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If you would have asked me before the 2007 season started, I would have said it was a foregone conclusion that Wisconsin cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu would turn pro after the season.

His size has NFL scouts drooling, and his physical style of play and super coverage skills were certainly going to make him worthy of a high draft pick.

Well, sometimes things change. At this point, I'm not so sure.

Ikegwuonu has as many interceptions this year as I do. He's also only picked up 17 tackles in Bucky's first eight games. Part of this is due to the fact that teams just don't throw his way, especially if they have a reasonably talented receiver being covered by Allen Langford. That, along with a well-publicized off-field issue that he doesn't want to talk about, may be enough to keep Ikegwuonu from being the surefire first-round pick we expected him to be at the start of the season.

As a result, his career at Wisconsin might not be done after this season. His position coach, Kerry Cooks, says he's no longer certain that there needs to be a discussion about Ikegwuonu's plans after the season. Frankly, I think that statement says a lot. Cooks is in a better position than anyone to evaluate Ikegwuonu's NFL hopes, as he sees the kid play every day.

Whether you think Ikegwuonu has been hampered by his legal issues or, at least in part, by Langford's poor play on the other side of the field, it's hard to deny that he's one of many Badger defensive players who have not performed at a high level this season. As we discussed before, there isn't just one reason why this defense has fallen off so badly in 2007.

If all of this means that Ikegwuonu needs another year to mature before he goes to the NFL, it's probably for the best. Redemption is a great motivator, and he's not the only Wisconsin player likely to return next year who will be seeking redemption.

In what should have come as a shock to most Georgia fans, UGASports.com reported Wednesday that Georgia junior linebacker Brandon Miller is contemplating forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL Draft this spring.

Ultimately, I expect the 6-foot-4, 250-pound linebacker Miller to come to his senses and stay at Georgia. His physical skills could enable Miller to be a late second-day draft pick in April and then potentially make a practice squad for a year.

The problem is that Miller is not a good linebacker and has few football insticts. He rarely makes tackles, never makes big plays, is lost in space, has a better 40-time than football speed and has horrendous lateral movement.

Rivals.com rated Miller as the top prospect in the state coming out of tiny Miller Co. High in Moultrie. He was rated as the top defensive end prospect in the nation by the Inisers.com. Everyone expected Miller to end up at defensive end, but the Georgia coaches have honored his request to play linebacker.

Georgia superstar junior defensive end Charles Johnson completely dominated Virginia Tech's offensive line in the second half of a 31-24 Bulldog win in the Peach Bowl on Saturday night.

Next year, though, the competition will likely get a little tougher as Johnson is expected to declare for the NFL Draft. Johnson told Josh Kendall of the Macon Telegraph that he will announce whether he would enter the NFL Draft or return to school on Monday, less than 48 hours after the Bulldogs' season ended.

Josh Kendall of the Macon Telegraph provides a detailed update today on Georgia juniors considering leaving school early for the NFL Draft.

Cornerback Paul Oliver, who elevated his national profile by shutting down Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson in the regular-season finale, said he's definitely leaning toward returning to Georgia.

However, Oliver said he would definitely leave if the NFL underclassmen advisory committee projects him as a first-round pick and possibly leave if he is projected as a second- or third-round pick.

In other words, Oliver may say he is "definitely" leaning toward staying at Georgia, but you can expect him to bolt for the NFL, because he will likely be projected to go between rounds 2-4. He has yet to register for classes in spring semester if that is any indication of his intent right now.

There was no new information on defensive end Charles Johnson in this article, but Kendall broke two huge news items on junior tailback Danny Ware.

After senior defensive end Quentin Moses is selected by some lucky NFL team in the first or second round of the NFL Draft this April, next up among Georgia players likely to go would be junior defensive end Charles Johnson, assuming Johnson turns pro but apparently he is having a difficult time making that decision.

