’s 2012 season lost some momentum before it even got started when 2011 Heisman finalist Tyrann Mathieu was kicked off the team in August.

The Tigers lost to Florida and Alabama during the regular season, failing to hold leads in each game. In the Chick-fil-A Bowl, it was a similar scenario as LSU was outscored 12-0 by Clemson in fourth quarter and lost 25-24.

Looking ahead to 2013
LSU took a bigger hit in terms of underclassmen declaring for the NFL draft than any other school. Eleven Tigers have declared in the hopes of starting their pro careers.

Among the big returnees is quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who threw for 2,609 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.

Former Baltimore Ravens Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron accepted the same position at LSU with hopes of making the offense more dynamic.

In the three seasons in which LSU made the BCS Championship Game (2003, ’07, ’11), the team averaged 36.1 points. In all other seasons since 2003, the Tigers averaged 29.6 points, including 29.8 last season.

On the defensive side, ends Barkevious Mingo and Sam Montgomery declared for the NFL draft. They were two of the reasons that LSU was able to rush four instead of five and regularly drop seven into pass coverage.

When rushing four, Mingo and Montgomery combined for 37 of the Tigers’ 71 quarterback hurries and 10 sacks, and LSU allowed only seven touchdown passes in 348 attempts.

They said it
"We'll have a different view of the quarterback position now. It will enable us to throw the football more effectively. We'll throw the football down the field more efficiently."
-- Les Miles (looking ahead to 2012 season)

Mettenberger struggled throwing downfield in conference play last season.

He completed less than 33 percent of his passes of 15 yards or longer against SEC opponents and was less efficient than the duo of Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee in 2011.

With the college basketball season in the books, College Football Live embarks on its Spring Bus Tour, visiting eight schools over the next two weeks. Wednesday we take a trip to Tuscaloosa to see the Alabama Crimson Tide.

In 2012, Alabama won its second straight BCS title and third in four years, jumping out to a 35-0 lead over Notre Dame and cruising to a 42-14 win.

Alabama was the first team to win back-to-back BCS National Championships and the first team in the Poll era (since 1936) to win 10 national championships – AP or Coaches’ poll.

The Crimson Tide also joined Nebraska (1994-95, 1997) and Notre Dame (1946-47, 1949) as the only teams in the Poll era to win three national championships in a four-year span.

Looking ahead to 2013
Alabama is chasing even more history this year, as the school is seeking to become the first team in the Poll era to win three straight national championships. It would also be the first team to win four titles in five years.

Alabama returns the core of its offensive skill players in 2013 – QB AJ McCarron, RB T.J. Yeldon and WR Amari Cooper.

McCarron is an early Heisman candidate and is glad to have one of his favorite deep threats – Cooper - back on the field. Last year McCarron was 13-for-18 with six touchdowns when targeting Cooper on throws of at least 20 yards.

One of the keys to the Tide’s offense last year was a ground game that averaged 6.1 yards per carry on designed running plays, the highest average in the SEC.

On these runs, the Tide averaged an SEC-best 4.1 yards before contact and made it at least five yards past the line of scrimmage without being touched on 35 percent of their designed runs.

Alabama will be challenged to repeat that success on the ground in 2013, needing to replace three offensive line starters (Chance Warmack, Barrett Jones, and D.J. Fluker).

Despite the losses of several key players on both offense and defense, expectations are still high in Tuscaloosa.

For the sixth straight year, Alabama pulled in a top-3 recruiting class according to ESPN’s rankings. This is the second straight year in which Nick Saban has pulled in the top class in the country, with 14 commits in the ESPN 150.

Jon Gruden will be doing his Quarterback Camp with Geno Smith at 8:30 p.m. ET tonight on ESPN2.

To give you something to think about as you watch, here is an in-depth breakdown of Smith’s greatest strengths and some team-specific concerns about him from a statistical perspective.

Greatest Strengths

Accuracy

Smith completed 71.2 percent of his passes last season, including 42 touchdowns. Smith threw just six interceptions in 518 pass attempts and did not throw an interception in his first 272 pass attempts of the season.

Smith was particularly effective on short passes. He attempted half of his passes within five yards of the line of scrimmage, including an AQ-high 112 screen passes last season.

On passes of this distance, Smith completed 82.6 percent with 15 touchdowns and no interceptions.

In comparison to recent top QBs, Smith completed a similar percentage of his passes in his final year of college, but it is important to note that his average pass traveled more than a yard shorter than all of those quarterbacks listed in the chart above.

Poise in the Pocket

Smith completed 70.8 percent of his passes when opponents sent five or more pass rushers last season, the highest completion percentage against the blitz of Scouts Inc.’s top eight QB prospects.

Smith was able to exploit blitzing defenses in much the same way that Robert Griffin III did in his final season of college. Griffin III went on to lead the NFL with a 96.8 Total QBR against the blitz.

