COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M is readying for senior day this Saturday at Kyle Field. The Aggies' game against Mississippi State will be their eighth and final home contest of the season.
Will senior day also be the Kyle Field finale for a couple of third-year sophomores, quarterback Johnny Manziel and receiver Mike Evans? That's the buzz here since both are thought to be of NFL first-round quality if they decide to declare for next May's draft.
Manziel has spoken to reporters only three times this season, and he hasn't been questioned about possibly entering the draft. In previous offseason interviews, Manziel said he was considering his NFL options. Evans told the Austin American-Statesman last month he wasn't yet considering leaving A&M early.
Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin said he'll gather information to give to the players and their families so that each can make a knowledgeable decision.
''What I tell the guys is, I'll give you the information," Sumlin said. "Then if you ask me, I'll tell you what I think. If you don't ask me, I won't sway you."
Manziel and Evans are showing up in the first rounds of various NFL mock drafts. Right now, Manziel is listed among a second-tier group of quarterbacks, behind Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater and Oregon's Marcus Mariota. The top two are projected to be top-five picks.
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. listed Manziel as the 18th-best prospect available in his rankings compiled last week.
Kiper wrote of Manziel: "In some ways this season has been even better than last. Manziel has shown an ability to beat any defense. He extends plays with his legs, does a fantastic job of scanning the whole field, has tremendous touch and would deliver strikes with more velocity if he kept his feet underneath him consistently. I think he's also underrated in his willingness to make the right throw versus always going for the big play. The highlights are surrounded by a lot of smart plays."
Scouts Inc. lists Manziel as the 30th-best player and Evans as No. 32.
Both are semifinalists for the Maxwell Award, but Manziel's Heisman stock appears to be slipping. He was a distant third to Mariota and Florida State's Jameis Winston in this week's USA Today Heisman poll. Oddsmakers with the online gambling site Bovada recently dropped Manziel's chances of winning the Heisman to 14-to-1. He was 9-to-1 last week.
Opposing coaches are describing Manziel-to-Evans as a nearly unstoppable offensive duo.
Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said this week, "If Johnny Manziel scrambles around and throws one up and Mike Evans jumps over our guys and catches the ball, there's not a whole lot you can do about that."
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