The 2011 NFL Draft included two former Indiana Hoosiers. Both WR Tandon Doss and OL James Brewer were selected in the fourth round. Brewer was selected with the 117th pick by the New York Giants, while Doss was the 123rd pick and will play for the Baltimore Ravens. The latter is particularly interesting from a IU perspective, because Doss will be playing for Ravens' offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, who was IU's head coach from 1997-2001. Both guys seem to have slipped a bit compared to their mock draft placement. Whether Doss made the right decision to leave will be a big topic of conversation among IU fans, but I tend to think it is defensible. Doss would have faced the uncertainty of how he would adapt to Kevin Wilson's offense, a fairly deep stable of IU receivers, and a new starting quarterback. I would suspect that Doss fell because he isn't a physical specimen and doesn't have incredible speed, but that was true even i n college, and he managed to be a very good college receiver. I wouldn't be surprise if Doss does very well in Baltimore. As for Brewer, he is every bit the physical specimen, a classic "all airport" player. That's not to denigrate his fine IU career, of course. In 2006, IU brought in seven oversized offensive line recruits that Terry Hoeppner dubbed the "seven blocks of limestone." Brewer becomes the second of the blocks to be drafted. Last year, Rodger Saffold was selected in the second round, and started every game of his rookie season at LT and seems on his way to being a Pro Bowl caliber player. Hopefully Brewer will have similar success in New York.
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