Michigan State CB Darqueze Dennard compared to

Michigan State CB Darqueze Dennard compared to Deion Sanders as NFL talk heats up

EAST LANSING It's unofficially Darqueze Dennard Week at Michigan State much of the focus is on him entering Saturday's critical Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping game at Nebraska, and the focus of NFL talent evaluators is on him as well.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said today that the MSU senior cornerback has a chance to go in the first round of April's NFL draft. CBS college football columnist Dennis Dodd took it a step further, citing a report that compared Dennard to former NFL star corner Deion Sanders.

The 77 page report from NFL talent evaluator Dave Te Thomas concluded that Dennard "might be that 'next great shutdown cornerback' a Big Ten school has produced," Dodd wrote.

It said 77 throws have come to Dennard's area this season, with just 10 completed for 60 yards and two touchdowns. That's 0.779 of a yard per attempt, and the report said Sanders a Florida State standout from 1985 88 was the last corner to allow less than a yard per attempt.

Sanders won the Jim Thorpe Award in 1988 as the nation's top defensive back, and Dennard is a semifinalist for that award now.

"To say that my scouts have been impressed with (Dennard's) leadership and on field skills is an understatement," Thomas wrote in the report, according to Dodd.

Kiper said of Dennard in a teleconference today: "I love his physicality, I love his tackling, I love his aggressiveness in all areas of playing cornerback. NFL Jerseys Wholesale So I think he's a guy that's gonna be probably, if he runs well, late first. At worst, probably early second, mid second."

Kiper also said MSU third year sophomore defensive end Shilique Calhoun "has a chance to be a real good player" in the NFL. He said senior linebacker Max Bullough is an "overachiever" who projects to rounds 4 7, and also mentioned senior receiver Bennie Fowler as a player who is making people notice him.

"A lot of prospects there," Kiper said of MSU.

Dennard's next challenge is Nebraska receiver Kenny Bell, as he tries to help the No. 14 Spartans (8 1, 5 0 Big Ten) beat Nebraska (7 2, 4 1) in a game that could decide the Legends Division. He was involved in two controversial plays in last season's 28 24 comeback win for the Huskers his interception return NFL Jerseys Wholesale Free Shipping for a touchdown that was called back, and his pass interference penalty that set up the winning touchdown pass.

Asked Tuesday how many times he's been asked about that late sequence, Dennard said: "It's well over 100."