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Just a few short years ago, Logan Thomas, was a projected top quarterback to be taken in the NFL draft. He has the physical tools and was leading a strong Hokies team as a young prospect. Then, Thomas’s stock plummeted during his final years at Virginia Tech. He looked to be out of shape and disconnected with the Hokies. He tipped the scales at right under 250 for the NFL combine. Likely he weighed near 260 while at Virginia Tech.

Maybe film on Thomas helped the ACC bottle him up along with the Hokies offense. But that part of Thomas’s career is done. He is lucky to have the opportunity he does as the Cardinals obviously see a salvageable quarterback. Thomas fall is eerily similar to that of USC’s Matt Barkley. It just goes to show that talent does peak in college, as college coordinators have stepped up their preparation for conference foes.

The drafting of Thomas should not come as a surprise to Arizona Cardinals fans. They have been the type of team that drafts or signs rookies to their needs. These needs are to procure a savings at the position and to seek out a blue chip quarterback. The Cardinals have had a plethora of names over the last few years, such as John Skelton, Ryan Lindley, Max Hall, and others. All have seen the field as starters at one point or another.

That’s a good sign for Thomas as the Cardinals look to their future with Carson Palmer aging. Bruce Arians is a mastermind at developing quarterbacks and has stated that Palmer and the offense are much further along than this time a year ago. That’s what happens when a coaching staff, offense, and nucleus of players get time together.

The bad news for Thomas is none of the aforementioned rookie quarterbacks made it beyond their initial stint with the Cardinals. I wouldn’t compare Thomas’s talent to the others, as the Cardinals invested a higher pick on Thomas. Still, the odds are against Thomas unless he has the burning desire to improve.

I’m not a Mel Kiper or a Todd McShay, but you would of expected Thomas to reemerge last year. After his dismal season the year before, that was Thomas’s chance to turn heads. Instead, the Hokies remained a lethargic offense that settled on field position and reliance of their defense. Maybe that was more of a factor of their head coach, but Thomas just didn’t make the key decisive plays you would expect.

With a fourth round pick invested on Thomas, he’ll likely get two full seasons as a Cardinal to prove his worth. As brittle as Carson Palmer has been don’t be shocked to see Thomas be another backup to see the field as a starter.

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As a Syracuse fan their re-rise as a basketball powerhouse has been fantastic to see. There were some struggles after the Gerry McNamara era and Hakim Warrick post 2005 and 2006. Time seemed to be ticking on Jim Boeheim’s coaching career as age and recruiting woes continued. Around 2009 though things began to turn around and since, Syracuse has managed to uplift the basketball program and become a hotbed for top recruits. These top recruits have been able to vacate school early as first round NBA draft picks.

This past season no one truly expected Syracuse to have anyone leave besides graduating seniors CJ Fair and Baye Moussa Keita. Even though Tyler Ennis was on NBA radars his size and decline in the last fifteen games seemed to be a telling sign to come back for another year. His decision to bolt college wasn’t a shock but is a reason why his projections are all over the place. He just did not have a stellar freshman season like some of the freshman that bolted and are projected lottery picks.

Jerami Grant’s decision to leave is purely based on athleticism. Consider some of the recent Syracuse players and maybe Grant’s decision should not be challenged as much. Both Kris Joseph and CJ Fair had higher prospects for the NBA as sophomores than they did by completing four years at Syracuse. As a role player as sophomores all players shined but when they became the focal point as seniors they did not fair as well.

Grant’s upside seems to have peaked in my eyes at the college level. His athleticism is a rarity and he knows his role offensively. Sure scouts are saying that he needs to become a better perimeter shooter, but that’s a commonality amongst power forwards. There aren’t too many that step out from 15 to 20 feet on a regular basis. That’s the job of the small forwards and guards on a team. Grant will excel as a high energy player that can play solid defense and score around the rim. He may need to add an extra 15 pounds to challenge NBA skill men but his role should not vary much from the college to NBA ranks.

Where I worry on draft day is that both Ennis and Grant may slip beyond where they both figured to be drafted. Ennis is an on court performer while Grant is an energy athlete. During combine drills neither is going to be able to showcase these skills. Ennis will likely falter from his non athletic skills compared to other point guards in the draft, and Grant likely will from shooting drills.

