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Tuesday, May 1 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 13

sports@michigandaily.com
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SCOTT BELL: TOO SOON?
Defensive losses make for depressing Draft

any people in Ann Arbor
had been looking for-
ward to this weekend's
NFL Draft for weeks, if not months,
for a handful of different reasons.
For many Michigan fans, it was
a chance to see some of the players
they've followed for nearly half a
decade take the next step into the
professional ranks.
For other Wolverine diehards,
the two-day event was a chance to
watch players from rival schools
suffer and be embarrassed on a

national stage. (Seriously, who
doesn't relish witnessing Brady
Quinn lose about $20 million over
the span of 3 hours and 58 min-
utes?)
For me? Oddly enough, it's a path
straight to depression.
What's that? Who in his right
mind gets depressed when four of
the Draft's top 47 picks come from
his school? Clearly, I need help.
But not as much help as Michi-
gan's defense will need next season.
Though Saturday proved to

be a proud day when Leon Hall
(18th overall), Alan Branch (33rd),
LaMarr Woodley (46th) and David
Harris (47th) had their names
called, it's a harsh reminder of what
the Wolverine defense is losing.
Couple that with Prescott Burgess's
day-two selection and that's nearly
half of Michigan's starting defense
from last season was drafted. That
doesn't count the departures of
Ryan Mundy or Rondell Biggs,
either. They too won't be back as
starters for the Wolverine defense.

But it could have been different.
Not to rain on Branch's parade
(though I'm guessing after he
expected to be an early-to-mid first
round pick, that his parade prob-
ably consists of two floats and about
11 spectators), but he needed anoth-
er year back at Michigan before
going pro. That was made evident
by the fact that he dropped all the
way to the second round.
Granted, some of that may be
sour grapes on my part. But selfish-
ness aside, a presence like Branch

in the middle will be greatly missed
next season. The losses of Hall and
the other seniors weren't prevent-
able, but Branch's departure was.
Oddly enough, precedent was
staring Branch right in the face.
He'll be reminded of past early-
entry failures every day when he
walks into the practice facilities
in Arizona. That's where the last
player to bolt early from Michigan,
safety Ernest Shazor, ended up.
Like Branch, Shazor also got rave
See BELL, Page 14

Hall first of seven Wolverines drafted

By KEVIN WRIGHT
Daily Sports Editor
Leon Hall's room in the La Costa
Hotel and Resort in La Costa, Calif.
was quiet for more than three-and-
a-half hours on Saturday. Until a
cell phone rang.
As the former Michigan corner-
back smiled and answered the call,
his family and friends erupted in
applause and shouts of joy.
"My heart just jumped," Hall's
uncle Edward Green said. "You
can't express the feelings we all
were having here. It just brought
tears to my eyes to see that (Leon)
finally accomplished what he set
out to do."
About a minute after the antici-
pated phone call, the Cincinnati
Bengals drafted Hall with the 18th
overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft,
making him the first of seven Wol-
verines selected in this weekend's
draft.
The Bengals' selection made
Hall the first Michigan player
picked in the first round since
Braylon Edwards and Marlin Jack-
son went third and 29th, respec-
tively, in 2005.
"Once you got past a certain
point, you knew more or less he
was going to be picked by Cincin-
nati," Green said.
Rumors floating around Radio
City Music Hall had Hall sneaking
into the top 10. The Vista, Calif.,

WOLVERINES DRAFTED
" Leon Hall -1st Round (Bengals)
" Alan Branch -2nd Round (Cardinals)
" LaMarr Woodley - 2nd Round (Steelers)
" David Harris - 2nd Round (Jets)
" Steve Breaston -5th Round (Cardinals)
" Prescott Burgess -6th Round (Ravens)
" Tyler Ecker -7th Round (Redskins)
native's stock skyrocketed due to
his performance at the NFL Scout-
ing Combine in February.
But as the first day of the draft
dragged on, Hall continued to slip
down the board.
When the New York Jets traded
up to the 14th pick, many thought
they would take the first corner-
back of the day. But they passed on
the 5-foot-10 Hall, and went with
Pittsburgh cornerback Darelle
Revis instead.
After the Jets selection, the
ESPN analysts discussed Hall's
pros and cons. Their biggest con-
cern - his performance against
big-name receivers - had been
following Hall since his last two
games at Michigan. Both Ohio
State's Ted Ginn, Jr. and Southern
Cal's Dwayne Jarrett outplayed
Hall in Michigan's final two games
last season.
"I'll be interested to see if he
runs a 4.38 or 4.40," NFL Network
draft analyst Mike Maycock said at
the Scouting Combine. "Is it man-
ufactured speed because he just

went to a camp and learned how to
run, or is it really functional foot-
ball speed?"
Even with the concerns, Hall
seems to be a nice fit in Cincinnati.
The Bengals have been plagued
by off-the-field ,issues, including
numerous arrests. Hall's charac-
ter and clean record at Michigan
should allow Cincinnati coach
Marvin Lewis to focus on coach-
ing, not policing, Hall.
On the field, Hall shores up the
secondary of a defense that ranked
28th in the NFL last season.
"I think Leon would fit perfect
in (the Bengals') scheme of things,"
Green said. "He would help turn
them into a playoff team."
The rest of the Wolverines had
to wait until at least the second
round to hear their names called.
Alan Branch went to the Arizo-
na Cardinals with the first pick of
the second round. He will most
likely line up next to former
teammate and defensive tack-
le Gabe Watson, who was
drafted by the Cardinals in
the fourth round last year.
Branch left Michigan a
year early with hopes of
making it into the top
10 of the draft, but his
stock fell significantly
out of concerns about
his ability to go full
speed on every down.
See DRAFT, Page 15

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