1958 Draft Preview

AACA Top 20:
1) Genesee (NY) - 10-0 [Independent]
2) Louisiana - 9-1 [SoCon]
3) Mississippi Tech - 9-1 [SoCon]
4) Texas - 9-1 [AATU]
5) Georgia - 9-1 [SoCon]
6) Wisconsin State - 7-2 [Big Western]
7) Southwestern Christian - 8-2 [AATU]
8) Washington State - 9-1 [PAC]
9) Arkansas State - 8-2 [Independent]
10) Alabama State - 7-1-2 [SoCon]
11) Pickens Tech - 8-2 [AAC]
12) Pennsylvania - 8-2 [ECC]
13) Illinois - 5-3-1 [Big Western]
14) ULA - 8-2 [PAC]
15) Oklahoma - 7-3 [MRVC/Big 8]
16) Wyoming State - 9-1 [Frontier]
17) Missouri State - 6-4 [MRVC/Big 8]
18) Florida State - 5-4-1 [AAC]
19) Pittsburgh State - 6-4 [Independent]
20) McTyeire (TN) - 7-3 [Magnolia]

AACA Bowls:
Rose Bowl (Los Angeles, CA) - (12) Penn 44-6 (8) Washington State
Palm Bowl (Miami, FL) - (5) Georgia 14-0 (11) Pickens Tech
Magnolia Bowl (Houston, TX) - (1) Genesee 23-14 (15) Oklahoma
Columbian Bowl (Chicago, IL) -  (6) Wisconsin State 7-0 (9) Arkansas State
Gold Bowl (San Francisco, CA) - (14) ULA 20-7 Arizona
Cigar Bowl (Tampa, FL) - (2) Mississippi Tech 21-0 (3) Louisiana
Syrup Bowl (New Orleans, LA) - (7) Southwestern Christian 14-7 (20) McTyeire 
Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX) - (16) Wyoming State 28-8 (10) Alabama State

AFL Top 25 Prospects
1) OL Jerry Coangelo - Vermont - idm
2) S David Jefferson - Virginia Commonwealth - idm
3) WR Sonny Delvecchio - Brooklyn College - Kingsfan11
4) OL Mitch Hunt - Armitage - idm
5) RB Bo Golden - St Louis State - Kingsfan11
6) DL Hugo Cumberdale - Indiana - Jayhawk
7) S Will Heckel - Ohio - Kingsfan11
8) DL Lou Spanos - University of Cleveland - DireBear
9) DB Rex Leavitt - University of Deseret - DireBear
10) LB Earl Pennington - New Jersey State - DireBear
11) RB Liam Fitzsimmons - Washington State - Darknes
12) TE Mark Truss - Ohio - Jayhawk
13) DL Duke Winston - Rockefeller - Dan O’Mac
14) OL Jim Godowicz - Lehigh Valley - DireBear
15) OL Alan Varnas - Chicago Christian - DireBear
16) DL Herman Escalante - ULA - DireBear
17) RB Rip Peterson - ULA - Dan O’Mac
18) OL Taylor Pike - Rhode Island State - idm
19) QB Cassius Sterling - Wyoming State - Darknes
20) WR Pete Coniglio - Massachusetts State - idm
21) DL Phillip Knipple - Sacre Couer (WI) - Dan O’Mac
22) TE Del Zimmerman - Texas - DireBear
23) LB Jim Byers - Chicago Christian - H-Town1141
24) OL Ole Gulbrandsen - Minnesota State - Dan O’Mac
25) QB Rudy Beers - St. Joseph’s - Dan O’Mac

With instability in the Lone Star Conference caused by the pay-for-play scandals at Texas and Texas State, it was only a matter of time before the conference fell apart. The LSC had already gone through 2 interim commissioners in 4 years that failed to deal with the aftermath. Both Texas and Texas State were given postseason bans through the 1959 season, in what would have been the final nail in the coffin for the conference. The actual killing blow would come from somewhere that the conference had least expected. McTyiere (Nashville, TN) had long considered forming an athletic conference that was focused on academically focused colleges in the Southeast. The Titans attempted to play their way into the Ivy League, but a thrashing of the Lyons Bulldogs by a score of 38-0 in 1948 ended any chance of that happening. The university had been in talks for nearly a decade trying to form this “Southern Ivy League”, but now all the right pieces fell together. Texas Methodist (Dallas, TX) and Marsh University (Houston, TX) felt they were being neglected in the Lone Star Conference, and Georgia A&M (Atlanta, GA) had felt they had been looked down upon by how they were treated in the Mickey Green situation leading up to the 1956 Syrup Bowl. Those 3 would join Audubon (New Orleans, LA), Buchanan (Durham, NC), Merrick (Coral Gables, FL), and Monticello (Charlottesville, VA) to form the Magnolia Conference. Thanks to the support of Audubon alumnus Rudy Branthwaite, the winner of the newly formed conference would earn a bid to the Syrup Bowl in New Orleans, immediately giving the new conference prestige amongst its contemporaries. Arkansas State would effectively dissolve the Lone Star Conference by becoming an independent, with hopes of joining either the Missouri River Valley Conference (“Big 8”) or Mid Western Athletic Conference (MWAC) in the near future. The remaining 5 Texas teams (Texas, Texas State, Southwestern Christian [Fort Worth], San Jacinto [Houston], and Tryon [Waco]) would reform into the Athletic Association of Texan Universities (AATU), though the reformation of the conference would not mean they were free from punishment. The AATU was still given the same sanctions as the former Lone Star Conference, with limited scholarships for all schools through this year and postseason bans for Texas and Texas State until 1960. What was once one of the most prestigious college football conferences is now left in the ashes of what it once was, now attempting to rebuild itself back to what it was once before