Georgia fans can be cautiously optimistic since Johnson has yet to even file paperwork for his draft position to be analyzed by the NFL. But Johnson is rated as the No. 1 or No. 2 junior defensive end prospect in the 2007 draft by nearly every recruiting service.

The 6-foot-2, 274-pound Johnson, a first-year starter at UGA, can certainly elevate his status to a first-round pick if he stays for his senior season. Moses was told by the NFL he would have been a third- or fourth-round pick last year. After staying for his senior season, Moses is now likely to be selected among the top 40 picks overall.

However, I would be surprised if Johnson lasts past the second round in the 2007 draft. His family is by no means affluent and the money second-round picks receive may be too much to warrant staying for a senior season at Georgia.

East Lansing's online community is abuzz and amazingly active for a non-basketball, post-football, Sunday night. The buzz is all about the next Michigan State football coach, and competing reports as of 9:30 p.m. point to either of two figures as the next MSU coach, possibly to be announced on Monday.

Either University of Cincinnati head coach Mark Dantonio (pictured at right) or Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.

According to a report by Cleveland Plain Dealer as published on Browns247.com, Grantham has accepted the job as the next head coach for Michigan State. This contradicts a report last week from Tim Staudt of WILX-TV that Grantham was no longer in the running for the job. WILX must be sticking to Staudt's story, because the station's Jeremy Sampson has reported tonight that Dantonio has accepted the job. Earlier the past week, MSU requested permission to speak with Dantonio, as reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer. The Bearcat message board all but assumes Dantonio has been tabbed for MSU and is headed on a flight to land in East Lansing at 9:39 pm tonight (Sunday).

MSU, which finished dead last in the Big Ten this year at 1-7 (their worst conference record in 50 years), would benefit from either coach. And, either coach would benefit from MSU's situation. The Spartans can only go up.

Stay tuned. Yet another edition of your Spartan Soap Opera.

Since the Michigan State gridders will spend yet another holiday season at home watching football on television, maybe it is a good thing we fired our coach. It gives us Spartans something to talk about, and something to do, other than basketball and hockey.

And, Brian Kelly, head coach of Central Michigan University, now seems to jump to the top of the list of potential Spartan coaches. This, after Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is now out of consideration for the MSU football job -- according to WILX-TV's Tim Staudt. In his newscast tonight, Staudt failed to mention his source or the reason why, but was emphatic about Grantham no longer in the running. He does have a credible inside skinny with Michigan State, so his word is pretty good... much better than anyone named "Hondo."

Kelly's Chippewas crushed Buffalo, 55-28, today to finish 8-4 this season and 7-1 in the Mid-American Conference. CMU will play the 8-3/6-1 Ohio Bobcats next week in the MAC championship for a bid to the Motor City Bowl. Impressively, however, is Kelly's ability to turn a program that was dead as a doornail just two years ago into a conference title champion. This, in addition to his two national titles and his 90%+ winning percentage at Division II Grand Valley State. Kelly will interview with MSU for a second time this week, according to Staudt. He is also being courted by Iowa State.

Staudt mentioned Kelly in the same breath as Pat Shurmur of the Philadelphia Eagles and Mark Dantonio, head coach of the University of Cincinnati. Staudt stated that Shurmur has not been contacted by MSU since he interviewed 10 days ago.

Dantonio's 6-5/3-3 Bearcats, meanwhile, came off an impressive 30-11 victory over previously undefeated #7 Rutgers last week to dash Rutgers' national title hopes and also to make the Bearcats bowl-eligible. Dantonio, whose claim to fame includes a stint as the defensive coordinator when Ohio State last won the national championship in 2002, has also mastered a turnaround of a dead football program.

The one name left out of Staudt's comments: Bo Pelini, defensive coordinator of Louisiana State. By the way, #9 LSU defeated #5 Arkansas, 31-26 today. Pelini has one coaching victory under his belt, defeating Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl as the head coach of Nebraska back in 2003. But, he has also coached numerous top-ranked defenses, including this year's LSU, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. He played cornerback at Ohio State. The ES likes Pelini.

