CFB roundup: Two junior cornerbacks enter draft
The NFL draft pool grew deeper at the cornerback position when two players declared they were leaving college to turn pro.
Florida State's Xavier Rhodes and Hawaii's Mike Edwards both announced that they were forgoing their senior seasons.
Rhodes made his announcement after the Seminoles' 31-10 victory over Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl late Tuesday night. He currently ranks as NFLDraftScout.com's No. 2 cornerback and No. 18 prospect overall, projecting as a first-round pick. He tied for the team lead in interceptions (three) in 2012, giving him eight over the past three seasons.
Rhodes was a fourth-year junior, redshirting in 2009 after a hand injury sidelined him for most of the season.
Edwards ranks as NFLDraftScout.com's No. 27 cornerback for the 2013 NFL Draft and the No. 219 prospect overall, putting him in the later stages of draft weekend. He reportedly received mid-round grades, some as high as the third round.
--New Western Kentucky coach Bobby Petrino named Jeff Brohm as his assistant head coach and offensive coordinator and Nick Holt as his defensive coordinator on Wednesday.
The coordinator hirings complete Petrino's staff. He announced his seven other assistants Tuesday.
Brohm was the offensive coordinator at Alabama-Birmingham in 2012. Prior to that, he worked at Illinois and Louisville, his alma mater where he played quarterback from 1989 to 1993 and later coached under Petrino. Brohm also played in the NFL.
In his new role, Brohm's duties will include working with quarterbacks.
--The state of Pennsylvania filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA in an attempt to overturn the sanctions imposed on the Penn State football program as a result of the sexual-abuse scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
Gov. Tom Corbett announced at a news conference in State College, Pa., that the state is pursuing legal action in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg, Pa. He said the sanctions were unlawful and an attack on the state's economy.
The NCAA replied in a statement from Donald M. Remy, executive vice president and general counsel, "Not only does this forthcoming lawsuit appear to be without merit, it is an affront to all of the victims in this tragedy -- lives that were destroyed by the criminal actions of Jerry Sandusky."
The NCAA penalties against Penn State for its response to the sexual-abuse allegations against Sandusky, which were handed down in July, included a four-year postseason ban for the football program, a $60 million fine, scholarship reductions and vacating all wins from 1998 to 2011.
