40 Acres Sports

ESPN expert Joe Lunardi loves the Horns spot in the South bracket. He thinks Texas has the best résumé in the country and will make it to the Final Four in San Antonio.

Watch his NCAA Tourney preview of Texas below:

Pro day, or pro timing day, is an NFL Draft prospect’s chance to show scouts what he’s got in a comfortable environment. They’re on their own campus, in their own gym, working out with their teammates and coaches. It also is a chance for the guys who weren’t invited to the NFL Combine to show their stuff. At Texas’ pro day Wednesday, sixteen players were weighed, measured, timed, and did position drills for 75 NFL personnel people.

Most of this information is cribbed from NFL.com, Orangebloods, and the Austin-American Statesman blog post on UT’s pro day. The numbers are inconsistent because they always are, everybody gets their times from a different source. Here’s how some of the Horns performed:

• Cornerback [tag]Brandon Foster[/tag] – 5-7 5/8, 185, 10-8 broadjump. Ran a blazing 4.28 time in the 40-yard dash. He also showed athleticism with a 38-inch vertical jump. His performance might offset the fact that Foster was measured at 5-7.
• Running back [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag] – 5-11, 199 pounds. Elected not to run, allowing his 4.38 time that he posted at the combine to stand. Ran position workouts and looked good catching the football.
• Receiver [tag]Limas Sweed[/tag] – 6-4 1/8, 210, 37 vertical. Ran a 4.40, shaving nearly a tenth of a second off of the time he ran at the NFL combine last month. 4.33 short shuttle, 7.14 cone drill. Ran position drills and looked good catching the ball.
• Tight end [tag]Jermichael Finley[/tag] – 6-4 3/4, 240 pounds. Ran a 4.62, dropping his time from the combine by .24. His time is now the second fastest run by a tight end in workouts leading up to next month’s draft.
• Backup safety [tag]Drew Kelson[/tag] – 6-0 1/2, 216, 10-9 broad jump. Posted a 41.5-inch vertical jump and ran a 4.45. We’re checking to see if any other player in the country has jumped higher in draft workouts.
• Defensive tackle [tag]Derek Lokey[/tag] – 6-1 3/8, 293, 33.5 vert. Did 38 reps on the 225-pound bench press. He also worked out at fullback and deep snapper. 9-foot, 4-inch long jump, 4.37 short shuttle, 7.57 cone drill, 38 reps in the bench press, and ran position drills.
• Linebacker [tag]Scott Derry[/tag] – 6-2 1/2, 221
• Tackle [tag]Tony Hills[/tag] – 6-5, 307 lbs. 24 reps in the bench press, but could not run or do other drills due to an injury.
• Defensive tackle [tag]Frank Okam[/tag] – 6-4 7/8, 27.5 vertical. Dropped 12 pounds since his weigh-in at the combine. He is weighing 335 right now.
• Safety [tag]Marcus Griffin[/tag] – 5-10, 196, 37.5 vert. Ran a 4.5 40.
• Wide receiver [tag]Billy Pittman[/tag] – 5-11, 195. Ran a 4.56.
• Also participated: safety [tag]Erick Jackson[/tag], wide receiver [tag]Nate Jones[/tag], linebacker [tag]Robert Killebrew[/tag], defensive tackle [tag]Thomas Marshall[/tag], punter [tag]Justin Moore[/tag], and former Longhorn safety [tag]Lee Jackson[/tag].

Related Links

• UT press release
• The Longhorn family
• Player quotes
• Photo gallery

I’m not even sure where [tag]Austin Peay[/tag] is located, but the Longhorns will be taking them on Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The former school of NBA legends Trenton Hassell and Bubba Wells, Austin Peay has 8,650 undergraduate students at the Clarksville, Tennessee campus. The 15th-seeded team in the South bracket, the Governors are led by scorer Drake Reed and outside shooter Todd Babington.

Check out the SI.com Film Room preview below for more info:

The Longhorns will face the Governors on Friday at 2pm on CBS. Start working on your excuse to leave work early now.

This weekend is one of the best times of year to be a sports fan. Wall-to-wall college basketball on television and everybody has a little something extra riding on the games. March Madness finally begins today.

Here are some of day one’s most interesting games:

(3) Xavier vs (14) Georgia – 11:20am
Can the Bulldogs keep any of that SEC Tourney magic going or are they worn out? A lot of people have Xavier going pretty far and I think they win this one easily. Prediction: Xavier

(11) Kentucky vs (6) Marquette – 1:30pm
Billy Clyde Gillispie’s Wildcats started off the season terribly and I thought he might not survive his first season in Lexington. They went on a late conference run and I think it continues today with the upset. Prediction: Kentucky

(11) Baylor vs (6) Purdue – 1:50pm
One of the games I’m most interested in today. Scott Drew has brought [tag]Baylor[/tag] lightyears from where they were a few years ago, can they get a first round victory? I think so. Prediction: Baylor

(11) Kansas State vs (6) USC – 6:10pm
Probably the premier national game of the day pitting two of the country’s top youngsters. Will [tag]Kansas State[/tag]’s Michael Beasley or USC‘s OJ Mayo prevail in this match-up of this year’s top five NBA draft picks? Prediction: Kansas State

(9) Texas A&M vs (8) BYU – 6:25pm
Farmers versus Mormons… fight! The Aggies will go as far as giant freshman DeAndre Jordan will take them. He’s not the best player on their team, but he’s the most important. Prediction: BYU

Related Links

• ESPN scoreboard
• Printable bracket (PDF)
• My Tourney Challenge bracket

AccuScore predictions for first round of NCAA Tournament. Giving Austin Peay a surprising 14% chance to win.

SI.com experts NCAA Tournament picks. Again, four out of five have Texas in Final Four.

SI.com has video previews up of all 65 NCAA Tournament teams in their Film Room section. Not exactly a ton of insight, but some nice highlight video of each team and it is a good way to get to know the players to watch.

Here’s the Texas preview:

Biggest question for the Texas offense is who will replace Charles. Vondrell McGee, Fozzy Whittaker and Chris Ogbonnaya are main options.

ESPN expert NCAA Tournament survey. Five out of six say Texas in their Final Four.

Texas’ Damion James an authority on toughness. I think he’ll be a top 20 pick after his Junior season.