MAILBAG: Oct. 12

There has got to be a place on an NFL roster for Eric Crouch. He continually breaks down tacklers in the open field and is as tough as anybody in college football. Where do you see him going and in what round? It looks as though the risk vs. his talent gets smaller each week. -- Jerry Bring, Waverly, Neb.
MEL: The risk is Crouch would be making a transition to another position. He will not be an NFL quarterback. He will be a running back in the NFL. I thought at the beginning of the year Crouch could be a safety. But he's such an outstanding running threat. Ed Podolak was a quarterback at Iowa and developed into a pretty good running back with the Chiefs. Crouch's running instincts, toughness, tackle-breaking ability and speed are indications he could be a running back candidate in the NFL and perhaps a third-round draft choice . Same thing with Woody Dantzler, another scrambling option quarterback who will be an NFL running back as well.

So does Texas still have the best receivers assembled in college history after Oklahoma shut them down for the second straight year? Roy Williams of OU is the best defensive player in college today. Another thing to ponder is Bob Stoops and his staff is the best -- college or pro. -- Dick Hamilton, Oklahoma City, Okla.
MEL: Right now, in terms of their offensive talent, Texas may be an overrated football team. I probably overrated their wide receivers, who did not deliver the type of performance I was looking for. Texas' Roy Williams has dropped some catchable balls, and they have not been able to dominate the action with their passing game. I thought that had a lot to do with quarterback Chris Simms, who has not played up to the expected level. Texas' overall offense has struggled in certain games.

Obviously, Oklahoma was the key matchup, but before the Sooners, Texas had scored 41, 44, 53 and 42 points. So even though we say they've had inconsistency with their receivers, they are still putting up huge numbers until this past week. Williams needed to be the difference-maker as a receiver, but he wasn't.

Roy Williams of OU is arguably one of the best defensive football players in college football today. I'd rate him in the top 25, but he's a junior. He is certainly the best defensive back and overall may be up there with John Henderson and Kalimba Edwards in the top portion of the draft. Julius Peppers will be in the mix as well. Williams is one of the top five overall players in the country at any position in any class right now.

Is Bob Stoops' staff the best staff college or pro? There are a number of outstanding staffs at the college level. Stoops was a successful defensive coordinator who won a national title before coming to Oklahoma and winning another one. Look at what he's done this year -- the Sooners should be No. 1 because they are the defending national champions. With a stellar staff that includes co-defensive coordinators Brent Venables and Mike Stoops and offensive coordinator Mark Mangino, Stoops is recognized as one of the elite college football head coaches.

The Oregon Ducks are having a terrific year. They have won 21 of their past 23 games, including a 63-28 blowout at Arizona, and are 5-0 on the year. You rarely mention the Ducks. Any particular reason? -- Larry Sigurdson, Eugene, Ore.
MEL: The Ducks' 5-0 start is not a big surprise. I haven't mentioned them often because I didn't pick them to win the Pac-10. They haven't had a statement game yet even though they won some thrillers against Wisconsin and USC with last-second field goals in games I expected to be more one-sided. I picked UCLA to win the Pac-10 and figured the Bruins would beat Oregon on Nov. 10 at the Rose Bowl.

I did expect the Ducks to have a chance of being unbeaten entering the Nov. 10 game. The first three games were in Eugene, and they had to play Utah State, Arizona and Cal on the road. Then, they get tough games at home against Stanford and then at Washington State on Oct. 27. We didn't think that would be a huge game, but it's going to turn out to be, the way the unbeaten Cougars have played. The blowout over Arizona was not a shocker since the Wildcats are in a rebuilding mode with new coach John Mackovic.

Ducks quarterback Joey Harrington has been getting a lot of publicity throughout the year, but otherwise they don't have a lot of star power outside of maybe Maurice Morris and Onterrio Smith. Standout CB Rashad Bauman struggled against Cliff Russell of Utah a few weeks ago. The individual focus, however, will always be on Harrington.

Which direction will Dom Capers and the Houston Texans go in 2002? Will they go with quarterback David Carr, or due to Capers' love of the zone blitz, maybe take the likes of defensive end Kalimba Edwards? Would UNLV's Jason Thomas entering the draft change things around? -- Eric Greer, Reidsville, N.C.
MEL: Carr is the elite quarterback in the draft. Certainly, an expansion team like the Texans would try to identify a quarterback to build their team around -- like Carolina did with Kerry Collins. Is Carr worthy of being picked No. 1 overall? We'll have to see how he plays the rest of the year. If the Texans consider a quarterback to be the No. 1 pick overall, he would supersede any defensive linemen. The four players they should consider, though, are Carr, John Henderson, Julius Peppers and Kalimba Edwards. They have a variety of options at No. 1. Jason Thomas has been a disappointment so far. He has not played up to expectations and has no option but to return to UNLV next season.

