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Schobel
waiting for call from NFL Matt Schobel will be watching ESPN all day and waiting intently by the phone with his family in Dallas Saturday. Why? Because he will receive a phone call that will determine where he spends the next few years of his life.
The NFL Draft will be Saturday and Sunday and more than 250 college players will hear their names called over the weekend. However, Schobel is the only TCU player guaranteed by national prognosticators to be drafted, with other players being given only an outside chance. Chris Hall, the Dallas Cowboys college scouting coordinator, said Schobel will likely be the only Horned Frog drafted, while the other eligible TCU players will be forced to catch on with a team through free agency or if a team invites them to training camp. “Matt could go in the second (round), maybe the third, but definitely on the first day,” Hall said. “We have a strong interest in him, but we’ll have to see how things play out with our picks and who’s left on the board.” Hall said he rates Schobel as the third tight end in the draft behind Miami’s Jeremy Shockey and Colorado’s Daniel Graham, both projected first-round picks. Hall also said the Cowboys are very interested in Charlie Owens as a free agent. Schobel, who is projected to be drafted as high as 41st (by Pro Football Weekly), said he’s heard a lot of things from different teams but is still unsure of where he’ll be drafted. He said he doesn’t really care by whom he is drafted. “I’ve been told a little bit of everything,” Schobel said. “I’ve shown my skills and physical ability. I think I had good workouts and impressed some people at all-star games. And that’s basically all I could’ve done. “Whoever picks me first is the ideal situation for me.” When a team goes from having six players drafted in the first four rounds in 2001 to just likely one this year, it may sometimes be construed as a negative on the program. But head coach Gary Patterson is quick to dispel such notions. “We had 28 seniors last year and just about ten this year, so having a young team is the main reason,” he said. Patterson said he believes draft-elgible players like Owens, Bo Springfield, Chad Bayer, Victor Payne and Chad McCarty can make to the NFL. However, Patterson said his biggest concern is that players focus too much on the draft. “Even juniors worry about (the NFL Draft) too much,” he said. “We stress to worry about the next play, the next game. If they do that and have a good year, then the NFL will come and get them.” Springfield, who declared after his junior season, is waiting for a team to come and get him, but concerns about his age and size have made scouts put him in the free agency category. At 5 feet 9 inches and 26 years old, Springfield is by no means the ideal rookie cornerback. But if he had never played minor league baseball and was a few years younger, he’d reportedly be a lock to be drafted. “I pretty much declared early because of my age. I’m not trying to play until I’m 40,” he said. Jordan
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