A small school player that you may need to get familiar with is Donterrious Porter out of Luther College in Decorah Iowa (2012 draft class). Luther is a Division III school. This is the same level of football that produced Fred Jackson of the Buffalo Bills.

Now on to the tale of the tape. Donterrious is a 5’8, 189 pound defensive back that also has experience at either safety position. When I checked out some footage on him, the thing that jumps out at you is that Porter is very good in run support. Many times he fights and pops off his man to be the player who actually makes the stop. He is also good in coverage and plays the ball well. To add the icing on the cake, he made the school’s special teams MVP as a kick returner in 2010 and 2011.

What I find ironic is that on first glance, he instantly reminded me of Captain Munnerlyn of the Carolina Panthers and upon doing my research their combine numbers are very similar.

With the NFL becoming more and more a passing league, its only a matter of time before Donterrious gets his shot to show his value in the league.

So to jump on the bandwagon a little, here are five sleeper players to keep an eye on in the 2011 NFL Draft:

1. Ahmad Black Safety Florida

Playing in the SEC kinda of disqualifies you from being a sleeper, but Ahmad Black is a guy that doesn’t get the attention he should probably be getting right now.  Playing next to the flashier Will Hill, Black gets overshadowed a bit but when it is all said and done he may be the better pro.  Being undersized will hurt his draft stock but with guys like Bob Sanders and OJ Atogwe getting released do not be surprised if someone trades back into a round to grab Ahmad.

2. Dwayne Harris WR ECU

Yes, the homer pick but playing in the C-USA you don’t get much shine, and Harris is a guy that many have not heard of but will soon.  Though his official title was wide receiver, Dwayne Harris was Mr. Do It All for ECU, returning kicks, catching passes, getting handoffs, and even throwing once every now and then.  Harris is a guy that may never be a star in the NFL but he will quietly impact games with his returns and knack for making big catches in big moments.  In every aspect he reminds me of Antwaan Randle-El.

3. OLB Mason Foster Washington

Guess who led the Pac 10 in tackles this year?  That would be Mr. Mason Foster.  Foster is a guy who is just flat out productive.  While that does not always translate into the same kind of pro career Foster is a guy with a nose for the football and pretty good football instincts.  He won’t be a starter from day 1 but with a year or so in the right system he can become a very productive pro.  Some 4-3  team is going to grab Foster in round 3 or 4 and won’t be sorry they did.

4. Jacquizz Rodgers RB/WR Oregon State

EDIT: I a commenter reminded me that James got a medical redshirt so he wont be in the draft.  (But my sentiments remain the same)

I have to put both of the Rodgers brothers on this list, as I really like both of their pro chances.  If I had to lean to one I’d lean to RB Jacquizz being the better of the two but both are extremely explosive players and will find a niche whether it is in the return game or on one of the NFL’s quasi spread offenses.

The NFL supplemental draft has passed for this year and only two lucky players were selected. The Bears took Harvey Unga, and the Cowboys took DT Josh Brent-Price.

Both teams took their player in the 7th round.

Jeremiah Masouli is possibly on his way to the NFL.

The disgraced former Oregon Duck QB, has been rumored to be applying to the NFL’s supplemental draft.

I feel that Masouli is a teriffic player and it would behove a team with a shaky situation at quarterback to at least give this kid a look. Sure he made some bad decisions in college (allegedly being involved in the theft of a laptop) but we all have one or two skeleton’s in our closet.

In my humble, non-expert opnion a team with strong leadership like the 49ers should bring on Masouli to see what he’s got. Could you imagine if he got in trouble with Mike Singletary?

Finally some NFL Draft news in the midst of summer.

Former BYU FB, Harvey Unga has decided to enter the NFL’s supplemental draft. He is a very interesting player who can play traditional fullback and also catch the ball coming out the backfield. He compares very favorable to Brian Lenoard who is currently with the Bengals.

Unga will likely be a 5th round selection.

Brian Stull of ESPN 101 St. Louis reports that the Rams, Dolphins, and Chiefs are all “very interested” in supplemental draft prospect Harvey Unga.

I found this interesting, a few guys from the GameFaqs Madden 09 board got into a discussion about surprise teams and this comment came up, which I totally agree with.

“Matt Forte will give the Bears electricity on offense, but AD did that too and the Vikes only went 8-8, mainly because they could only rely on the running game. Once the Bears get some good WRs, maybe a better QB (I’m not going to say it’s a big need until after this season, because before he got injured in the Washington game, Rex was looking the most consistent of his career), and a better O-Line, then they would be considered a “sleeper” because they can actually get points that way.

Broncos have good RBs, a decent QB, and Ryan Clady should come in and do wonders. I consider them a contender for the wildcard. If the Chargers mess something up, then the Broncos are going to be right there to win the division. I’m not saying the Chargers ARE going to bomb, but it’s if they do.

I agree with the guy who said the Buffalo Bills also. Trent Edwards was looking good last year, Marshawn Lynch is one of the Top 15 (I’d rank him about 12th) backs in the league, and Lee Evans is an underrated stud. That second receiver is what they need for true success.”