1957 Draft Preview

 AACA Top 20:
1) Alabama State - 10-0
2) Ohio - 8-1
3) Michigan A&M - 8-1
4) Oklahoma - 9-1
5) Navy - 8-1-1
6) Iowa - 8-1-1
7) Mississippi - 8-1-1
8) Marsh (TX) - 7-3
9) Nebraska State - 8-2
10) St. Joseph’s - 6-3
11) Texas - 6-3-1
12) Arizona - 10-0
13) McTyeire (TN) - 7-3
14) Mississippi A&M - 6-2-1
15) North Carolina - 7-1-2
16) Northern Oregon - 6-2-2
17) Chicago Christian - 6-2-1
18) Army - 7-2
19) Wisconsin State - 6-3
20) Monticello (VA) - 9-0-1

AACA Bowls:
Tournament of Roses Bowl (Los Angeles, CA) - (5) Navy 10-7 (16) Northern Oregon
Palm Bowl (Miami, FL) - (7) Mississippi 48-21 (15) North Carolina
Magnolia Bowl (Houston, TX) - (4) Oklahoma 20-7 (8) Marsh
Columbian Bowl (Chicago, IL) -  (2) Ohio 34-20 (6) Iowa
Gold Bowl (San Francisco, CA) - (3) Michigan A&M 37-21 Los Angeles State
Cigar Bowl (Tampa, FL) -  (10) St. Joseph’s 3-0 (13) McTyeire
Syrup Bowl (New Orleans, LA) - (14) Mississippi A&M 39-7 (18) Army
Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX) - (9) Nebraska State 26-27 (12) Arizona
Orange Bowl (Orlando, FL) - (20) Monticello 9-10 Western Tennessee

AFL Top 25 Prospects
1) OL Victor Gallagher - Maine State - Darknes
2) OL Jerry Wineberg - McTyeire - Wallflower
3) QB Raymond Oram - Nebraska State - DireBear
4) RB Felix Filipow - Michigan A&M - Wallflower
5) DL Hank Jonas - Western Tennessee - DireBear
6) RB Duke Cooper - Alabama State - TheEnigmaticOne
7) WR John Waterloo - Georgia A&M - idm
8) WR Gene Cockburn - Superior State* - Dan O’Mac
9) TE Zebulon Jackson - Central Tennessee - QCS
10) DB Julian Morgan - Georgia A&M - Kingsfan11
11) S Roger Cedrick - Oklahoma - DireBear
12) OL Harold Blackmore - Miami Valley* - Wallflower
13) QB Jasper Grimmes - Georgia - The EnigmaticOne
14) S Sam Salmon - ULA - idm
15) TE Corky Jones - Michigan - Wallflower
16) TE Clem Carter - Vermont - Dan O’Mac
17) QB Dalton Dart - Chicago Christian - Stickman
18) DB Chris Hockenson - Ohio - Jayhawk
19) WR Elliott Branson - Chicago Christian - Kingsfan11
20) RB Rick Goldberg - University of the Bronx - joho42x
21) WR Darius King - California State - Darknes
22) DB Fred Alliston - Louisville State - Wallflower
23) LB Hugo Hoelgebaum - Wisconsin State - Dan O’Mac
24) LB Howie Weinmaster - Colorado State - Dan O’Mac
25) S Erik Forrest - Northern Oregon - Darknes

