By CARL KOTALA
Florida Today

Judging this year's running back class would be so much easier if it weren't for what happened at the Fiesta Bowl.

Miami's Willis McGahee would easily have been a top-five pick if not for the gruesome injury he sustained against Ohio State, tearing three ligaments in his left knee that required reconstructive surgery.

Now McGahee, who has done a remarkable job of rehabbing and vowed that he will play in the NFL in 2003, is the mystery man in a running backs class that otherwise lacks the true star power of previous drafts.

"There doesn't seem to be that one guy that everybody covets," Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said. "But I think there's some good ones there. The kid from Penn State has a lot of people thinking about him. He's the one that stands out in my mind that everyone's kind of talking about."

That would be Larry Johnson, who became the first Big Ten running back to top 2,000 yards when he rushed for 2,087 with 20 touchdowns. Johnson will likely be the first running back taken off the board, followed by Virginia Tech's Lee Suggs, Georgia's Musa Smith, Oregon's Onterrio Smith and Colorado's Chris Brown.

Johnson, at 6-foot-1, 228 pounds, is considered the best all-around back because he is also a capable blocker and a good receiver.

But there are concerns that he doesn't have great speed and his running style might not be as effective in the NFL.

"Johnson is one of those straight-ahead guys," said ex-NFL quarterback Warren Moon, now an analyst for CBS radio. "I don't think he's got the shake-and-bake creativeness to be a big threat in the league. Chris Brown has a little bit of that, but again, he's more of an I-back that comes out of that system where they block very well at the point of attack and he finds it.

"In talking to a lot of running back coaches, Suggs is a guy that can find an opening when there's not one there. Nowadays, that's what you need to be able to do. You need to be able to create some things. That's what coaches look for."

Suggs, who tore his left ACL in 2001, shared running duties at Virginia Tech with Kevin Jones last season. Still, he managed to run for 1,325 yards and score 22 touchdowns. He has the kind of game-changing speed that, if he can be durable, would make him a solid NFL back.

If Onterrio Smith can't land a starting job in the backfield, he might be valuable as a kickoff returner. Smith, who at 5-10, 220 pounds, is the most elusive guy in the group and has breakaway speed. He would be ideal in a spread offense, but teams may be concerned with his durability and some off-field problems that first surfaced when he was at the University of Tennessee and again after he transferred to the Ducks.

"He reminds me a lot of Emmitt Smith, with maybe a little bit more speed," Moon said. "But he's had some baggage off the field that some people are skeptical about."

Musa Smith is one of the more intriguing prospects. Word has it the junior's stock is rising because he's a determined runner who stays low to the ground and fights for every inch. He might slip into the first round, although he would be a better value in the second - especially depending on what happens with McGahee.

Another guy to watch will be Southern California's Justin Fargas, who blew scouts away by consistently running in the 4.3s in the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine.

"Yeah, no question. He ran real fast and he's run good since then," New York Jets general manager Terry Bradway said. "It causes everybody to go back and say, 'Whoa, what kind of player is this?' Because I don't think the grades would be reflective of a guy that ran that fast coming out of the spring."

As fast as Fargas ran, durability issues and the fact that he didn't really start producing until late in the 2002 season will keep him out of the first round and push him into the second or third.

The third round is probably the earliest a fullback will be taken. It is traditionally a position that doesn't get talked about much leading up to the draft, although Stanford's Casey Moore is clearly the No. 1 guy on just about everybody's list. St. Louis will likely target him, if not in the third, than the fourth.

The third or fourth is also when somebody could take a chance on McGahee - although the former Heisman Trophy candidate figures to go sooner and could still possibly be one of the first backs taken. One of the big concerns, outside of the health of McGahee's knee, is the fact that if he doesn't like where he's drafted, or the money he's offered, he could theoretically go back to school. He could sit out a year, then re-enter next year's draft.

McGahee and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, have said he will sign no matter where he is taken.

"He is an exceptional talent who probably would have been a top-five pick," said Rick Spielman, the Miami Dolphins' senior vice president for football operations/player personnel. "Someone will take a chance on him. Someone will take a chance on him first day."

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