Sports Betting Professor

	Joel Auerbach/US Presswire
	Miami's Vontae Davis hopes to avoid major mistakes on and off the field.

 Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins rookie cornerback Vontae Davis faced a semicircle of cameras and microphones to talk about a disconcerting incident he recently endured.

Behind him, Oakland Raiders receiver Louis Murphy crept, grasped the hem of Davis' shorts and yanked them down.

Symbolic, really.

The main message of the NFL Rookie Symposium, a mandatory four-day orientation at PGA National Resort and Spa, is "watch your back at all times."

For the past 13 years, the league has conducted seminars to counsel draft picks on how to act like professionals. With the misdeeds of Michael Vick and Plaxico Burress filling headlines, commissioner Roger Goodell wants to get new players indoctrinated immediately.

"I think it's great what [Goodell] is doing for the league, cleaning it up and really doing a great job of holding guys to a higher standard," said Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 overall pick. "They just try to introduce the rookies to that and to the policy and how strict it is."

A significant aspect of being new pros is protecting themselves now that they're on the big stage. These players are young and often naive. Many come from modest backgrounds. They're about to receive steady paychecks with lots of commas. That makes them targets.

"The biggest thing is 'no' has to be the favorite word in your vocabulary," Davis said. "You can't be afraid to say 'no.' Most people are friendly. It's hard for them to actually say 'no.' But they're going to have to learn. They might have to go to a "no" class where they say 'no' a thousand times.

"I sit is a room every day and say 'no, no, no.' I practice it."

Davis is more aware than most of his 2009 draft classmates.

He recently was the victim of identity theft. Last week, an impostor provided Davis' full name and address when cited for a couple tickets in Champaign, Ill., where the real Davis went to college. Davis was with the Dolphins at the time of the traffic stop.

Davis said his wallet had been stolen from his car while he was attending Illinois. He canceled his credit cards and obtained a new license — the old one was issued in Washington D.C., the new one was from Maryland — and didn't think about it again until reports of an arrest surfaced.

On Monday, we learned another schmo was passing himself off as Dolphins receiver Davone Bess through a Twitter account.

"We talk about this stuff every week in our player development meetings," Davis said. "To actually see it happen to you, you're like, 'Wow.' It wakes you up. This stuff is serious. It's really serious."

The NFL brings in several speakers each year to discuss everything from life choices to finances to charity work to the importance of history.

This year's program included NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith, Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, retired running back Jerome Bettis, Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and St. Louis Rams linebacker Chris Draft.

One of the more compelling speakers had to be former Jacksonville Jaguars tackle Richard Collier, who was shot 14 times last September. He is paralyzed from the waist down and had his left leg amputated.

"It's about making smart decisions," Dolphins cornerback Sean Smith said. "You definitely want to remember that because you not only can hurt yourself but your organization. You don't want to draw that kind of negative attention to your team."

New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez recounted appropriate words of advice Southern California coach Pete Carroll and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter gave him.

"You've got to be smart and protect yourself, protect your team," Sanchez recalled Jeter telling him recently.

"Coach Carroll said the same thing: If you love something and respect something with all your heart, you'll do everything you can to protect it. This is what I've always wanted to do."

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

• Sen. Orrin Hatch has taken his fight to the pages of Sports Illustrated where he wrote an essay about the inequality of the BCS.

• Ball State might be in some Title IX trouble and is being investigated this month by the Office for Civil Rights.

• Athlon College Football profiles the top non-AQ running backs according to their fantasy value.

• Boise State picked up a commitment from Central High School quarterback Grant Hedrick.

• An interestingly placed article in the Nebraska StatePaper.com says that teams, especially Nebraska, shouldn't sleep on teams from the Sun Belt Conference.

• The Daily News Journal contends that Middle Tennessee could be in the Big East because of its Directors Cup finish.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Who needs a quiet summer? Alex Henery is doing his best to stay busy by trying to win another job with Nebraska.

It's why Henery is trying to build on his record-breaking start as a kicker by becoming the Cornhuskers' regular punter.

But whether booming high spiraling punts or drilling balls through the uprights, Henery has confidence he can help the Cornhuskers at both positions.

	Josh Wolfe/Icon SMI
	Nebraska kicker Alex Henery is looking to add the punting duties to his plate in 2009.

"It's something that I can do," Henery said. "Some kids are strictly kickers and others are punters. I feel like I can do both. It's a challenge I feel like I can accomplish."