This year’s national champions truly came out of nowhere, as the Genesee Hilltoppers out of Syracuse, New York started the year unranked and racked up 5 shutouts and outscored their opponents by nearly 300 points on their climb to the top spot in the college football world. They were led by sophomore halfback Paulie Harris, who impressed in his first year of starting, primarily thanks to excellent physical play by OL Roger Wilkinson. Left-handed QB Frankie Lombardo played support to Harris’ rushing attack using his legs, but could air out a long pass if he needed to. LB Cal Westbrook rounded out the defense as the de facto leader, quite literally stopping anyone in his tracks. The consensus #1 team would end up in the Magnolia Bowl, but not against the opponent they had wanted. Texas was supposed to end up with the bowl bid, but their bowl ban instead allowed Big 8 winner Oklahoma travel to Houston instead. The Hilltoppers would get out to an early lead at halftime and never look back, winning their first-ever bowl game and securing the rare unanimous national championship by the major poll outlets. The Southern Conference had 3 of its teams finish in the top 5 in the final polls, but Georgia would come out on top as the conference champion by going undefeated in conference play. The Lions would end up shutting out the AAC champion Pickens Tech Tigers 14-0, with WR Kenny Cook scoring both touchdowns by leaving the Tigers’ secondary in the dust. Louisiana looked like they were the front-runners to take the SoCon, defeating the then-conference leader Mississippi Tech on a miraculous last-second throw by Bernheim-winning QB Billy Lucas to win 7-3. The Kings were poised to earn their first national title, but surrendered the top spot by losing to Tennessee the following week. The two would end up in a rematch in the Cigar Bowl, with the Magnolias getting their revenge by shutting out the Kings 21-0. Lucas was highly anticipated to join the AFL, but New Orleans Pirates general manager/co-owner Rudy Branthwaite offered him one of the highest rookie contracts as soon as his college career had ended, with Lucas signing the contract on the field of the Cigar Bowl. Lucas’ choosing of the now-inferior league marked one of the few times the PAFC had acquired top college talent since the split. Despite finishing second in the AATU, Southwestern Christian was still able to make a bowl game, being invited to the Syrup Bowl in New Orleans to take on the Magnolia League champions McTyeire Titans. The Longhorns would score 14 points in the fourth quarter after being held scoreless to win 14-7. The Roses Bowl had been highly anticipated, featuring teams that had rarely made the bowl in years past. Pennsylvania University would win the ECC for the first time in over a decade, and Washington State was returning to the game for the first time since World War II, headed by RB Liam Fitzsimmons. Finishing in a distant second place in Bernheim Trophy voting, who played more physical than his stature would suggest, he would plow over defenders not expecting his amount of strength. The Seawolves were in for a rude awakening, as the Cougars blew them out 44-6 and Fitzsimmons uncharacteristically lost the ball three times. Two of those fumbles were caused by Penn LB Walt Sutton, who managed to contain the physical back to under 50 yards rushing. PCC-runner up ULA would end up facing the unranked Arizona University, who would win the Southwestern Conference for the second straight year, though without any of the major players that won them the Sun Bowl last year. The Aztecas were able to terrorize both sides of the ball, as the rushing tandem of Hugh McCready and Rip Peterson and DL Herman Escalante being unblockable allowed ULA to easily earn a 20-7 victory. Wisconsin State would end up winning a very tight Big Western Conference, and their reward was going to their first Columbian bowl in nearly a decade. Their opponent would be the newly-independent Arkansas State Gamecocks, who were finally able to stretch their wings free from not playing every good Texas team in a conference schedule. The game became a defensive showdown, but the Warriors managed to shut down the Gamecocks 7-0, as Wisconsin State LB Isaiah Lynch was able to stop nearly everyone in his tracks. Alabama State finished in a distant 4th place in the SoCon, and felt they had an easy task against Frontier Conference champion Wyoming State. The Big Blue clearly underestimated the Bison, headed by QB Cassius Sterling and their high-flying offense, who threw for 4 touchdowns to demolish Alabama State 28-8. 

