Last night's Beef O' Brady's Bowl was interesting to watch if you kept an eye on the prospects we highlighted yesterday. Marshall pulled the game out 20-10 over FIU, but T.Y. Hilton and Vinny Curry were certainly featured throughout the night. One of the questions surrounding Hilton was his size for the NFL (5'9, 180 lbs), but he showed his toughness and durability last night. Also, FIU seemed to focus their whole game plan away from Vinny Curry, truly showing how disruptive he can me.
Tonight is the Poinsettia Bowl will take place at 8PM on ESPN as the #18 TCU Horned Frogs (10-2) take on the the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech (8-4). TCU is a ten point favorite, so this game has the makings of a blowout, but there are still some pro prospects to keep an eye on from both teams this evening.
Tank Carder, LB, 6'3, 237lbs: Carder is one of the nation's toughest and most relentless players. TCU plays a quirky 4-2-5 scheme, but Carder will project as an inside linebacker for the Redskins purposes in the draft. Carder is your definition of a high-motor guy and he may be the nation's best tackler at his position. He does however need to gain some bulk to take the everyday pounding of NFL players. Interestingly enough, Carder nearly died in his teens when he was thrown out of a car during a crash, breaking his back in several places and nearly paralyzing him. He wasn't even cleared to play high school football until his junior year. In my opinion he'll be late 4th round guy, which could be a perfect place for the Skins to grab him with one of their two 4th rounders.
Lennon Creer, RB, 6'0, 213 lbs: Creer is a Tennessee transfer who has been the bell cow for the Bulldogs offense over the past two years racking up 410 carries, 2,019 rushing yards, and 19 touchdowns. Creer has had trouble in between the tackles his whole career and will likely have trouble again with the Horned Frog's staunch "front six". He does however excel in the passing game and with blocking, if he gets the ball in open space then he has the ability to take it to the house. If the Skins look to add runningback depth again in this year's draft then Creer could be a potential fit in the 6th round.
Prediction: TCU 27, La Tech 13