FanHouse MarcusMonk

In "Rough Draft," lawyer-turned-writer-turned-football-player Clay Travis recounts his experience training for the 2008 NFL draft alongside some future pros. The following is Part 7 of 10 installments (read Part 6 here) that FanHouse will roll out every weekday leading up to the 2009 NFL Draft on April 25.

Our forty times are not improving. And Kurt Hester is coming undone over our continued failure. With less than a month to go until the combine, Hester sets up six taped lines on the field at a distance of ten yards. "I want y'all to try and run ten yards in six steps," he says. The idea behind the tape strips is to make us take longer strides so that we can get out of our starts faster. I do my best to make my strides match the six pieces of tape, but they're too far apart for me to cover in only six steps.

In "Rough Draft," lawyer-turned-writer-turned-football-player Clay Travis recounts his experience training for the 2008 NFL draft alongside some future pros. The following is Part 4 of 10 installments (read Part 3 here) that FanHouse will roll out every weekday leading up to the 2009 NFL Draft on April 25.

As the days dwindle for Michael Oher (right) to decide whether to leave school early or return to Ole Miss, we end another workout and gather in front of the television. The Program, the 1993 college football movie starring Omar Epps, Halle Berry, and Craig Sheffer, as quarterback Joe Cane, is on the television.

For the first time I feel old since most of these guys were in first or second grade in 1993, when the movie came out. In fact, the majority of the guys haven't ever seen the movie before. As we watch, in one scene the starting quarterback, Joe Cane, complains because his father has never come to see him play a football game. Sitting in a large red chair to the left of the television, Big Mike Oher reacts. "Never come to see him play a football game?" asks Oher, scoffing. "I've only seen my own dad about four times."

Chicago Bears 2008 Draft Picks:

Round 1 (14): Chris Williams, OT, Vanderbilt
Round 2 (44): Matt Forte, RB, Tulane
Round 3 (70): Earl Bennett, WR, Vanderbilt
Round 3 (90): Marcus Harrison, DT, Arkansas
Round 4 (120): Craig Steltz, S, LSU
Round 5 (142): Zack Bowman, CB, Nebraska
Round 5 (158): Kellen Davis, TE, Michigan State
Round 7 (208): Ervin Baldwin, DE, Michigan State
Round 7 (222): Chester Adams, G, Georgia
Round 7 (243): Joey LaRocque, LB, Oregon State
Round 7 (247): Kirk Barton, OT, Ohio State
Round 7 (248): Marcus Monk, WR, Arkansas

The Good: The Bears did a great job of actually selecting players. It would not be the least bit surprising to see Williams, Forte and Bennett all starting come Week One. Bennett, in particular, looks like a steal. He caught 75 or more balls every year in college, makes up for being short by running great routes and has great hands. Harrison's talent is much higher than a third round grade as is Bowman's in the fifth but character and injury concerns, respectively, pushed them down. The others were all productive college players at successful programs and you could do worse than 6'4" wide receivers that run 4.45 40s with the 248th pick.

The Bad: Where's the quarterback? I like Forte a lot and think he will be a contributor from the get-go but is the difference between him and Cedric Benson really greater than that of Rex Grossman/Kyle Orton and Brian Brohm/Chad Henne?

Hey... monks! No, in case you're wondering, our image provider doesn't have any pictures of Marcus that come as part of our subscription. Also: woo FanHouse M alliteration day!

It's so weird to have an Arkansas story that's, like, normal. No crazed stage moms or internal revolts or text messages or allegations of roiding it up, just a story like any other you might find in the training camps across the country, albeit a pretty crappy one for Hog fans:

Arkansas receiver Marcus Monk will be out four-to-six weeks due to a knee injury sustained last week.

Monk underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Monday to repair a small tear that occurred during practice Thursday, trainer Dean Weber said. He was initially diagnosed with a bone bruise.

Note that this is "four to six weeks starting now" so Monk is unlikely to miss a big section of the season. Arkansas kicks off with an auto-win against Troy, then has a week off before a couple of important SEC games against 'Bama and Kentucky. At this point his status for them is up in the air.