After the first few drafts where there were a clear few favorites that could help out any team they were drafted to, this year’s draft seems like there is no clear cut game-changing player. Vermont OL Jerry Coangelo appears to be the top player available, who will fit snugly into a team that favors the pass, but neither of the top two picks (Cleveland and Chicago) seem like they desperately need his skills. The Crows will likely go after a skill position to fill the now-vacant running back and wide receiver spot. Brooklyn College WR Sonny Delvecchio is the clear-cut top wideout, with a great ability to maneuver around defenders to get the pass and to come down with the ball as well. The top running back spot could be occupied by the previously-mentioned Liam Fitzsimmons or St Louis State RB Bo Golden, whose style is similar to Fitzsimmons but fits more of the fullback mold more than the halfback-oriented Fitzsimmons. While there may not be many skill positions on offense that could change a team around, there is plenty of great defensive talent available. The secondary has some of the best players on the defensive side of the ball, but is also the one position that is very top-heavy. Hard-hitting S David Jefferson out of Virginia Commonwealth and ball magnet S Will Heckel out of Ohio are the two that teams will be on the lookout for to take first, with the towering DB Rex Leavitt out of Deseret (Provo, UT) appearing to be the best option for a defensive back. Outside of those three, teams will be rather hit-or-miss in trying to shore up the back half of the defense. The front half has significantly more options to try and get a pretty good player. There are two clear frontrunners for the best linemen on defense: Indiana’s Hugo Cumberdale and UCleveland’s Lou Spanos. Teams could not go wrong with either, as Cumberdale is more of a disrupter up the middle while Spanos is more a brute-force kind of player that can fit anywhere on the line. There isn’t a clear top linebacker, but there is a good amount of depth at the position. New Jersey State’s Earl Pennington is the best available at the position, being the archetypical linebacker most teams will want to look for. He’s not projected to go anywhere in the top 5 like some linebackers have gone in the past, and the other linebackers are expected to go later than they have been for this draft. 

In theme with the rest of the class, the main tossup of quarterbacks in this class are fringe starters at best. Cassius Sterling (Wyoming State) appears to be the most ready for a starter job, being able to push plays downfield with his surprising agility or his powerful (but sometimes inaccurate) arm. However, the quality of quarterbacks in the AFL makes that a tough challenge from the outset, likely meaning he’ll be placed on an ASPFL team where he should be able to carve out a starting role in the pros. Frankie Lombardo (Genesee) and Rudy Beers (St. Joseph’s) are roughly equal to Sterling’s caliber, but many teams are skeptical on either starting a southpaw like Lombardo or not being the right scheme fit for Beers. Any of these three appear like they will be good options in the future, but their condition on becoming a starter depends on how well they will do in the semi-pro league. Tony Johnson (Massachusetts State) and Carter Hodge (Ohio) are the remaining two, and they seem like they’ll be stuck in the ASPFL. Johnson should fit right in on a more run-focused team, while Hodge should flourish with a team that can pass the ball more. Neither are expected to take over the starting job any time soon, and seem to just be depth pieces for now. 

Draft Picks/Needs:

1 - Cleveland Crows
Picks: 1, 11 (NY), 13, 25, 36 (CIN), 37, 49
Needs: RB OL LB S

2 - Chicago Hogs
Picks: 2, 14, 26, 38
Needs: OL WR DB K
 
3 - Tri-Cities Hawks
Picks: 3, 8 (STL), 15, 27, 35 (NY), 39, 42 (PHI), 46 (DET), 51, 55 (BOS), 56 (STL)
Needs: OL WR DL LB DB

4 - Buffalo Hammers
Picks: 4, 16, 28, 40, 52
Needs: OL WR TE K

5 - Pittsburgh Shamrocks
Picks: 5, 17, 22 (DET), 29, 41, 53
Needs: WR TE DB P

6 - Philadelphia Rattlesnakes
Picks: 6, 18, 30, 54
Needs: OL WR DL DB S P

7 - Boston Dragons
Picks: 7, 19, 31, 43
Needs: TE DL DB

8 - St Louis Stallions
Picks: 20, 32, 44
Needs: OL DB S

9 - Washington Federals
Picks: 9, 21, 33, 45, 57
Needs: WR DL S

10 - Detroit Knights
Picks: 10, 34, 50 (CHI), 58
Needs: TE DL DB

11- New York Lions
Picks: 23, 47, 59
Needs: WR DL K P

12 - Cincinnati Rivermen
Picks: 12, 24, 48, 60
Needs: WR TE S