I think you are missing the boat on two Indiana players with great NFL talent: RB Levron Williams and LB Justin Smith. Williams reminds a lot of people of a faster Eddie George; he has great size for an NFL back (6-foot-3, 235 pounds) and 4.4 speed. What do you think? -- Dave Johnston, Indianapolis, Ind.
MEL: Williams had an unbelievable effort last week with six touchdowns and a ton of yards against Wisconsin. He keyed their 63-28 upset victory at Camp Randall Stadium. Williams is a big back with good straight-line speed. He's showing a little more quickness and decisiveness than he did last season. He's definitely improving his stock after going into the year with a so-so draft grade. Smith has athletic, physical skills to make the transition to the NFL as an outside linebacker. He's also an outstanding special teams player. Both these players have been attention-getters recently, especially Williams after last week's incredible individual performance.

From what you've seen so far, do you believe that Florida's Rex Grossman is eventually going to be a first-round draft choice and play QB in the NFL? -- John O'Shea, Norwell, Mass.
MEL: Grossman is only a sophomore, so he has a lot of eligibility still remaining. He is playing as well as Danny Wuerffel did during his 1996 Heisman Trophy season when he led Florida to the national championship. Grossman has a stronger arm than Wuerffel and is certainly playing outstanding football. He's my leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy and has a chance to take the Florida offense to new heights. Wuerffel was a senior when he had his Heisman Trophy year. Whether Grossman meets the mold physically is to be determined. His arm strength will be evaluated year to year. He's certainly ideal in the Gators' system. He has a strong arm, he can move around, he is a good decision maker. Too much time is left to determine if he's a first-round draft pick.

Notre Dame's Anthony Weaver (so far this season) has seven tackles for a loss, three sacks, two pass deflections, an interception, a forced fumble, and 21 tackles total. Tennessee's John Henderson has 11 total tackles, a fumble recovery, two sacks and four tackles for a loss while slowly recovering from an ankle sprain. Yet Henderson remains your No. 1 prospect while Anthony Weaver's "stock" continues to drop. Conclusion? -- George Heidkamp, Hinsdale, Ill.
MEL: I had him up in the top 5-7 spots going into the season. Weaver has maintained his position as a high first-rounder even though he has moved down some. When I move players on the Big Board, sometimes one player moves down because another one moves up. The arrows, up or down, are not always a reflection of how one particular player is playing.

In Weaver's case, he has been a solid player. He is outstanding against the run and gets off blocks very quickly. He's very productive and a hustling, intense football player, although he's not a great pass-rusher. That's where you have to look at Henderson. Though he hasn't had a lot of sacks this year, he is a very disruptive force. The injury has slowed him down. Everyone still focuses their attention on Henderson along the interior offensive line. You don't really go by stats to determine where a player goes in the draft or where he ranks. It's part of the equation, but it can often be misleading. Sometimes a player makes a lot of tackles but he doesn't play well.

I can't stand that Washington State is not getting the respect it deserves in the polls or the press. They have three NFL prospects in the defensive backfield, and Dave Minnich's stock has to be rising at running back. Why the lack of coverage and credit nationally? This team could be 7-0 heading into the Oregon game in Pullman. -- Joe Walker, Washington
MEL: Minnich is a heck of a running back. Minnich's age, 27, won't hurt him much in the NFL draft. Christian Okoye was 28 when he came out. Mike Anderson and Chris Weinke were overaged. Weinke's age hurt him because people were still considering him a three-year developmental quarterback. He's been force-fed in Carolina. But it won't be a factor for a running back. People are looking for productively out of running backs. Running backs historically have been able to come in and play right away in the NFL.

Washington State has played Idaho, Boise State, Cal, Arizona and then Oregon State at home. The Beavers seem to be in a down year. Washington State has not played a statement game, although the Cougars made a statement by leading Oregon State 31-3 at the half. If they go on the road to Stanford and can upset the Cardinal, then they will get a lot of national recognition. But they have to win "statement" games. At Pullman, Wash., they have a huge home-field advantage. They were 11-point favorites over Oregon State. After Stanford, beating Oregon and UCLA at home would be "statement" victories.

How can you not have Robert Thomas among your top 25 draft prospects? He is a dominating player with excellent size and tackling ability. Also, how do you feel about UCLA's chance to run the table and play at home for the national championship? -- Erik, Lake Forest, Calif.
MEL: I think the Bruins have a shot. I picked them to win the Pac-10 before the season. Their schedule is very favorable. They got past Ohio State and beat Oregon State on the road. Now they have Washington at home. The tricky game is not just the Oregon game Nov. 10 at the Rose Bowl, but at Stanford on Oct. 27 and at Washington State on Nov. 3. The back-to-back road games will be very difficult, especially with Washington the horizon. The Bruins will need to overcome some pretty tough opposition to run the table and play in the Rose Bowl.

Thomas has been as productive as any linebacker in the country. Right now he is No. 31 on my list of senior prospects and is gradually climbing. He is like a Zach Thomas; he doesn't have the ideal height. He's taller than Zach Thomas, at 6-foot or 6-foot-1. His height is fine. He is excellent at sifting through traffic. He is quick and outstanding in pursuit as well as between the tackles making stops. After all is said and done, he could be a late first-round draft choice.