Turnovers killed the Moutaineers in this game, plain and simple. Five turnovers, in fact, four of them interceptions by senior QB Jarrett Brown. Take those turnovers away and West Virginia wins this game, likely in fairly easy fashion.

West Virginia

Jarrett Brown QB #16 6' 4.0" 221lbs 4.59 2010 - flashes exciting raw potential. Reminded me a lot of Michael Vick (in a good way ). Very mobile, elusive, and dangerous with his feet. Very strong arm. Can send the ball far downfield with a seemingly-negligent flick of his wrist. Nice accuracy, particularly on the move. Showed good composure, for the most part. Made mistakes (the aforementioned quartet of interceptions) that were mostly his fault - bad reads, too much confidence in his arm, and putting too much touch on a shuffle pass. One pick was the result of Brown and Wes Lyons not being on the same page. Wasn't helped by his offensive line, often having to leave the pocket before having a chance to make a read. Despite the four picks, my overall impression was positive, though I'd like to see him in a pro offense. Grade - slightly positive

Noel Devine HB #7 5' 8.0" 175lbs 4.50 2011 - say hello to the next Darren Sproles. Tiny, but strong for his size and not afraid to run inside. Doesn't shy away from contact, although he's a little too fond of bouncing things outside. VERY fast. That 4.50 listed time should be adjusted to 4.40 or lower. Very quick, too. Stops and starts on a dime. Catches well, and also returns kicks. Should stay in school for another year, not because he doesn't have the skills yet, but because at the next level he's going to be a 3rd-down, change-of-pace, kick-return, punt-return guy, not a factor back, and, as a result, he's not going to be a first round pick. Grade - very positive

Alric Arnett WR #82 6' 2.0" 180lbs 4.49 2010 - fairly quiet, catching four balls for 61yds. Didn't do anything poorly, but didn' do anything eye-catching, either. Grade - neutral

Wes Lyons WR #4 6' 8.0" 231lbs 4.76 2010 - even quieter than Arnett, tallying just three catches for thirty yards. Presents obvious size mismatches with everybody else on the field, but that 4.76 time is painfully accurate. This guy lumbers aroun out on the field. He lined up in the slot in this game, but he needs to be a TE or H-back at the next level. Doesn't blow people off the ball when he blocks, but he will engage, sustain, and wall off. Grade - neutral

Selvish Capers OT #66 6' 5.0" 298lbs 4.96 2010 - lined up at ORT. Showed poorly in this game, disappointing me, as I expected more based on the press clippings. On the plus side, he's obviously athletic and light on his feet, pulling, trapping, and getting to the second level with ease. On the downside, Auburn LDE Antonio Coleman manhandled him seemingly all day, despite the fact the Capers outweighs Coleman by roughly 50lbs. Capers seemed to have an issue with balance, as Coleman would often ragdoll him by getting him top-heavy and either throwing him off to one side or just pushing him over. Capers also blocked the wrong man on occassion, missing blitzes. Speed didn't give him nearly as much trouble as power. Grade - negative

Reed Williams MLB #47 6' 1.0" 228lbs 4.78 2010 - did not play due to a foot injury. Grade - incomplete

Robert Sands S #2 6' 5.0" 211lbs 4.60 2012 - great size. Decent speed. Around the ball a lot, but seemingly never involved in the actual play. Tallied only a single assist for the whole game. Perhaps some of that is from the position he plays - the deep centerfielder in West Virginia's 3-3-5 defense. I saw his number a lot during this game, but he always seemed to be a step away from actually making a play. Fortunately, he's just a sophomore, and has a lot of time to develop. Grade - negative

Auburn

Ben Tate HB #44 5' 10.0" 185lbs 4.40 2010 - a bit like Devine in terms of build, but lacks his pure speed and elusiveness. On the other hand, he actually displays more power. It took him a while to get going, but he eventually turned in a fairly decent game. Needs to show more in the way of catching skills and return ability because, like Devine, he's not going to be a featured guy at the next level. Grade - slightly positive

Tommy Trott TE #5 6' 5.0" 250lbs 4.75 2010 - very quiet. Rarely on the field, as Auburn preferred to use multi-receiver sets. Didn't really notice him blocking at all (which is not to say that he wasn't - I just didn't see him do it). Caught a couple of balls. Showed decent hands and slightly above-average speed for his size. Might be able to stick on a NFL roster. Grade - neutral