Henery actually came to Nebraska as a punter after averaging more than 41 yards per kick at Burke High School in Omaha in his junior and senior seasons. Those numbers earned him all-state honors as a punter from the Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal-Star in both seasons.

But when he arrived at Nebraska, his chances at the position were stifled with Dan Titchener and Jake Wesch in front of him on the depth chart. After sitting out a redshirt season, Henery moved to kicker where he has blossomed into one of the nation's most consistent performers once he got his chance.

And he earned Bo Pelini's ultimate compliment when he was described as "a stud" after his record-breaking 57-yard kick that helped beat Colorado last year.

During his college career, Henery has missed only one extra point and one field goal attempt inside of 50 yards. He is the most consistent kicker in Nebraska history to this point.

"I couldn't imagine things turning out much better for me than how they've worked out," Henery said. "I'm happy with how things have gone so far. My career has worked out pretty well."

Even with that early success, Henery hopes to build on that by punting this season after the graduation of Wesch and Titchener.

Few college players have been successful at both jobs. But recent success by Wake Forest standout Sam Swank and West Virginia's Pat McAfee have convinced Henery to give it a shot.

Despite the different fundamentals involved in kicking and punting, Henery isn't worried about losing his edge as a kicker as he goes back to punting.  

"I'm not too concerned about it," Henery said. "They are two different motions and they contradict and do different things. And once you do one, you forget about it. I have to go back on the field and cancel what might have happened before. You have to have a short memory in how you look at things as a kicker."

In his first season in 2007, he converted all 45 of his extra points and all eight of his field goals as he was used as the Cornhuskers' short and intermediate kicker. None of his attempts were longer than 39 yards.

That all changed last season when he won the job at the start of the season. He started by nailing four field goals — all from 44 yards — in the Cornhuskers' season opener against Western Michigan. Those kicks gave him a streak of 12 consecutive field goals — the best start in history by a Nebraska kicker.

His streak was snapped by a 35-yard miss against New Mexico State, but that has been the only time he's failed from within 50 yards in his career.

His 57-yarder against Colorado has been a career highlight, one he admits to watching a couple of hundred times on YouTube. But it's hard not to be proud of that clutch kick that prompted more than 300 text messages in the two hours after the kick.

Just as important were his four field goals against Clemson that provided the margin of victory in the Cornhuskers' Gator Bowl victory. It was the third time and second straight game where he kicked four field goals that ended up being the margin of victory.

Those career successes make it a little hard to believe that Henery had more interest as a soccer player than in football.

"Back then, it was almost all soccer, 24-7," said Henery, whose only scholarship leaving high school was a soccer offer from Creighton. "I would go to school, practice football for about 45 minutes and then play soccer and club soccer. On Friday nights, I would play my [football] game, then go out and play soccer out of state for the rest of the weekend. I never concentrated on football that much."

But that all changed when he received the opportunity to walk-on with the Cornhuskers, which was boosted with the opportunity to study engineering at Nebraska.

"It was a tough decision and took the better part of three months to decide," Henery said. "But a lot of it had to do with my major. It was just something I couldn't pass up."

Despite the laudatory comments from Pelini and his clutch success down the stretch last season, Henery still isn't on scholarship with the Cornhuskers.

And while he's starting the season awaiting a scholarship, Henery is confident he'll get one soon enough.

"I'm sure it's coming soon and I'm not worrying about it," said Henery, who has converted a 63-yard field goal attempt in practice before when kicking indoors. "They know what they have with me. It will come soon. I love playing football here."

After that, if his current success holds, he likely will follow in the path of Cornhuskers before him. Kickers like Kris Brown and Josh Brown have gone on to successful NFL careers after kicking for Nebraska.

Those plans still are a long ways in the future. Henery has some busy plans as a kicker and punter before then.

"I'm not really surprised as much as happy that this has all happened and worked out for me," Henery said. "I just need to keep it going for two more years."

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — When the Miami Dolphins selected Southern California wide receiver Patrick Turner in the third round, draft experts were baffled.

	Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
	Mark Sanchez (6) expects big things from Patrick Turner (1), just like when the two played at USC.

Mark Sanchez wasn't.

"I think Patrick Turner's best days are yet to come," Sanchez said Tuesday after they took part in a youth football camp as part of the NFL Rookie Symposium at the PGA National resort. "He's going to be a special player."