For the first time in their program’s history, Alabama State claimed a piece of the national title after going undefeated in the regular season. In what seems to be a recurring trend around college football, the Southern Conference barred them from taking place in a bowl game after paying two high school students $500 apiece to come to their school. The Big Blue would win the poll amongst the press, but Ohio would win the coaches’ poll after defeating Iowa in the Columbian Bowl 34-20. DB Chris Hockenson would get two interceptions off of the Falcons, setting up QB Christopher Wilke on two of his touchdown passes to TE Nate Coleman and a good ground game from RB Billy Eagle. Another debate raged on between the press, arguing over which player should win the coveted Bernheim Trophy. Michigan A&M RB Felix Filipow was seen as the early-season favorite, who was an elusive back who was able to bob and weave his way through defenders in the first games of the season. He would make a statement game in San Francisco, torching the LA State defense for 200 yards on the ground and 3 touchdowns. However, he would gain some contention throughout the year. The most obvious would come from what would be the top team in the nation, as the Big Blue were led by the bruising RB Duke Cooper. Cooper wasn’t the fastest back around, but could run over defenders once he got going. Cooper would not get an extra game to show off his ability because of Alabama State’s bowl ban, but was still regarded highly as one of the best prospects coming into the AFL. Two other players also got serious consideration, and essentially came out of nowhere mid-season. For the first time in the trophy’s history, an exclusively defensive player received votes. That player would be Western Tennessee DL Hank Jonas. Jonas relied a lot on his strength to overpower offensive linemen, utilizing it to his fullest extent to bully his way to the backfield. His efforts awarded the Fightin’ Catfish an undefeated season and their first-ever bowl game, and Jonas terrorized 20th ranked University of Monticello to an upset 10-9 win in the Orange Bowl. Jonas may have been one of the first to get first place votes for the Bernheim Trophy, but came up just short in fourth place, the highest for a non-two-way defensive player. The player that came out of nowhere to contend was Nebraska State QB Raymond Oram. He became the starter in his junior year and was satisfactory, but improved significantly in his senior year. He dazzled the Missouri River Valley Conference by being able to throw to any of his receivers, regardless of how open or covered they were. He appeared to lead a game-winning drive in the dying seconds of the Sun Bowl, throwing a ball to the corner of the endzone to take the lead with just seconds to spare. Unfortunately for the Bulls, the Arizona Blazers would get just enough yards to kick a walk-off field goal and stay undefeated on the season. In a shocking twist, Oram would controversially win the Bernheim Trophy, beating out both Filipow and Cooper by less than 10 points, one of the closest votes in the trophy’s history.  In the fallout of the Red River Conference scandal, Marsh University in Houston arose from the ashes to win the conference title over traditional state powerhouses for the first time in nearly two decades. Unfortunately, they had to play an Oklahoma team that suffered their first regular season loss in nearly 5 years, as S Roger Cedrick intercepted three passes off of two different quarterbacks to cruise to a 20-7 victory. Navy got a rare bid to the Roses Bowl, with an 8-1-1 record being better than the ECC conference champion. The Sailors played a nailbiter against Northern Oregon, starting out on the wrong foot after Bruins S Erik Forrest jumped in front of a pass for an early interception. The game would be a slow burn, as Navy retook the lead on a late touchdown and held on 10-7. Army didn’t fare as well against their opponent in the Syrup Bowl, only scoring on their first drive before getting outscored by the Mississippi A&M Magnolias to ultimately lose 39-7. The Magnolias’ in-state rivals also took part in a fairly high scoring matchup, as the Mississippi Wildcats took care of the North Carolina Rams 48-21 in the Palm Bowl. Upstate in Tampa, the Cigar Bowl was anything but high scoring. McTyeire played their best football in nearly three decades, tying for second in the SoCon and elected to play against St. Joseph’s in the Cigar Bowl rather than play another southern opponent. Top OL prospect Jerry Wineberg protected the outside for his QB pretty much all game, but the Griffins shut down the Titans offense to narrowly win 3-0 in a poor offensive showing all around.

