Shonn Greene was the first pick in the 3rd round of the NFL Draft on Sunday. He will be heading to the New York Jets. Greene was the 65th overall pick and the fifth running back selected. With Greene still on the table after the first two rounds, the Jets made a trade with the Detroit Lions, giving up their 3rd, 4th, and 7th round picks. Greene was the second pick by the Jets. In the first round the Jets picked QB Mark Sanchez from USC.

The New York Jets currently play home games in Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey which is just is less than a 2 hour drive from Greene's hometown of Sicklerville, New Jersey. Greene is expected to make the drive later today to meet with his new team. He will join a backfield of Thomas Jones, who ran for over 1300 yards in 2008, and Leon Washington, and should fit right in. Head coach Rex Ryan said "this is a young man that I think has the ability to be a starting running back in this league," and "we want to a do a little ground-and-pound on people" when speaking of Greene. More information about the Jets picking Shonn Greene can be found on the Jet's official website.

After 2 rounds of the NFL Draft, Iowa RB Shonn Greene has not had his name called. Four backs have already been drafted ahead of Greene, though he won the Doak Walker award for the best running back in 2008. Those drafted so far are: Knowshon Moreno, Donald Brown, Chris Wells, and LeSean McCoy.

The Red Wolves are coming off a 6-6 2008 season. The started off strong in the season opener with a big win over Texas A&M in the home of the 12th man, which is not an easy place to win. However, ASU struggled on the road the rest of the season going 2-5. Arkansas State will be Iowa's fifth opponent of the year and final non-conference match up when they travel to Iowa City on October 3.

Offense: Key Returning Players
A big contributor to the Red Wolves' offense is RB Reggie Arnold. He has rushed for over 1000 yards in each of the 3 previous season and looks to become only the 8th running back in history to make it all 4 years. Another key starter is QB Corey Leonard. As a junior, Leonard passed for 2347 yards and rushed for another 516. He also really improved his decision making throwing for 16 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions. Compare that too the 24 touchdown and 23 interception in his freshman and sophomore years. ASU also returns its leading receiver, Brandon Thompkins who had 32 receptions for 511 yards in 2008.

Offense: Key Losses
The two key losses for the offense are TE David Johnson and OL Matt Mandich. Johnson had 5 touchdowns and 356 yard receiving last year. Mandich started all four years and was All-Sun Belt 1st team as a junior and senior. A total of 5 starters are not returning.

Defense: Key Returning Players
The Red Wolves held opponents to 23.8 points per game last year and have 8 starters returning. They were led defensively up front by DE Alex Carrington. Carrington led the Sun Belt conference with 19 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks. Also returning is CB M.D. Jennings who was second on the team in tackles with 67 and led the team with 3 interceptions.

Defense: Key Losses
Arkansas State losses its leading tackler LB Ben Owens who had 87 tackles in 2008. Also gone is DE Brian Flagg and CB Dominique Williams.

Here is the ASU section of the Sun Belt's spring prospectus.

Iowa has announced the 2009 leadership group. The group looks solid and confirms that players like Ricky Stanzi and Pat Angerer have emerged as leaders over the spring. I like that Marvin McNutt is part of the group. From all accounts it sounds like he had a great spring and has made big stride in his conversion from quarterback to receiver. Over at Black Heart Gold Pants, they are surprised by Adrian Clayborn's inclusion on the group considering the charges against him. Hopefully the Clayborn situation will all work itself out. One good thing to note, though, is that Broderick Binns has shown flashes of great play and is on the leadership group even as the backup defensive end.

Here is the group:

Pat Angerer - LB, Senior, Bettendorf, IA
Broderick Binns - DE, Sophomore, St. Paul, MN
Bryan Bulaga - OL , Junior, Crystal Lake, IL
Greg Castillo - DB, Freshman, Mt. Laurel, NJ
Adrian Clayborn - DE, Junior, St. Louis, MO
A.J. Edds - LB, Senior, Greenwood, IN
Brett Greenwood - DB, Junior, Bettendorf, IA
Marvin McNutt - WR, Sophomore, St. Louis, MO
Tony Moeaki - TE, Senior, Wheaton, IL
Tyler Nielsen - LB, Sophomore, Humboldt, IA
Tyler Sash - DB, Sophomore, Oskaloosa, IA
Ricky Stanzi - QB, Junior, Mentor, OH
James Vandenberg - QB, Freshman, Keokuk, IA

Okay, more like number 5, but Rivals.com has rated Ferentz one of the top coaches in the country. Interestingly, the same writer had Ferentz in the top ten coaches on the hot seat last season. It's amazing what one good season can do for a coach's reputation.