Turner was Sanchez's top scoring target last year at USC. Sanchez, the fifth overall choice of the New York Jets, connected with him 49 times for 741 yards and a team-high 10 touchdowns.

That made Turner the Trojans' leading scorer after kicker David Buehler.

Turner's easy to find. He's 6-foot-5 and 223 pounds. He has exhibited sensational hands at Dolphins practices this offseason. He should be an attractive option for Chad Pennington in the Dolphins' red zone.

"He's got a great opportunity to play down there," Sanchez said. "I'm a little upset we've got to play against him because he's such a good player."

The biggest knock on Turner before the draft was his speed. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds at USC's pro day.

Scouts Inc. rated him the 38th best receiver in the draft. Pro Football Weekly's draft guide ranked Turner 30th, saying he "has no upside" and that he benefitted from facing single coverage on a stacked offense. Lindy's Pro Football ranked him 18th.

That didn't matter to the Dolphins, or to Sanchez.

"He's really starting to come into his own and be a dominant receiver, somebody who plays with a lot of effort and intensity," Sanchez said. "He's only going to get better. You haven't seen his peak yet."

Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky

Several people who are friends of mine on Facebook wondered why former Jaguars running back Fred Taylor failed to make Football Outsiders' list of the most underrated players of the decade.

Taylor

I took the question directly to the source, and our friend Aaron Schatz wrote me back with this, the conclusion of which is going to please a lot of Jaguars fans.

"Taylor has been a good running back for an extended period of time, but based on FO stats, he's certainly not been a GREAT running back for an extended period of time. On a per-play basis, his best seasons were probably 1998-2000, which is before this decade (and the very beginning of this decade). Since 2001, he has only been in the top ten for running back value (based on Football Outsiders rushing DYAR) twice, eighth in both 2002 and 2007. His 2003 season (1574 yards) was not as good as it looks at first because of an easy schedule, and it was his last year with a Success Rate above 45 percent (i.e. league average). He was below-average by our numbers in 2004, 2005, and 2008. So I think that the conventional wisdom on Taylor is about right — he's been a good, not great, running back with good career longevity, neither overrated nor underrated.

"The Jacksonville fans are going to like me a lot more than they hate me in a couple weeks, because Football Outsiders Almanac projects the Jaguars to return to the playoffs."

He said he's got the Colts as the team most likely to win the division and the Titans and Jags in as wild cards.

Good June fodder. But I'm sure he'd be fine with me referring to this entry from last year, when he had the Texans going to the playoffs.

Thanks Aaron for the quick response.

James Hasty on what players should be doing to get in shape for camp.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Jeff Byers has been around a long time at USC and he's seen a lot. He started games for the 2004 team that won a second consecutive national championship. And he's seen his promising career almost end due to injuries, which killed two of his seasons.

"Old Man Byers," as some of his teammates hail the sixth-year offensive guard, will anchor perhaps the nation's best offensive line this fall as a sixth-year senior. Yet his chief reason for hanging around for so long might surprise you.

"I came back because I wanted to finish my masters' degree, first off," said Byers, who will turn 24 in September.

	Icon SMI
	USC guard Jeff Byers has been smart about his career and education.

Let's just say that Byers has used his time at USC wisely. While many yakety yak endlessly about college athletes not getting paid, Byers has parlayed his football scholarship into a bachelor's degree in business administration and tossed in an MBA for good measure.

That would cost most folks around $350,000.

Of course, when you are a conscientious student that long, you pick up some quirks. Byers, for example, often answers questions in outline form: "A. B. C."

Such as: "Jeff, are you guys already thinking about the marquee matchup at Ohio State on Sept. 12?"

Byers: "No, because: A. We've got to get through summer workouts; B. We've got to get through camp; and, C. We've got to beat San Jose State before we can start thinking about Ohio State."

Byers is one of five returning starters from a line that: A. Gave up only 18 sacks in 2008, fewest in the Pac-10; B. Led a rushing attack that averaged 195 yards per game and 5.0 yards per carry; and, C. Is very deep considering the entire 2008 two-deep is back, and touted sophomore Tyron Smith is pushing to eclipse Butch Lewis at right tackle.

More than a handful of publications have ranked the Trojans line as the nation's best unit, not that Byers cares.

