Count Randy Taylor among those impressed with the Vikings’ draft last weekend.  He thinks the team’s decision makers such as vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman pulled off one of the best drafts in the NFL. “I don’t think there’s any question it’s an A (letter grade),” Taylor told Sports Headliners. 

Taylor is the Gophers’ director of football operations.  For the past five years he worked for Taylor Scouting Services and Scout.com as the Director of NFL Experts.  He is knowledgeable about many players drafted through the NFL’s seven rounds last Saturday and Sunday.  

Taylor talked with enthusiasm about the Vikings’ choices in rounds one, two and three, running back Adrian Peterson of Oklahoma, wide receiver Sidney Rice of South Carolina and corner back Marcus McCauley of Fresno State.  “Adrian Peterson is a guy that is so talented; (if) he stays healthy he’s a dominant player,” Taylor said.  “Rice I think has great upside and McCauley, those three guys are all first round possible guys. …”     

Taylor said Rice is an “explosive” player and a “heck of a prospect.”  McCauley’s size (about 6-1, 203), physical style and ability to run meant he “could have been a first round draft choice,” Taylor said.   

“Another guy I really like is (linebacker) Rufus Alexander from Oklahoma. …I thought he could be a first day draft choice,” Taylor said. “He slipped all the way to the sixth round.”   

That, of course, raises the question as to why players like Rice, McCauley and Alexander (he was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year) weren’t chosen earlier.  The short answer is time will tell.  The longer response is draft order can be impacted by what other teams need and sometimes teams see real or imagined issues with players and others may see those issues differently. 

Taylor was asked about players from throughout the draft that may surprise, guys who might eventually emerge as higher valued selections than they are now. “I still kind of think the old Ohio State quarterback (Troy Smith) could perform better than a lot of people have given him credit for.  I think a lot of people put too much weight on his last game (national championship against Florida).  

“Ted Ginn, Jr. (Ohio State) to me is a talent guy and the jury is still out on whether he’s worth the ninth pick (by Miami) in the draft.  He can run and add something to a football team that can change a game.  Ted Ginn may win a couple of games for them that a solid first round draft choice may not. ….So those are two guys who took a lot of heat for different reasons and I would guess those guys will out perform what people think of them.” 

Smith, who won the Heisman Trophy and led the Buckeyes to a No. 1 ranking, waited until the fifth round to be selected by Baltimore.

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Miami had an eye-opening pick in the sixth round, selecting 350-pound fullback Reagan Mauia of Hawaii. 

The possibility of sending steam from the nearby Hennepin County Garbage Incinerator to the new Twins stadium to provide heat for the seats is being studied, according to team president Dave St. Peter.   

Curlin and Street Sense are distinct favorites to win tomorrow’s Kentucky Derby.  The event is a people watching extravaganza with lots of celebrities.  Will former Kentucky coach and now Gopher boss Tubby Smith be in attendance? Fans locally can watch the derby and live racing during opening day tomorrow at Canterbury Park.

Gopher football coach Tim Brewster will have three camps in June at the University of Minnesota:  individual skills camp, June 10-12; youth camp, June 13-15; kicking camp, June 18-19.  More information at www.brewsterball.com 

Although contracts aren’t signed, it’s expected that the WCCO Radio team of Dave Lee, Dave Mona and Darrell Thompson will be back to cover Gopher football games starting in September. 

Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly, an extraordinary writer, has an inspiring column on former Gopher Tony Dungy in the April 30 issue of the magazine.  Reilly describes how Dungy befriended an Iowa truck driver who lost his 19-year-old son in a motorcycle accident. 

College Sporting News, Inc. has named Kirby Carr of Bethel University and Hailey Harren of Gustavus Adolphus College as its male and female honorees for this year’s CSN Senior Student-Athlete Award from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.   Carr, a biology major from Fergus Falls, was cited for his excellence in football and baseball.  Harren, a political Science/Financial Economics major from Cold Spring, is a two-time MIAC cross country champion and a two-time NCAA regional champ.

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Tim Brewster told Sports Headliners on Monday he has signed a five year contract to coach at the University of Minnesota.  Brewster said in March the contract was being finalized and he signed it late last week.  It’s believed the contract is for about $1 million per year and has no escape clause allowing him to leave for another school. 

“I am thrilled with the contract and believe it’s a good deal for both sides,” Brewster said by phone on Monday.  Since the end of spring practice on April 7, he’s been traveling and recruiting in various parts of Minnesota, and other areas of the country.  His recruiting stops have included Texas, Virginia and New Jersey where he called from Monday.   

This morning Brewster was scheduled to fly to Phoenix where his agenda will include celebrating wife Cathy’s 47^th birthday.  He describes her as “the older woman in his life.”  He doesn’t turn 47 until October 13.   

Later in the month Brewster will be recruiting in south Florida and Houston.  While it’s unusual for a head coach to be so involved with recruiting, few coaches have the energy and salesmanship of Minnesota’s new coach. He literally runs in the mornings to renew his energy and build stamina for his hectic schedule. 

His highly recruited son, safety Nolan Brewster, will play his senior season of high school football in Denver.  Brewster and his wife are in the process of selling their home and they hope to buy or build here in the next several months. 

Brewster was an assistant coach with Denver and San Diego before coming to Minnesota.  Prior to his NFL jobs, he coached college football for many years including at Texas.  With perspective on both pro and college football, Brewster was asked what the most common mistakes are that pro teams make in drafting players. 

He said the “biggest mistake” is being focused on a player’s physical prowess and statistics, and not looking at what the player gets done on the field.  Teams can fail to “translate” a player’s love for the game and productivity, he added.  

Brewster also said you “can’t ever underestimate character.”  Teams have taken chances on bad character players and in the “long run these guys really hurt” (their teams), he said.

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