Further, Smith was sacked 19 times in 571 dropbacks last season. He was able to scramble for 253 yards when forced out of the pocket as well as complete 49.5 percent of his passes when under duress (avg FBS quarterback completed only 40 percent).

Ball Placement

West Virginia gained 2,459 yards after the catch last season, most of any school in an AQ conference. While the Mountaineers had one of the best receiving duos in the nation in Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey, a lot of their success was due to Smith’s ball placement.

The Mountaineers averaged 6.5 yards after the catch per reception and gained at least five yards after the catch on 44 percent of their receptions last season.

To put that into perspective, Baylor averaged 6.3 yards after the catch per reception while running a similar offense with Griffin at quarterback.

Team-Specific Concerns

Under Center Snaps

Smith attempted over 96 percent of his passes out of a shotgun or pistol formation in his career.

The NFL is trending towards more spread tendencies, but the average NFL quarterback still attempted over a third of his passes after taking a snap from under center.

Zone-read Running

Teams looking for the next zone-read quarterback may be lured by Smith’s 4.59 40-yard dash at the combine. Yet, Smith attempted only 11 designed rushes in 2012 and averaged 2.5 yards per rush on those carries.

Smith is adept at taking snaps and passing from a pistol formation – the primary formation used for zone reads – but has not shown the ability to run out of the formation.

Since West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen introduced Smith to the pistol in 2011, Smith has thrown 42 touchdowns and four interceptions out of that formation. He improved his completion rate from 63 percent in 2011 to nearly 72 percent last season.

Note that just because Smith did not run does not mean that he cannot run. Smith scrambled for 253 yards and averaged 7.2 yards per scramble in 2012.

Weather

Smith’s final college game came in snowy Yankee Stadium in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. The lasting image for many will be Smith struggling in that game with one fumble lost and two plays resulting in safeties.

Over the last two seasons, Smith has fared worse in cold weather than in mild weather.

In the seven games that he played against AQ opponents where the temperature was 50 degrees or colder at kickoff, he completed less than 65 percent of his passes and turned the ball over at a higher rate than in games when the temperature was above 50 degrees.

USC Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley was a projected top-5 pick if he had entered the 2012 NFL draft. The third-ranked QB in the 2012 draft class behind Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, Barkley decided to return for his senior season.

There are several reasons Barkley’s draft stock has supposedly dropped: arm strength, lack of athleticism, struggles when pressured. However, what do the numbers say about these perceived deficiencies?

Arm Strength
Since the start of the 2011 season, Barkley threw 24 touchdowns and only two interceptions on passes 20 yards or longer (in 120 attempts). When Barkley missed his receivers on those deep passes, he was four times more likely to overthrow his target than underthrow.

In fact, Barkley put up comparable numbers to what Luck and Griffin III did on passes of 20 yards or longer in their final two seasons.

And, Barkley’s completion percentage actually improved on throws of this distance from 2011 (39.7 percent) to 2012 (42.3).

Athleticism
Barkley may not be able to outrun defenders, but he has shown the ability to throw on the move. When outside the pocket, Barkley completed more than 65 percent of his passes with 23 touchdowns -- including 16 touchdowns on designed roll outs -- and just three interceptions.

Passing Under Pressure
Scouts have pointed to Barkley’s struggles with pressure in his face. The numbers show that Barkley consistently has been able to read defenses and hit his hot read when opponents send extra pass rushers. Barkley threw 44 touchdowns and just six interceptions when opposing defenses blitzed.

Additionally, Stats & Information’s video tracking data has Barkley completing 41.3 percent of his passes when under duress in 2012, slightly above the average for all quarterbacks tracked (40.5 percent).

Even Barkley admits he tried to do too much in 2012, but USC’s offensive struggles went well beyond its quarterback play.

The Trojans offensive line struggled after the departure of left tackle Matt Kalil to the NFL and the injury to center Khalid Holmes early in the season. Barkley was sacked six more times in 2012 (14) than 2011 despite playing one fewer game.

USC’s receivers dropped 27 balls in 2012, including eight on passes of 20 yards or longer. In 2011, USC had just 14 drops, four of which were on deep throws.

Also, USC’s running game struggled to gain first downs in key running situations, converting a first down on 11 of 21 third down rushes with two yards or fewer to go. The Trojans’ 52.4 third-down conversion percentage in those situations ranked 103rd in FBS.

USC averaged 7.6 rushes per touchdown in the red zone -- only six FBS teams had a lower red-zone rushing touchdown percentage last season.

Signing day has come and gone and with much of the ESPN 300 having made their college decisions, we look at seven signees from the 2013 class that can make an immediate impact next fall:

RB Greg Bryant, Notre Dame
Cierre Wood and Theo Riddick are gone, leaving a vacancy in the backfield and over 300 carries to go around. Bryant is the first top-10 running back the Irish have signed since James Aldridge in 2006. Notre Dame posted a respectable 4.9 yards per carry as a team last season and will return three starters on the offensive line. With returning dual-threat quarterback Everett Golson, Bryant should have plenty of room to work.