"It's hard to be called the best when you haven't played a down of football yet," he said. "It's like getting ranked No. 1 in the preseason. What does it matter? If you don't finish No. 1, it doesn't matter. It puts a target on your chest, but at the same time, you've got to remember it truly means nothing right now. Just because they say you're the No. 1 offensive line right now doesn't mean you are going to play like it."

That's sort of how Byers is. He's not flashy. He doesn't self-aggrandize. He's skeptical of hype.

Given an opportunity to join the chorus of USC fans who griped — not without justification — about the Trojans getting left out of the national championship discussion in 2008, Byers instead just scoffed.

"If we wanted to play for the national championship, we should have beaten Oregon State," he said. "That's the way it goes. If you lose, then you let your fate be in other people's hands. If you go 12-0, you've got a pretty good shot of getting to the national championship game. All it would it would have taken for us was beating Oregon State. Then there's no questioning. I'm not upset about it. Worrying about that is not going to help anything. It's not going to change it. It's the way the system works."

That sense of perspective probably comes from seeing just about everything in his career since he was a consensus prep All-American out of Fort Collins, Colo., in 2003: a national championship, a 34-game winning streak, major back and hip injuries, Vince Young going super-human to stop the Trojans from three-peating, a loss to 41-point underdog Stanford and five consecutive Pac-10 titles.

Things are never boring around the Trojans. It's not easy to leave that behind. So Byers applied for and earned a sixth year from the NCAA.

Said Byers, "If you've got an opportunity to keep playing in college, A. It's not going to hurt you in the NFL; and, B. Playing for one of the best teams in the country, and arguably the best coach in the country, you can't go wrong with that. The NFL is going to be there next year."

Byers is heading into a third consecutive healthy season, which should help his draft prospects. He also played at a light 285 pounds last year. Now he's just under 300, and he thinks his quickness and flexibility are better.

As for the Trojans offense, it welcomes back nine starters. The pregunta gigante, of course, is who plays quarterback: Can true freshman Matt Barkley beat out sophomore Aaron Corp, who was tapped No. 1 coming out of spring?

"Whoever plays between those two, we're going to have a great shot of winning a lot of football games," Byers said.

But Byers also echoes what just about everyone else says when assessing Barkley: He's special.

"Barkley is very mature for his age — I forget all the time that he is only a freshman," Byers said. "We'll be sitting there wanting to give the younger guys a hard time and it's like, 'Wait a second. Barkley is with these guys!' Regardless of whether he plays this year or not, he's going to have a very bright future."

As for his future, Byers hasn't decided how he's going to use his MBA just yet. He interned at Toyota's North American headquarters doing strategic planning. There's always consulting. And investments and portfolio analysis are also intriguing.

Oh, and there's the business plan of getting a fat NFL signing bonus, not that Byers is planning to go all fleet-of-Bentleys on us.

That's not Old Man Byers' style: "I'm happy with my '98 Nissan Maxima," he said.

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

Not sure if this is a good thing, but Louisiana-Lafayette will get to witness some Nebraska history this year.

When the Ragin' Cajuns roll into Lincoln, Neb., on Sept. 26, it will be the 300th sellout in Nebraska football history, and to celebrate the Huskers are turning back the clock.

Nebraska will wear throwback uniforms designed to match the 1962 uniforms from former coach Bob Devaney's first season and the first sellout against Missouri. Game tickets and programs will be 1962 replicas as well.

All of the Nebraska uniforms will be auctioned for charity, and I'm sure for all of you making the trip, your ticket stubs and programs will be worth some nice coin on eBay.

This is the first meeting between the Cajuns and the Huskers, and it's been designated the homecoming game.

	AP Photo/Matt Ludtke
	Nick Collins says he isn't sure if he'll report to training camp without a new deal.

Posted by ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert

This is what happens when you build around young players.

They get older.

And they want to get paid.

After three years of fielding the NFL's youngest team, Green Bay has entered the next — and decidedly less fun — phase in the development of its program. In the past year, the Packers have signed four veterans to contracts worth a total of $116.5 million, but they still have 15 players whose contracts will expire after this season. Seven are likely starters, and one (safety Nick Collins) hasn't said for sure whether he will report to training camp without a new deal.

Decisions will have to be made and feelings inevitably will be hurt. This crossroads is neither unexpected nor avoidable, but for the Packers it's no less pressing than their conversion to a 3-4 defense as they attempt to rebound from a 6-10 season.