You can expect an announcement early next week. MSU needs to recruit, BAD, and we need our coach in ASAP. MSU President Lou Anna Simon knows this, and she may have already made up her mind... but is just eating some turkey and taking some days off to sleep on it...

With his ex-wife now dating the Dallas Cowboys' quarterback and his former "roommate" throwing passes for the Arizona Cardinals, former boy-bander Nick Lachey is remaining loyal to the USC Trojans, leading a long list of celebrities who will be at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Saturday when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish come to town.

Lachey will be joined on the sidelines by Sacramento Kings scion Joe Maloof (who also attended last week's game against Cal), reality television star Donald Trump, Britney Spears' father Jamie and the legendary Ricky Bobby, Will Ferrell, who will no doubt remind the players on both teams that, "if you ain't first, you're last!"

Former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow may return to the Pac Ten after all. Spurned by the Stanford Cardinal, who chose Walt Harris over Chow (who said everyone was smart in Palo Alto?), Chow left the Trojans for an assistant coaching position for the Tennessee Titans, despite his head-coaching aspirations.

Expected to be the fourth-best team in the Pac Ten this year, the Arizona State Sun Devils must beat rival Arizona just to qualify for a Bowl Game. Sun Devils Head coach Dirk Koetter has been on the hot-seat since losing institutional control early in the season and the wheels have come off the Sun Devil bandwagon since they played USC close in early October.

Now, rumor has it that despite his contract extensions, Koetter may be on his way out and that Norm Chow, who worked with ASU athletic director Lisa Love when they were at USC, is in line for the top job at Arizona State.

It's his job to lose.

Pat Shurmur, the current quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, is now the leading candidate to replace John L. "Call Me Knucklehead" Smith at Michigan State.

Shurmur, who would be a "baby" among college coaches at age 41, was the All-Big Ten center for the last Spartan football team to make it to the Rose Bowl, back in 1988. He has the fire and the desire to become the next Spartans coach. He is a Spartan. And, his biggest supporter was just elected to the MSU Board of Trustees: former MSU head coach George Perles.

But, does he have the experience? That is the big question, yet there are signals out of East Lansing that Shurmur is the leading candidate. Tim Staudt, a local radio talk show host, and "Dean of Mid-Michigan Sports" on WILX TV-10, stated this morning that "his sources" confirm Shurmur is the buzz among Spartan brass. Staudt, like him or not, holds some clout with his skinny on the MSU athletic department for just being around so dang long in these parts. Take his word for it: Shurmur's at the top of the list.

Philadelphia Eagle quarterback Donovan McNabb told the Philadelphia Inquirer (link here): ""He's well deserving of it. He's worked extremely hard at preparing us, and he does a great job of making sure we're ready to go. He loves his school. He's definitely one that always seems to bring up Michigan State. I know he wants a crack at that job and he would be great." And, Eagles head coach Andy Reid stated, "I think he would do a great job for them."

There's one way to tell if he can do the job. Have Mason and Simon offer to put his tail on a plane and get him to East Lansing PRONTO. Let's see him coach these Spartans in tomorrow's game against the Minnesota Gophers (the ES predicts a 28-19 loss as it is, with four field goals by MSU's frosh phenom Brett Swenson providing a glimmer of hope). Put Shurmur out there and have him call the plays... he can't do any worse than numbnuts Smith, and, hey, we might even have a chance at a W.

The Internet rumor mills, including the Enlightened Spartan, list other candidates for the job being defensive coordinators Jon Tenuta of Georgia Tech, Charlie Strong of Florida, Bo Pelini of Louisiana State, and Todd Grantham of the Cleveland Browns. Head coaches Brian Kelly of Central Michigan University and Mark D'Antonio of the University of Cincinnati are also being mentioned in the East Lansing buzz. FYI -- former Detroit Lions/San Francisco 49ers/University of California coach Steve Mariucci said "no" to MSU at this time, according to his best buddy and current Spartan basketball coach Tom Izzo.