A majority of the draft talent going to the AFL was not featured in a bowl game this year, as the two best prospects are offensive linemen. Jerry Wineberg is one of those, who will probably be taken by a team that favors the pass given his strengths. The other top lineman is Victor Gallagher out of Maine State, whose immense physical prowess will likely put him on a team that heavily utilizes the run game. Outside of Filipow and Cooper, the next best RB is Rick Goldberg from the Bronx, whose elusiveness and ability to read openings made him similar to Filipow, but lack of ball security has dropped his stock slightly. Wide receivers are few and far between outside the top 4 prospects. John Waterloo from Georgia A&M is the best out of the 4, who is a good all-around player but did have a knack for finding a way to get open when plays broke down. Chicago Christian’s Elliott Branson and Cal State’s Darius King are seen as a slight step down from Waterloo, but each have the potential to be as good as the latter. Branson is a deep threat that is able to contest for catches, while King thrives on making big plays with his vertical. The last receiver is from the Lower Division, as Gene Cockburn from Superior State (WI) was a very reliable pass-catcher throughout college and some say he has the same ability as Waterloo. Unlike wide receivers, if teams need a tight end then this draft has plenty to choose from. Central Tennessee’s Zebulon Jackson is by far the best available, a large tight end best suited for blocking fits a majority of teams that are looking to upgrade in the near future. The next best two, Corky Jones from Michigan and Clem Carter from Vermont are similarly run block-focused, but are very limited in terms of the pass game. The defensive side of the ball is much more limited in terms of talent. Outside of DL Hank Jonas, the only other top-end defensive prospect is Georgia A&M DB Julian Morgan, who had a keen ability to track down throws for interceptions that would most likely result in a touchdown.

The quarterback position peters out rather quickly after Bernheim winner Raymond Oram. There isn’t a definitive immediate franchise altering player, but there are a few that can make an impact given some time. LA State’s Chad Golden, Ohio’s Christopher Wilke, Chicago Christian’s Dalton Dart, and Georgia’s Jasper Grimmes are all around that level of talent. Golden is the most different from the other three, utilizing his legs as well as his arm to push the ball down the field. Grimmes and Wilke can be seen as two sides of the same coin, both are classic pocket passers and are emphatic about leading their team to victory. Both will be a great presence in whichever team they go to whenever they get the starting gig in either the AFL or the ASPFL. That just leaves Dart out of these four, and while he’s proven he may be the smartest out of the bunch, that doesn’t transfer over into his football smarts. He may need a bit to work out how to not be a predictable QB, so he’ll more likely go to a team that sees him as a project. There are two other QB’s that might go late in the draft, and each have some downsides teams will have to work out. One of those is Maryland State’s Richard Cohen, who works well in the clutch but consistently starts out games on the wrong foot. The other is Palmer’s Cameron Cole, who looked amazing in the Lower Division but teams are not sure how his skills will transfer over to the pros.

Draft Picks/Needs:

1 - Cleveland Crows
Picks: 1, 11 (CIN), 13, 25, 37, 49, 59 (CIN)
Needs: RB WR DL LB DB S

2 - Philadelphia Rattlesnakes
Picks: 2, 14, 26, 38, 50
Needs: QB OL WR DL LB
 
3 - Pittsburgh Shamrocks
Picks: 3, 8 (CHI), 15, 27, 39, 51, 57 (STL)
Needs: OL WR DL DB

4 - New York Lions
Picks: 4, 16, 28, 40, 52
Needs: RB OL DL LB

5 - Tri-Cities Hawks
Picks: 5, 17, 22 (BOS), 29, 41, 46 (BOS), 53
Needs: OL WR TE DL LB DB

6 - Detroit Knights
Picks: 6, 18, 20 (CHI), 30, 42, 54
Needs: OL TE DL LB

7 - Buffalo Hammers
Picks: 7, 19, 31, 43, 55
Needs: QB RB OL WR LB DB

8 - Chicago Hogs
Picks: 32, 44, 56
Needs: RB WR LB DB S

9 - St. Louis Stallions
Picks: 9, 21, 33, 45
Needs: TE DL LB DB

10 - Boston Dragons
Picks: 10, 34, 58
Needs: QB RB OL WR TE LB DB

11- Cincinnati Rivermen
Picks: 23, 35, 47
Needs: OL DL LB S

12 - Washington Federals
Picks: 12, 24, 36, 48, 60
Needs: QB WR DB