Valley Sports

The Cardinals threw a party when they signed Edgerrin James. Tuesday, Edge didn’t even warrant his own press release. The Cardinals said he was released along with linebacker Travis LaBoy and cornerback Rod Hood.

It’s no surprise, of course. James was gone the minute the Cardinals drafted Chris “Beanie” Wells. Still, it’s a bit odd to see a man who was once the face of the franchise leave so quietly and with so little  fanfare.

James proved last year he still has some football left; let’s hope a team in his native Florida picks him up and allows him to be close to his four children. Their mom, Andia Wilson, died last Tuesday of leukeima.

As for the Cardinals, the release of the three veterans will save approximately $6.5 million against the salary cap.  Presumably, Arizona will use the savings to try to re-negotiate the contracts of safety Adrian Wilson and linebacker Karlos Dansby.

Ultimately, that could lead to contract talks with disgruntled wideout Anquan Boldin. Any extension of Wilson and Dansby would include them having a smaller salary cap number this season. That might give the Cardinals leeway - if they’re so inclined - to try to make nice with Boldin and give him a raise.

We’re a long way from that point, of course. But in saying goodbye to James, LaBoy and Hood, the Cardinals took a step in that direction.

Arizona State won out for the affections and talents of San Antonio-area shooting guard Brandon Thompson, who announced a commitment to the Sun Devils on Monday afternoon.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Thompson averaged 17.1 points, 5.3 rebounds,  4.1 assists and 3.1 steals per game as a senior at Stevens High School, and was named the San Antonio high school player of the year by the News-Express as he led Stevens to a No. 9 ranking in the state of Texas.

Thompson was only on Texas State’s radar until his breakout senior season. Since March he’s received offers from ASU, Texas Tech and Georgetown.

Thompson is the fifth (and likely final) high school player to commit to the Sun Devils for 2009-2010.

It’d been rumored for months and finally made official by the Pac-10 on Monday:  Arizona State will host Baylor on Dec. 3 at Wells Fargo Arena, as part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.

That means ASU will play at Baylor in December 2010.

It’s an upgrade to the Sun Devils nonconference schedule - which already includes a preseason N.I.T.tournament against BYU and San Diego State.

Baylor beat ASU in the Anaheim Classic early last season. The Bears finished 24-15 and lost to Penn State in the N.I.T. championship game.

Arizona will play at Oklahoma on Sunday, Dec. 6.

ESPN.com’s Joe Schad reports that former Michigan quarterback Steven Threet has decided to transfer to Arizona State.

Threet, a redshirt freshman, must sit out this season, but will have two years of eligibility beginning in 2010.

With the spring departures of Jack Elway and Chasen Stangel, the Sun Devils were down to three scholarship quarterbacks. Elway is staying at ASU as a student, while Stangel will transfer.

Threet threw for 1,105 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions last year, completing 51 percent of his passes. He started eight games for the Wolverines.

At 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, he was not an ideal fit for the spread option at Michigan. Threet originally signed with Georgia Tech out of high school, before transferring to Michigan.

Threet will likely compete with sophomore Samson Szakacsy and freshman Brock Osweiler for starting duties in 2010.

Senior Danny Sullivan is currently No. 1 on the depth chart for the Sun Devils.

These things are extremely over-rated — you can’t really judge a draft class until about three years later — but everybody loves them anyway. So here goes.

Here’s what others are saying about the 2009 Cardinals’ draft class:

ESPN.com-Mel Kiper — B+

Chris Wells was a major acquisition for the Cardinals in the first round of this draft. He was a bargain for a team that was in dire need of a running back to rotate in with second-year back Tim Hightower. Wells gives this team the home run threat that the running game was sorely lacking last season. In addition to Wells, I liked the Cody Brown pick in the second round because he should be a good 3-4 rushing end in the Cardinals’ system. Bringing in LSU offensive lineman Herman Johnson in the fifth round and Illinois defensive end Will Davis in the sixth were good pickups for this organization.

Dallas Morning News.com-Rick Gosselin — A

The Cardinals addressed the worst running game in the NFL with the addition of Wells. They addressed atrocious special teams by selecting the best gunner in the draft, Johnson, and a return specialist in Stephens-Howling.

CBSSports.com-Pete Prisco — B-

This is an organization that has turned the corner when it comes to drafting.
Best pick: Third-round pick Rashard Johnson is a rangy safety who has good instincts. He won’t start, but should be a good special-teams player.
Questionable move: Not trading up to get Donald Brown. He fit their offense better than Beanie Wells.
Second-day gem: Greg Toler. Taken in the fourth round, this corner from St. Paul College has loads of physical skill.

Yahoo! Sports.com-Charles Robinson — B+

Getting Wells with the second-to-last pick in the first round was a coup. He adds exactly the kind of explosion the position needs. Brown should add some pass rushing help and Johnson is a good playmaker who works hard all the time.

