FanHouse SammieStroughter

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

Heading into this year's draft, Josh Freeman was considered to have the highest upside of any quarterback entering the NFL in 2009, while also possessing the biggest downside. The Buccaneers, in need of a true franchise quarterback for the first time since ... well, they've never really had one, were not only willing to take the chance on Freeman, but they were also willing to move up two spots to get him.

If Mediocrity had a football team, its mascot would most likely wear a giant foam Mike Stoops head

Ahhh, mediocre college football. Three words that go together like turkey, gravy, and stuffing.

While the majority of space here at FanHouse and on every other college football publication will be focused on the Top 25, season after season a huge slice of the college football fan pie (mmmm...fan pie) find themselves supporting a team who would most aptly be described as thoroughly mediocre, at best. I'd venture to guess that for every legit contender, there are probably three teams with a couple of flaws so glaring that only those blinded by the partisanship of homerdom can pretend their team's downsides won't inevitably sabotage any hopes of playing in a bowl of even moderate respectability.

And therein lies one of the most cruel realities of the college football landscape: winning 6 or 7 games is no small feat, and yet every year coaches and players around the country will be abused for achieving that very milestone. Of course, when you play in a conference like the Pac 10 -- who rewards its third place finisher with a December 31 game in El Paso's Sun Bowl -- can you really be that surprised when fans and pundits are critical of barely topping out above .500?

Who from the Pac 10 will slide to the middle of the pack in 2008? Here's a quick rundown of the leading candidates for Pacific time zone mediocrity this season.

The long, strange trip for Sammie Stroughter has come to an end for 2007. The talented WR, who had an odd leave of absence from the team during fall camp and the first game of the season, only to return to the team, is now out for the year with a bruised kidney. Stroughter got hurt in the loss to Arizona State on 9/22 and hasn't been on the field since.

Head coach Mike Riley actually expects Stroughter to take a medical redshirt this year and return in 2008, but it's hard to know what to expect from Sammie. He's set to earn his degree before camp next year, and as he's shown already, anything can happen with Strougther.

This is a huge loss for the offense and return game. OSU beat Arizona without too much trouble last week, but Sean Canfield continues to make too many mistakes in the passing game with more interceptions. Canfield now has 13 picks in six games, by far the leader in the Pac-10 in that dubious category. Canfield is ahead of only UW's frosh QB Jake Locker in terms of passing efficiency. To lose the top deep threat and the guy considered the top returning receiver from 2006 is a big blow to a struggling passing game. With the Cal Bears up next, it doesn't figure to get any easier this Saturday.

Life can get in the way of playing a game, and that's obviously what's happening with Sammie Stroughter. With three people very close to Stroughter passing away over the last year, it became clear that football just wasn't a high priority - for now. It's not inconceivable that Stroughter could return to the team at any moment, but that's a story for the 2008 season, not for 2007.

How is the team taking the fact that their biggest home-run threat at WR and in the return game will not be on the field this year? It's been an emotional blow for the team, losing a player so universally respected and loved by his teammates. What makes the situation a little more difficult is the pressure to replace him is going to fall to an unproven commodity in junior WR Chris Johnson (pictured), a guy who caught only four balls for all of 2006 as a JC transfer. Johnson does have good size for the position (6-1, 187) and head coach Mike Riley has been raving about Johnson's step forward thus far in camp. He does have good speed and has shown at least in flashes a good ability to get deep. At least Yvenson Bernard believes the team will be able to deal with the loss without too much of a hit:

Bernard said the Beavers can go on without their star wide receiver and still have a successful season. "To be honest with you, I feel like we have enough depth,'' he said. "I mean, I probably couldn't say that a few years ago when I was a freshman. But we have a lot of talent (at wide receiver) and I think C.J. has been doing a wonderful job.''

Now does Johnson have to come in and be Sammie "lite"? Of course not. Nobody can fill Stroughter's shoes. Instead, more pressure is going to fall on everyone else, from WR's Brandon Powers and Anthony Brown, and obviously, Johnson. But as the QB situation never resolving itself with Riley announcing a two-QB system to begin the season, plus the loss of the biggest playmaker on the roster, there is little doubt the Beavers are going to run, run, and run some more as they lean on the biggest strength of the team.

It's the year of the Houdini act for college football stars. Our most recent "now you see him, now you don't" star is TCU's defensive terror, Tommy Blake. We're happy to report Blake is back in camp.

"This was a lot of different things," [TCU coach Gary] Patterson said. "I gave him a little time to work things out and now we'll have to play it by ear. He had good practices up to the point he left, and we'll go from here."

It sounds like Blake is still a flight threat as TCU plays it by ear. He joins Oregon State receiver Sammie Stroughter and Nebraska tailback Marlon Lucky (hospitalized in the summer) as mysterious departures from their teams. All appear to be returning to form. I appear to be returning to scratching my head.

Previously at FanHouse:
Tommy Blake Goes MIA at TCU

First, a disclaimer. This preview was originally put together a couple of weeks ago, under the guise that one very key member of the Oregon State program would be a starter and major factor: Sammie Stroughter. While there still is no official word on the explosive WR's status, he's now been away from the team for 10 days, and counting, and no idea if/when we'll get an announcement. The Oregonian has been on top of the situation, and while Sammie made a cameo appearance at the team's scrimmage yesterday, he didn't look like a guy ready for some football. Given everything that is known thus far, it doesn't sound good. So, with that in mind, this preview is written with an updated angle of the Beavers' life without Sammie Stroughter.