Sometimes being at a school that produces NBA talent so quickly can be a detriment. Both Ennis and Grant have seen Dion Waiters, Wes Johnson, Jonny Flynn, and most recently Michael Carter-Williams pursue the NBA route before college graduation. Rumblings on campus and media mock drafts surely caught the attention of both Ennis and Grant. Schools always have that player or two amidst a school run of top tier picks that should have stayed. I believe that both Grant and Ennis may have caught that bug this year.

With Michael Carter Williams winning rookie of the year and Syracuse’s 25-0 start, it may have been a mental combination on both ends. Syracuse had two early season games they could have lost easily against poor teams. One against Cornell and another against St. Francis. A loss against either would have stifled freshman Tyler Ennis and put a red flag to scouts.

But the course of the season occurred the way it did, and now Syracuse will have huge holes in it’s lineup for the first time since 2009. It’ll be sad to see especially if Grant and Ennis are sitting on the pine not developing the next two seasons.

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Here is a free play video on tonight’s total between the Marlins and Giants.

Notjustagame Free Play Marlins/Giants from Zack Cimini on Vimeo.

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A few weeks ago I profiled the Marlins success pitching. In the article I stated you can capitalize on overs and playing betting against the Marlins over the course of the next few weeks. The obvious glaring statistic that everyone is on is the Marlins home vs away record. They’ve been dominant at home and awful on the road.

Though they’ve been losing on the road it has not prevented them from hitting the ball well. They have a solid nucleus of young players that can hit. The first few games in their current series against the Giants has seen runs galore from both teams. Facing Tim Lincecum tonight figures to be a reversal of their hot bats.

Finding value in baseball is how you make money over the course of the season. Lincecum is coming off of a gem game of two hit baseball in his last outing. Certainly people will be on the Giants and the under. I’ll stay away from a team pick in this one and go with the current trend and play the over.

Value currently is at +105 on this total. Tom Koehler is coming off a shaky outing against the Dodgers in which he lasted just 3 1/3. Base hits have been plentiful in the series. Both teams hit in double digits for base hits last night, and the night before saw the Giants hit twelve and the Marlins six.

Play the over early before it shifts to a non plus payout.

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Taking the mound Tuesday in Cincinnati for the Reds will be Mike Leake, and for the Padres Andrew Cashner. Both have had their share of success early on in the 2014 season. San Diego is coming off an impressive revival of their bats in taking the series over the Miami Marlins. That series was at home. Things may be turn back to their old ways for the Padres bats in Cincinnati.

Mike Leake on the other hand has had good outings spoiled. He has had a penchant for giving up home runs beyond the fourth inning. It’s something he has to control if the Reds are going to be able to rely on him as an ace pitcher.

That shouldn’t be a problem tonight against a Padres lineup that doesn’t scare many pitchers. Look for this to be a low scoring game. Take the under on 7.5 runs. This likely will get to 7 before the game starts. If you’re looking for money value wait for that line move, as I don’t believe more than four runs will be scored here tonight.

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Walk off wins are great for nightly Sportscenter highlights, but a pain in the rear end for sports bettors. Often times a walk off comes in a game where runs were hard to come by. There are the occasion blown innings by the bullpen, but by and large they come in tight games.

Miami has won three of there last four games in walk off fashion. Doing so by scoring three runs in the bottom of the 8th against the Mets, a rally against the Dodgers, and a 1-0 walk off win yesterday against the Mets.

Give the Marlins credit as they’ve been getting phenomenal pitching. Their staff has been the catalyst to a fantastic home record of 17-5. The stark contrast from wins at home and on the road is a strong sign for a big slide coming from the Marlins.

They’re just not getting enough hits to sustain their win/loss record. Sooner or later a pitching staff begins to slide. The little bit of room for error they have currently have is going to go out the window.

For Thursday the Marlins are heavy underdogs on the road in San Diego. For two teams that have been inept at scoring runs the under looks like the safe play. That’s a tad too risky in my opinion, but I’d play a small wager on San Diego -147.