Tracking the 2010 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class

As hard as it may be to believe, it's been three months since we honored our 16-member National Scholar-Athlete class at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York. Since then, the Scholar-Athletes have completed their college football carriers and moved on to the next chapter in their lives. For many of our 2010 class, their post-dinner activities meant playing in bowl games and preparing for April's NFL Draft.

Before we examine the Scholar-Athletes' draft prospects, let's take a look at how they fared in bowl games:

-   Anthony Castonzo, Boston College: Castonzo helped the Eagles to 185 total yards in a 20-13 loss to No. 13 Nevada in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

-   Owen Marecic, Stanford: The recipient of the inaugural Paul Hornung Award as the nation's most versatile player, Marecic rushed three times for four yards and a touchdown, helped the No. 4 Cardinal rush for 247 yards and collected six tackles and one sack in a 40-12 win over No. 15 Virginia Tech in the Discover Orange Bowl.

-  Greg McElroy, Alabama: The NCAA Top VII Award recipient completed 13 of 17 passes for 220 yards and one touchdown in No. 11 Alabama's 49-7 win over No. 14 Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl.

-  Christian Ponder, Florida State: The ACC's Jim Tatum Award winner completed one of five passes for six yards and rushed five times for three yards before leaving the Chick-fil-A Bowl early with an elbow injury in the No. 16 Seminoles' 26-17 win over No. 22 South Carolina.

-  Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State: Sherrod pushed the No. 17 Bulldogs to 485 total yards in a 52-14 win over Michigan in the Progressive Gator Bowl.

- Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin: The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner completed 12 of 21 passes for 159 yards as the No. 8 Badgers fell to No. 2 TCU 21-19 in the Rose Bowl presented by Vizio.

- Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State: Wisniewski aided the Nittany Lions in achieving 350 total yards in a 37-24 loss to Florida in the Outback Bowl.

Once the bowl season completed, many of the Scholar-Athletes moved on to the annual festival of NFL Draft preparations. Included in those festivities are all-star games. For the NFF National Scholar-Athletes, they unfolded as follows:

East-West Shrine Game (Orlando, Fla.): Tolzien completed two of five passes for 13 yards. Linebacker Mike Mohamed (California) also competed in the event and did not record any statistics.

Senior Bowl (Mobile, Ala.): Ponder earned the game's MVP honors by completing seven of 13 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns. McElroy also completed five of eight passes for 36 yards. Sam Acho compiled three tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and forced one fumble. Nate Solder and Castonzo occupied the left tackle and left guard spots, respectively, for the North squad while Sherrod played at tackle for the South. Marecic earned a start at fullback for the North.

For the Scholar-Athletes, all-star events are really just a reprieve in the months-long preparation for the NFL Draft in late April. Many members of the 2010 group have popped up on various NFL Draft lists:

Mike Mayock's Top 5 Draft List

Wisniewski: No. 2 Guard/Center
Solder: No. 1 Offensive Tackle
Castonzo: No. 2 Offensive Tackle
Sherrod: t-No. 5 Offensive Tackle

Mel Kiper's Big Board

11. Solder
21. Castonzo

Todd McShay's Mock Draft

13. Solder
22. Castonzo

DraftSite.com Mock Draft

19. Solder
28. Sherrod
30. Castonzo
65. Wisniewski
77. Acho
78. Ponder
156. Marecic
191. Mohamed
213. McElroy
217. Tolzien

With a group of such outstanding young men, even though their time as college football players may be complete, their best days are truly still to come.