"There is always an evolution of a team," general manager Ted Thompson said. "At different points in people's careers, certain things happen. And we're trying to take care of our business the best we can. Each year your team matures, and we have a larger number of young guys that are getting ready for the next phase of their careers, and that's something that's our job to deal with."

Since his arrival in 2005, Thompson has taken a disciplined approach to building through the draft. You can praise him for developing players who are now worthy of extensions, or you can criticize him for structuring an unbalanced team. Regardless, his choice now is either to maintain the nucleus he has built or cast it aside for another young crop of players.

It's hard to imagine the Packers starting over, but the financial constraints of the NFL's salary cap will likely result in some players being excluded. That unavoidable byproduct has added a new layer to locker room dynamics as players try to figure out where they stand and inevitably compare their situations to others'.

A few players on the list could well be entering their final season with the team, most notably left tackle Chad Clifton (age 33) and nose tackle Ryan Pickett (30 in October). Such departures are a fact of life in the NFL. The unusual segment of the Packers' scenario is how many young players are approaching the end of their first contracts — a group that includes Collins, right guard Daryn Colledge and safety Atari Bigby.

Collins appears to be the most aggrieved. He and his teammates have watched the Packers extend the contract of tailback Ryan Grant, who staged a training camp holdout last summer even though he was three years away from free agency. They saw quarterback Aaron Rodgers sign a $65 million deal after seven NFL starts. Reserve safety Jarrett Bush got a three-year deal after wading through the restricted free-agent market. Just last week, receiver Greg Jennings signed a lucrative extension.

You could argue that Grant, Rodgers and Jennings are three of the Packers' most indispensable players. None is older than 26, and all three project as starters for the duration of their contracts. Nevertheless, I keep thinking of an obvious but relevant physiological truism: People are human. (OK, so I heard Minnesota legend Sid Hartman say it once and thought it was funny — and true. Sue me.)

Indeed, people are human. Defensible or not, it's only natural for a player whose contract is near expiration to wonder why, say, Grant got paid and he didn't. Shortly after the Jennings deal was announced, Collins told Wisconsin reporters:

"There's a lot of guys coming up on free agency next year. I'm just glad somebody got it. Greg's a great guy. He deserves it. Hopefully, things work out for me."

Collins, who earned a Pro Bowl berth last season, said "we'll see" when asked if he will report to training camp without a deal. It's clear he is miffed the Packers decided to open their purse strings for Jennings but not him. It's a perception Thompson can do little about, but he does acknowledge the potential repercussions.

"It's never a case of really putting priority on one player or another," Thompson said. "We don't want players thinking that they're competing against [each other] or anything like that. The organization does have to make decisions as we move along."

Jennings earned his extension and is part of an exclusive internal club of players who have been taken care of. He realizes his teammates were carefully watching him this offseason and offered this advice: "Good things come to those who wait."

I don't think I'm exaggerating to say that patience, or a lack thereof, will be the most critical virtue for the Packers this season. This important but ultimately non-football issue won't impact their performance in 2009. As long as they don't let it.

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

Unlike other schools, Army waited to announce its recruiting classes until it knew which players it would bring from the U.S. Military Academy Prep School. The Black Knights announced their class on Monday, a class that includes 19 freshman and 38 other players who attended the U.S. Military Academy Prep School last season.

The most important of these players might be quarterback Trent Steelman, who led the prep school last year with more than 1,000 yards rushing in the option. Steelman will have a chance to compete for the starting role against current starter Chip Bowden. Freshman Max Jenkins, the brother of Louisiana Tech starting quarterback Ross Jenkins, and junior Carson Williams, who has 17 career starts, are the current backups.

"He's an explosive athlete," Army coach Rich Ellerson told the Times Herald-Record regarding Steelman. "He has a background with what we do."

Overall, Ellerson said he was pleased with his class and the talent coming from the prep school, despite getting a late jump on recruiting. The Black Knights added 13 defensive linemen, 10 offensive linemen, nine linebackers, nine defensive backs, seven running backs and five wide receivers.

The task now will be teaching Ellerson's option system to the new players and hoping they catch on by the time the Black Knights open the season.

"We're very encouraged by the class coming up from the prep school, the success that they've had and how well they weathered the coaching transition," Ellerson said in a statement. "They stayed together, encouraged one another, trained well and are used to winning. It will be exciting to get them on the field and see where they are physically."