FAYETTEVILLE - Tyler Wilson’s NFL odyssey will begin sometime in the next couple of days with the kickoff of the NFL Draft, which begins at 7 tonight from New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.
Wilson, a two-year starter and holder of 29 University of Arkansas records, headlines a long list of players with Arkansas ties who hope to be drafted or taken as free agents into NFL mini-camps in the coming days.
Wilson and Arkansas-Pine Bluff lineman Terron Armstead are the leading candidates to become the first player with Arkansas ties to be taken off the draft board.
Armstead, a 6-5, 306-pound offensive tackle, ran an eye-opening 4.71 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine to lead all offensive linemen.
The native of Cahokia, Ill., whose vertical jump of 34½ inches also led the linemen, is projected as a second-round pick by most analysts in the deep offensive tackle group.
Wilson is joined by a bevy of Arkansas teammates, including offensive guard Alvin Bailey, tight end Chris Gragg, and running backs Knile Davis and Dennis Johnson, who hope to hear their names called during the seven-round draft.
Only the first round will take place tonight. Rounds two and three are Friday, and the final four rounds are Saturday.
Wilson, who was thought to be a potential first-round pick had he chosen to declare early last spring, elected to return for a final year for an Arkansas team that began the year ranked No. 10 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll. But the Razorbacks endured a head coaching change in April and a 4-8 season that spiraled downward after Wilson suffered a concussion with the Razorbacks leading Louisiana-Monroe 21-7 in what became a signature loss Sept. 8.
Wilson’s draft status is the subject of much conjecture.
Earlier this month, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. called Wilson “the forgotten man in this quarterback class,” suggesting he could fall to the third round or later.
“Obviously, Mel and [Todd] McShay and [Mike] Mayock are kind of the three talking heads among the networks,” Wilson said. “They have to do their job and do their analysis. At the end of the day, that’s what they think. But there are 32 NFL teams that have to really put their picks where their money lays because their job depends on it. We’ll see.”
Speaking at a Razorback Club banquet in Fort Smith on Tuesday, Wilson told a crowd of 700-plus that he’d rather be around home and family than in New York City for the draft.
“It’s amazing,” Kiper said earlier this month. “He went into the year, you thought maybe late first round, early second round, then all of a sudden kind of the wheels came off of the program. … At the end of the day, some things worked against him, a lot of things beyond his control. The small hands came into the equation as well. So I think he drops into the third or fourth round.”
Wilson does not appear on Mayock’s listing of the top six quarterbacks for the NFL Network. Those positions are held by West Virginia’s Geno Smith, Florida State’s EJ Manuel, USC’s Matt Barkley, Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib, Tennessee’s Tyler Bray and North Carolina State’s Mike Glennon.
However, NFL.com’s Josh Norris ranked Wilson first, followed by Smith and Zac Dysert.
Every analyst has praised Wilson’s toughness in the pocket.
“He’s sharp, and I think he’s got some real leadership traits that are going to work for him at the next level,” ESPN’s Jon Gruden said. “He’s going to help somebody. He needs to get with the right coach and the right system.”
Wilson took one team visit, to the Buffalo Bills, who are looking to bolster their quarterback position under new coach Doug Marrone.
“I think they’re going to be in position to take a quarterback early, but I don’t know if that’s me or somebody else,” Wilson said. “I like the staff and what they’re doing, and I thought it was a really good visit there.”
Gruden gave Wilson an in-person critique during his Gruden’s QB Camp show, advising Wilson he could not take shots like the one he withstood while delivering a touchdown pass to Hamilton in a 2011 loss at Alabama. Gruden also played up a long drop step Wilson took with his left leg, calling it the “ostrich” step.
“We taught that step, what he called the ostrich step,” Wilson said. “He’s got to make something funny … and that’s what he came up with. We taught a left-right step, though [the clip Gruden showed] is probably a little more exaggerated. That’s something I can work on for sure.
“You’ve got to have some good clips and got to have some bad clips to evaluate you. That’s kind of how it goes in one of those things.”
Wilson will watch the draft with a tight-knit group of family and friends.
Armstead, a four-year starter for the Golden Lions, would become UAPB’s first drafted player in a decade if he is picked this weekend.
Armstead had a broad jump of 112 inches, fourth among offensive linemen at the NFL Scouting Combine. He turned down bigger schools to attend UAPB because his coach had a connection with an assistant coach and because the school didn’t mind if he also competed in the shot put.
Armstead would become the first UAPB player selected since offensive tackle Courtney Van Buren was taken in the third round in 2003 by the San Diego Chargers. Van Buren was also the highest pick in UAPB history at No.80 overall.
Armstead’s rise has not been a surprise to UAPB Coach Monte Coleman, who spent 16 seasons in the NFL as a linebacker for the Washington Redskins. Coleman has touted Armstead as a potential draft pick since he took over as a starter midway through his freshman season in 2009, and when scouts asked Coleman never backed off.
“They ask me if he can play, is he smart enough and about his home life,” Coleman said. “I’ve got nothing but good reviews for him because I think the kid can play. I really do.”
Bailey and Davis are Razorbacks who declared after their junior seasons after helping the Razorbacks to 21 victories in two seasons earlier in their careers.
Bailey, 6-3, 312, from Broken Arrow, Okla., ranks No. 9 among offensive guard prospects by nfldraftscout.com. He ran a 4.95 in the 40 to tie for fourth among all offensive linemen at the combine.
Davis is having to fight a rap for being injury prone after enduring three ankle surgeries and two broken collarbones, but in his lone healthy season he rushed for 1,322 yards and 13 touchdowns and helped the Hogs to their first BCS bowl berth. Davis ran a 4.37 to tie for the sixth-best 40 time at the combine and he bench pressed 225 pounds 31 times to lead the tailbacks.
Davis visited the Dallas Cowboys, the Arizona Cardinals, the New York Jets and the Houston Texans in the lead-up to the draft.
“I don’t know where I’m going to go, but hopefully it’s earlier rather than later,” Davis said. “Man, I just want to go. I just want to wear an NFL uniform.”
Davis, who will be in Houston to watch the draft, doesn’t regret not sticking around another season to run in new Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema’s offense.
“It was time to go,” Davis said. “I did what I had to do here. Now it’s time to go on.”
Like Davis, Gragg’s stock is on the rise after he excelled at the combine with a position-best 4.5 in the 40, a 37½ - inch vertical jump, and a 10½ - inch broad jump.
“Those numbers were the numbers I’ve always put up, so they really weren’t a surprise to me,” said Gragg, who missed seven games because of a knee injury last season. “I just wanted to go out there and show them I’m healthy because of the injury I had.”
Gragg had workouts for the Patriots and the Eagles in Fayetteville, but he doesn’t know when he’ll be picked or who will take him.
“I’ve heard everything from second round to fifth round,” said Gragg, who will be with family in Pine Bluff for the draft.
Hamilton said his 40 time of 4.56 at the combine was just decent.
“I weighed more than I’ve usually been weighing,” Hamilton said. “Like I said, it was decent for weighing 212, running a 4.56. I feel like it’s not excellent, but it’s average, I guess.”
Hamilton did not make a major move at the Senior Bowl or the combine and is projected as a mid- to late round selection.
Information for this article was contributed by Troy Schulte of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Sports, Pages 17 on 04/25/2013