The Beavers were a Pac-10 darling last year, coming out of nowhere to win ten games, including a thrilling 39-38 Sun Bowl victory over Missouri to cap off a real turnaround season. While QB Matt Moore had his ups and downs in Corvallis, and was even booed during some rough spots early in '07, the team rallied around him late in the year. Can the Beavers repeat last year's surprising surge to Pac-10 contender? Or will reality strike the black and orange as the off-the-field distractions have piled up over the last month?

WHY THEY'LL WIN

The biggest thing to contend with in Oregon State is the ground game. Yvenson Bernard is the top returning running back in the conference this year with over 1,300 rushing yards and 12 scores. But it's more than just Bernard's elusiveness, where he can make something out of nothing. As good as Bernard has been, it's the offensive line that does the heavy lifting, raising the entire offense to another level. How good is the line? Consider that Oregon State was the only program last year to have all five starters earn all-conference honors, either first-team, second team or honorable mention! That unit returns four of those five starters in '07, and even 8 out of 10 in the two-deep's from last year. Their interior of center Kyle DeVan and guards Roy Schuening and Jeremy Perry are talented and tough. No team in the conference has the type of maulers like OSU, and as the 2-point conversion play in their win over Missouri showed, they seem to be able to move the pile at will. Whether it's Bernard or backup RB Clinton Polk, or whoever prevails in camp as the starting QB, the entire offense will succeed because of the big uglies up front. The wide receivers have a lot of talent, led by the headline-making Sammie Stroughter. Of course, as of this writing, Stroughter is away from the team with what has been described as personal issues, and unfortunately there isn't anything more that is known about a potential return. Rumors and speculation abound at this point. Described as being an upbeat kid with an infectious personality, he's one of the most popular players on the football team. Oh, and he's really good. As in the leading receiver back in '07 in the entire conference with 74 catches, as well as being the #2 return man behind only DeSean Jackson at Cal. You can't sugar coat the obvious - losing Stroughter would be a huge blow to the football team. Behind Strougther, the starters would be Brandon Powers and Anthony Brown (formerly Wheat-Brown). While they are a nice duo as a compliment to a guy like Stroughter, to put it in perspective, Powers and Brown combined for 60 catches last year, still 14 less than the number Stroughter turned in. WR Chris Johnson is a guy that would likely move up the depth chart as the #3 guy should Stroughter not return. The OSU defense looks to be set for a big season. Nine of the top 11 tacklers from 2006 return, including the starting linebacker corps of Joey LaRocque, Alan Darlin and Derrick Doggett. Outside LB LaRocque is the top returning tackler in the Pac-10 from last year with 98, while Doggett anchored the other side with 87 last year, plus and he got after the passer with five sacks. Darlin did a commendable job in the middle with 72 tackles and 12 tackles for loss. The secondary did lose one potential starter in Coye Francies, who was arrested on a firearm charge and has been suspended indefinitely from the team, but they still look good with Keenan Lewis, Gerald Lawson, and Brandon Hughes, all guys that have started at corner at one time or another. Up front, the d-line looks to be strong as well, led by four senior starters. DE's Jeff Van Orsow and Dorian Smith are probably the two best up front. Van Orsow was the hero of the USC upset a year ago, tipping a 2-point conversion attempt by John David Booty with seconds remaining to clinch the win. He was honorable mention all-conference last year with 10 tackles for loss. Smith surprised a lot of people with a team-high nine sacks last year, tops on the team and the #2 pass-rusher in the conference coming back in '07. The tackles are Gerald Lee and Curtis Coker, both active run-stoppers who are good at plugging the middle and eating up some space, freeing up the linebackers to make plays.

While Oregon State has generated positive pre-season buzz, with a projected 17 starters back in the fold following a 10-win season, everything seemed just great in Corvallis. But some off-the-field issues have cropped up, and things seem a little out of whack. First it was Coye Francies, a key corner labeled a co-starter based on how much playing time he received, suspended for the season after getting caught with a loaded handgun. Then, punter Kyle Loomis, coming off a Sporting News Freshmen All-American bid, up and quit the team due to off-the-field issues.

But now, the whopper of camp - Sammie Stroughter, the top returning receiver in the entire Pac-10 with over 1200 yards receiving last year and the 2nd-best special teamer next to DeSean Jackson, is not with the team. But this isn't just missing one or two practices. It's now seven consecutive practices that Sammie has missed, and the only thing that has been confirmed by Mike Riley is that he is dealing with some personal issues, and they hope to get him back soon.

You'd be hard pressed to find a more complete offensive threat in the PAC-10 better than OSU's Sammie Stroughter. Need proof?

• Stroughter was third in the nation in punt return average at a whopping 15.7 yards per return, including three TD's as he earned All-Pac-10 honors.
• He averaged over 17 yards per catch, tops in the conference and good for 10th in the nation, on his way to a 74-catch, 1,293 yard season.

With the departure of top-shelf WR's such as USC's Dwayne Jarrett and WSU's Jason Hill, Stroughter is the top returning wideout in the conference in terms of yards and catches from 2006, ahead of players like Oregon's Jaison Williams, WSU's Michael Bumpus and Cal WR DeSean Jackson. If you want a big play, there is no question Stroughter is the guy, and if you ask Stroughter, that's the way he wants it:

His motto is one any coach would love: "Every time I touch the ball, I want to score."

But there's more to the story than pretty offensive numbers. Stroughter is regarded as a great kid off the field as well. The Portland Tribune's Kerry Eggers raves about Stroughter, who is a great athlete of course, but carries a first-team All-PAC-10 academic placement that he is quite proud of. Add in all that, and combine his leadership and enthusiasm that other players basically celebrate on the team? Stroughter is the complete package in every way.