QB Christian Hackenberg, Penn State
Matt McGloin threw for eight touchdowns and 5 interceptions in 2011. He had the same amount of picks last season, but led the Big Ten in both yards (3,271) and touchdowns (24) through the air. The difference? Coach Bill O’Brien, who tailored his offense to McGloin’s skills. Hackenberg's No. 1 ranking indicates his physical tools and with O’Brien’s help, will likely be put in a position to succeed.

ILB Reuben Foster, Alabama
Is Alabama the new hotbed for talented linebackers? Nick Saban is certainly making a case for it. Under Saban, the Tide’s marquee linebackers have all been in the running for the Butkus Award (nation’s top linebacker). With Nico Johnson heading for the draft, Foster could very well step in next to C.J. Mosley to solidify the front seven on one of the most dominant defensive units in the FBS.

WR Robbie Rhodes, Baylor
Terrance Williams and Lanear Sampson are leaving Waco, but the Bears will still be running their wide-open offensive scheme and need playmakers on the outside. Losing Williams is huge, as no player in FBS had more receiving yards than he did last season. But Rhodes is the highest-rated player the Bears have signed since the ESPN 150 began in 2006, and he is the first top-10 receiver they have signed as well.

RB Derrick Green, Michigan
Fitz Toussaint’s status for 2013 is unknown following ankle surgery and by the end of last season, Denard Robinson was getting a majority of the carries at running back with Devin Gardner at quarterback. Green is the highest-ranked running back prospect to head to Ann Arbor in the history of the ESPN 150, and without Robinson or a healthy Toussaint, the Wolverines backfield should have plenty of carries up for grabs.

ATH Greg Taboada & TE Eric Cotton Jr., Stanford
There is not a school in the country which has relied on its tight ends more than Stanford in recent seasons. Like Coby Fleener before them, Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo are headed for the NFL draft and the Cardinal are looking for help at a vital position in their offense. The last top-20 tight end that signed with Stanford was Davis Dudchock in 2010, but he has yet to catch a pass in his collegiate career. Cotton is a pure tight end, while Taboada projects at either tight end or as a pass rusher - which is another position the Cardinal value, as the FBS leader in sacks last season.

1 – Alabama’s class rank. Every year that head coach Nick Saban has had a full season to recruit (since 2008), the Crimson Tide have had a top-three class. No other school has even had a top-10 class each of the past six years. Alabama received commitments from three of the top-10 running backs, plus Derrick Henry (No. 9 in ESPN 300, No. 1 Athlete), the leading rusher in high school football history.

3 – Number of Ole Miss’s recruits ranked in the top 20 of the ESPN 300. Since ESPN recruiting rankings were introduced in 2006, Ole Miss had never had a single top-20 recruit. Head coach Hugh Freeze received letters of intent from two of the top five recruits, including the top ranked player in the ESPN 300, DE Robert Nkemdiche.

7 – Number of players since November who have decommitted from USC, and all were in the ESPN 300. USC’s class was ranked No. 1 for more than three months between July and November, but now it's ranked 14th. Two of those decommits, Eldridge Massington (No. 172 in ESPN 300, No. 21 WR) and Kylie Fitts (No. 86 in ESPN 300, No. 8 DE) flipped their commitments to rival UCLA. The Bruins finished the day with the 12th-ranked class, the first time since 2006 they finished ahead of their crosstown rival.

7 – The number of top-10 recruiting classes Urban Meyer has had since 2006, and not one of those classes ranked lower than sixth. The only other coach with seven top-10 classes is Mack Brown. This year, Meyer and Ohio State scored the No. 3 recruiting class, headlined by CB Eli Apple (No. 11 in ESPN 300, No. 3 CB).

7 – The number of top-five recruiting classes Florida has had since 2006, most among all schools. Entering National Signing Day, the Gators had the top-ranked class before finishing the day second. Florida is one of three schools with multiple five-star recruits this year (Ole Miss and Notre Dame).

12 – The number of four-star recruits Vanderbilt has received letters of intent from. The past two seasons, James Franklin has recruited 15 players with a grade of 80 or better. In the previous four seasons, Vanderbilt didn’t recruit a single such player.

14 - The number of SEC schools with top-40 recruiting classes. All 14 schools have top-40 classes, with none lower than 36th (Kentucky). Six of those schools are ranked in the top 10, the most any conference has had since 2006.

15 – Texas’ class rank, the Longhorns' lowest since 2006. Texas had been the only school with a top-10 class every year since 2006. Texas still had the highest ranked recruiting class in the Big 12.

15 – Number of players in the ESPN 300 that have yet to sign letters of intent. Eleven have yet to commit to any school while four have yet to sign their letters of intent for various reasons.

16 - The number of states Notre Dame’s 23 recruits reside in. Notre Dame has the No. 4 class this season, the highest ranked class it has had since 2006. It’s Notre Dame’s sixth top-10 class and third straight under Brian Kelly.