In the FCS Huddle: Combine a chance for FCS prospects to wow 'em

NCAA Football Betting Lines

02/13/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are FCS prospects not headed to the NFL Combine who figure to be drafted in April.

Last year, eight players were left on the sideline and still got the call on draft day.

But the 22 FCS players who have their bags packed for Indianapolis next week have a unique opportunity to impress all 32 NFL teams, and they don't want to waste it. They can rest easy that the pro personnel, not Gisele Bundchen, will be critiquing them.

FCS prospects, of course, face the stigma of coming from a small school. It's a label that will follow them even if they go on to enjoy significant success professionally.

At the Combine, though, they have an excellent chance to show they belong on the next level - mentally, physically and emotionally.

"Going and wowing will help your stock," said Josh Buchanan, who operates JB Scouting Inc., which is devoted to smaller-school player evaluation, "but if you go and you perform much worse than you expect, it will hurt you drastically."

At the Combine, where players will participate in different positional groups over four-day spans from Feb. 22-28, the evaluation includes medical exams, psychological testing and interviews with teams, and workouts (like timing, stations and skill drills). While some of the BCS talent will opt out of the workouts to perform them at pro days in the coming months, the FCS players generally are more willing to participate in the drills when healthy.

The FCS contingent is particularly strong in the secondary. Some of the better prospects are among the seven cornerbacks, including Furman's Ryan Steed and Coastal Carolina's Josh Norman. And then there are another four who are safeties, although Montana's Trumaine Johnson, at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, might move to the position from cornerback.

"It just so happened that it lined up that you had so many in one year, but I think this is more a cycle thing," Buchanan said. "The corners, the DBs will be a little bit down next year because it's so strong this year. You're never going to see 11 (defensive backs) going to the Combine for five years in a row."

Appalachian State wide receiver Brian Quick is considered the FCS' top prospect, but he didn't wow scouts at the Senior Bowl and was never considered to be an academic whiz. The latter factors in when teams decide how he would be able to pick up their offense.

But Quick is so physically gifted at 6-4, 220 pounds that he likely would solidify himself as a second-round selection by having a lights-out Combine.

Buchanan believes Norman and Steed, third- or fourth-round prospects, helped themselves on the all-star game circuit more than Quick. He also felt Chattanooga quarterback B.J. Coleman, Tennessee Tech wide receiver Tim Benford and Quick's Appalachian State teammate, quarterback-turned-cornerback DeAndre Presley, improved their standing in the eyes of scouts.

"The sad thing is when you're coming from this level and you go to an all-star game, if you don't help yourself, you ultimately could slide a little bit," Buchanan said. "Not that your stock falls, but so many other guys helped themselves. You might still be a fifth-round grade, but you might end up in the early- to mid-sixth because several other guys by-passed you with fourth- round grades."

NFL teams select the list of Combine invites in early December, before the all-star games. All is not lost, however, for players like North Dakota State tight end Matt Veldman, Old Dominion defensive tackle Ronnie Cameron and William & Mary running back Jonathan Grimes, whom Buchanan had hoped would have graded high enough for the Combine. They still can impress teams at an upcoming pro day.

But for those players going under the microscope at the RCA Dome, it's a golden opportunity to create some buzz two months before the draft.

"The ones I've talked to say they're real focused on Indy," Buchanan said. "They're putting everything into Indy because they know if, 'I do well there, then I don't even need to do anything (exceptional) at my pro day.'"

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.