Lee Ziemba OT #73 6' 8.0" 304lbs 5.00 - much more impressive than his West Virginia counterpart, Selvish Capers. Lined up at OLT. Could carry more bulk with ease. Didn't flash the athleticism of Capers, but much more fundamentally sound. Never allowed his man anywhere near the QB. Got a decent push in the running game, but could still get stronger. Grade - positive

Antonio Coleman DE #52 6' 3.0" 257lbs 4.70 2010 - gave Capers fits all night, sometimes with speed, but often with just a simple bull rush. Good jump off the ball, effort, power, and short-distance speed. Missed a few plays in the seond half with an injury, but quickly recovered and returned to the game. Racked up three solos, three assists, 1.5 TFLs, a sack, a hurry, and a fumble recovery. Isn't a fantastically gifted guy athletically, like, say, a Jevon Kearse, but just gets the job done, perhaps more like a Justin Smith. Grade - positive.

Tray Blackmon LB #10 6' 0.0" 220lbs 4.70 2010 - don't recall ever seeing his number. Grade - incomplete

Craig Stevens LB #46 6' 3.0" 227lbs 0.00 2011 - see below

Josh Bynes LB #17 6' 2.0" 233lbs 0.00 2011 - as a unit, the Auburn LB corps played fairly well, but individually no one man really stood out to me. Bynes led the way with 12 total tackles, a pick, and a PBU. Stevens followed up with 11 total tackles and a pick. Both players have similar styles, being a bit undersized and relying on speed to fly to the ball. Given the offense they were facing, it shouldn't be that surprising that they had no TFLs and made all of their tackles a few yards downfield. Grade - neutral

Aairon Savage S #2 5' 11.0" 173lbs 0.00 2011 - don't recall ever seeing his number. Grade - incomplete

I see more Tony Banks in Brown than Vick, though his 4.59 speed and top 10-15 in the NCAA arm make him an intriguing mid to late round pick; I am a bit confused about the projected 40 times on Devine and Tate, Devine just lost to Demps and Rainey in HS sprints with a 10.43 100m, he claims he can go sub 4.3, 4.37-4.43 is more likely, while Tate did run a hand-timed 4.41 at a Nike College Training Camp when he was about 22 pounds lighter than his current weight, I'd bet he's about 4.52 now, also Tate was 204 last year and I hear he's 218 now. I like Arnett if they used those Rams style deep crosses he'd have 1-2 25+ yard big plays a game. Capers seems to be playing out of position, he is a classic finesse OLT type RT would seem to be a poor fit for him. Ziemba reminded me of Sam Baker but 3 inches taller, is he a late 1st rounders? Does Coleman look like a future 3-4 OLB?

Brown certainly doesn't have Vick's athleticism and pure speed, but I think he's more mobile than Banks (and I was really high on Banks back in the day. Ask Bendo )

Devine is definitely faster than his currently listed time. I'd pretty much agree with you - somewhere in the 4.35 to 4.40 range. Tate is slower than Devine, perhaps 4.45 to 4.50.

Capers game is definitely finesse, but if he doesn't work on the balance issue, he's going to look bad over there, too.

I don't know that I'd grade Ziemba quite that high. He wasn't exactly facing top competition. Perhaps early 3rd round?

Before I could project Coleman to a 3-4 OLB, I'd have to see him drop into coverage, which I never saw him do. The raw skills are probably there, but I'd have to see him try first.

Here are Tony Banks' combine/pro day results 40: 4.76/4.73, Bench DNP, Vertical 34" Broad 9'10", Shuttle 4.14, so no not Mike Vick but a very good athlete, Banks played right field for the Minnesota Twins' Class A team in Ft. Myers, Florida and was a HS hoops star. So should you apologize to him or should I let him know you're sorry?

Again, I really liked Banks when he was coming out. When Bendo and I were writing for the now-defunct Stadium Guide to Football (with Bill Chackes) I noticed Banks during his junior year. I saw a big, strapping QB who moved pretty well for his size, threw well on the move, and had a rocket arm. I told Bendo, Bill, and everybody else at SGtF to keep an eye on him. Unfortunately, he wound up having a disappointing career in the NFL, but I liked him a lot coming out of college.

I'm not saying he wasn't athletic. I'm saying I think Brown is more athletic than Banks, but less athletic than Vick.

I actually agree, I have 4.59-462 on Brown and he has just as much arm as Brown though about 10% less than Vick, he's the kind of #3 QB who would have flourished in NFLE, I hope he gets a chance.