After a lot of thought, I'm now rooting for my Bucs to select Carnell Williams.....
RB's......
1. Cedric Benson, Texas (5-10½, 222)
Benson did not work out at the combine. At Texas' Pro Day on March 23, he ran his 40s in 4.60 and 4.63. He also had a 33-inch vertical jump, 9-foot-9 long jump, 4.23 short shuttle, 11.63 long shuttle, 7.48 three-cone drill and 18 strength lifts. The shuttles and three-cone drill were done on a very bad surface. Benson rushed for 8,423 yards in high school and had five 300-yard games. His team won three state titles and he scored 15 touchdowns in those games. The team was 43-3 in his three seasons and Benson scored 127 career touchdowns. Benson was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers and played minor league baseball in the summers of 2002 and 2003. He started seven games as a true freshman at Texas and gained 1,053 yards despite missing the 2003 Holiday Bowl with a pinched nerve in the neck. He started the next three seasons except for a suspension vs. Baylor in 2003 and being held out of the starting lineup vs. Nebraska after being charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing charges. Benson is a tremendous competitor and a very tough, punishing inside runner. He runs with a good pad level and showed good hands at his Pro Day. Benson has a burst, good vision and can accelerate and move the pile. He will get careless with the ball at times and had seven fumbles in a span of three games in 2004. He also had some off-the-field issues. Benson set an NCAA record by scoring in 37 career games and ranks sixth all-time in NCAA history with 5,540 rushing yards. He's only the fifth back in history to rush for over 1,000 yards in four straight seasons. He also caught 69 passes in his career. He will be a Pro Bowl player.
2. Ronnie Brown,
Auburn (6-0¼, 233)
Brown had a complete workout at the combine and ran his 40s in 4.43 and 4.46. He also had a 34-inch vertical jump, 9-foot-9 long jump, 4.08 short shuttle, 7.10 three-cone drill and 18 strength lifts. Brown played running back and safety in high school. He also played baseball and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners. Brown was redshirted at Auburn in 2000 and started five games in 2001. He was the first-team tailback going into the fall of 2002 and started six games that season, leading the team in rushing. He started three games in 2003 and six games in 2004 when he had 153 carries for 913 yards and eight touchdowns along with 34 catches. Brown is a strong runner with very good hands and outstanding speed. He has very good acceleration with very good quickness. He's a little bit of a straight-line runner and not real elusive in space. Brown is very competitive and a very good person.
</FONT><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=1 width="45%" align=right border=0><TBODY><TR class=bg0><TD class=bg0font align=middle></TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
3. Carnell Williams, Auburn (5-10 7/8, 217) Williams had a complete workout at the combine and ran his 40s in 4.43 and 4.45. He also had a 35½-inch vertical jump, 9-foot-10 long jump, 4.19 short shuttle, 11.46 long shuttle, 6.96 three-cone drill and 19 strength lifts. Williams played running back and defensive back in high school, earning Mr. Football honors in the state of Alabama after his senior season. Williams played as a true freshman at Alabama in 2001, starting two games. He ran 41 times vs. Georgia for 167 yards and two touchdowns. He started the first seven games in 2002 but missed the last six with a fractured fibula. He started 10 of 13 games in 2004 and became the first Auburn player to have three runs of 70 yards or more in one season. Williams will compete and has very good quickness and agility. He is an elusive runner, has good hands and good vision and will make the first tackler miss. Williams has a history of injuries and is not a strong blocker. He looks a lot like Clinton Portis build-wise and is a quiet young man.