Get Out Report Card: Draft Day Is Here Ki-Jana Carter Expected To Be One Of The Game’s Best Rushers
When Earl Campbell was running his way to the Hall of Fame for the Houston Oilers almost two decades ago, his coach, Bum Phillips, once said, “Earl Campbell may not be in a class by himself, but whatever class he’s in, it doesn’t take long to call roll.”
It may be time to add another name to that roll call today when the NFL holds its annual two-day college draft.
After months of studying, testing and probing the background of all the top college players, the scouts have reached one conclusion.
The first player selected will be running back Ki-Jana Carter of Penn State. The scouts have Carter ranked as not only the best player in this draft, but potentially one of the best runners in the game’s history.
He’s already being put on a plateau with the best runner of today - Barry Sanders - and ranked with Hall of Famers like Campbell, Gale Sayers and O.J. Simpson.
San Diego Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard ranks Carter ahead of Emmitt Smith of Dallas.
“Oh, man, I think he is great,” Beathard said. “I don’t know how you can get better than that at any position. He’s as high as you go on the charts. I don’t think you can compare him to Emmitt Smith. He’s a great back, but when you’re talking about this guy, I think you’re talking the Gale Sayerses, the O.J. Simpsons, you’re talking about that kind of back. He’s got everything and that’s not taking anything away from Emmitt Smith, believe me.”
Beathard isn’t the only one to rave about Carter.
Tom Donahoe of the Pittsburgh Steelers said: “There doesn’t seem to be much argument about the fact he’s the No. 1 pick. He’ll bring a lot to everybody’s offense.”
Not all the scouts, though, have Carter ranked as high as Beathard does.
Bill Kuharich of the New Orleans Saints said: “He’s the real deal, but if this were last year, I’d have him rated behind Marshall Faulk. But he’s very close. They’re in the same neighborhood.”
Faulk was the second player picked by the Indianapolis Colts after the Cincinnati Bengals selected defensive lineman Dan Wilkinson.
In any case, there’s no doubt that Carter will be the first running back selected with the first pick since Tampa Bay picked Bo Jackson in 1985. Jackson spurned the Bucs for baseball and eventually played with the Los Angeles Raiders.
The expansion Carolina Panthers, who have the first pick in the draft, will make Carter the first pick unless they get an offer for him that’s too good to pass up.
Although Carter may have problems making an immediate impact running behind an expansion line, the Panthers feel they can’t give him up unless they get a great package for him.
It’s always risky to trade away a back with Hall of Fame potential. The Seahawks learned that in 1977, their second year as an expansion team, when they traded Tony Dorsett to the Dallas Cowboys for a first-round pick and three seconds. Dorsett made the Hall of Fame and the players the Seahawks got - offensive tackle Steve August was the first - became trivia questions.
The other expansion team, the Jacksonville Panthers, is expected to name Southern Cal offensive tackle Tony Boselli as the No. 2 pick in the draft.
The draft officially will last seven rounds, although the expansion teams get two extra picks at the end of each round and there were a total of 29 compensatory picks awarded to clubs that lost free agents.
xxxx 1. CITYLINE For updates on the NFL draft, call Cityline at 458-8800, ext. 4686.
2. ON TV ESPN will air the draft beginning at 9 a.m.