Fox Sports.com-John Czarnecki — B

After making it to their first Super Bowl, the Cardinals were in an unfamiliar position at the bottom of the first and second round. They came away with Ohio State running back Chris “Beanie” Wells and UConn linebacker Cody Brown. Wells, a powerful inside runner, has a chance to be the featured back next season because Tim Hightower is more of a third-down player.

Sporting News.com-Clifton Brown — B-

Chris “Beanie” Wells was not expected to fall to No. 31, but he gives the Cardinals a quality back. This team is a juggernaut on offense, so it made sense to add defenders like outside linebacker Cody Brown and safety Rashad Johnson.

NBC Sports.com — B

The Cards wanted a speed complement for Tim Hightower at No. 31 and did better than they ever could’ve imagined. Chris Wells, who cracked 4.4 at Pro Day, is Ken Whisenhunt’s new Jerome Bettis. Rashad Johnson, who learned under Nick Saban at Alabama, is a pro-ready free safety and LSU G/T Herman Johnson was a value pick in round five.

USA Today.com-Larry Weisman — B

Cardinals needed RB to complement Tim Hightower and found Chris Wells still on the board at 31. Durability issues may have dropped him but he’s a tough inside runner and can only help the NFL’s worst ground game. Rangy DE/LB Cody Brown fits in an area where incumbents Bertrand Berry and Chike Okeafor are getting up in years. Should give them some flexibility in their 3-4. Ballhawk DB Rashad Johnson will quickly find a role.

Philly.com-Paul Domowitch (Philadelphia Daily News) — B+

Beanie Wells gives Cardinals another power runner to go with Tim Hightower.

It may have been the Cardinals second-to-last pick in a 20-hour draft weekend, but don’t tell LaRod Stephens-Howling it wasn’t worth the wait.

The diminutive running back from Pitt was taken 240th overall, and between being smaller than most (he’s now 5-foot-6, 180 pounds) and losing his starting job when LeSean McCoy arrived on campus, it felt like he was the No. 1 pick.

Emotions ran wild for Stephens-Howling, who couldn’t contain them as he spoke of being drafted in the 7th round and the waiting.

He couldn’t stand the waiting and wondering, so he went outside to play catch with nephew when the Cardinals called. Whisenhunt has something of an affinity for the Pitt program, mostly from watching former Panther Larry Fitzgerald during college when Whisenhunt was with the Steelers.

“He’s an outstanding special teams player, very physical, very fast,” Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “Something that can make a big contribution on our team, an area we need to improve.”

Stephens-Howling rushed for 312 yards and five touchdowns on 77 carries last season behind McCoy, but has kick return skills the Cardinals are lacking.

“They have been saying it all my life, I have been told so many times that I couldn’t do it because of my size,” Stephens-Howling said. “I’m ready to go train right now.”

The Jacksonville Jaguars kept plucking former Arizona offensive players from the draft tree.

On Saturday it was offensive lineman Eben Britton. On Sunday it was receiver Mike Thomas in the fourth round (107th overall).

Jaguars offensive coordinator and former Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter knows offense, and Arizona.

Plenty of shelter is available beneath the 6-foot-7, 383-pound (listed) physique of Herman Johnson, the Cardinals fifth-round draft choice on Sunday out of LSU.

It’s always been this way. He was 15 pounds, 14 ounces at birth, reportedly the largest baby ever born in a Louisiana hospital.

It’s true.

“It comes up a lot,” he said. “I’m used to it. It doens’t really bother me. I have been hearing it all my life. I’m fine with it.”

He also laughed a few times about his size during a conference call, so give him credit for finding something worth smiling about in what’s likely been a lifelong storyline beaten into submission.

Unlike, say, a medical redshirt for his freshman year at LSU when his big toe became infected from a spider bite.

By age 14, he was 6-foot-4, though not interested in football until later in high school, where he became known as “House.” He and his father would watch former Cardinal Leonard Davis - also a man of considerable size - and he idolized the Arizona guard/tackle.

“Just sitting around and watching (Davis) play and hearing stuff about him as a kid, people would just tell me, ‘You can play like him. You can be like him,’” Johnson said. “That’s how he became one of my favorite players.”

This draft also meant he’ll reunite with current Cardinals and former LSU teammates Ali Highsmith and Early Doucet.

As for the weight, the Cardinals aren’t concerned, mostly because he’s 6-foot-7 and seems to carry it well. Whether he’s groomed at guard or tackle, the team is going to want him to shed some pounds, but if the picture above is any indication of his current physique, he may not need to shed as much as you’d think given the 383 he’s listed at.

“We’ll just wait and see how he moves and where he fits in, but this is a big man with a big frame,” offensive line coach Russ Grimm said. “He’s always going to be a 340-plus guy.”

Grim mentioned Johnson’s need to become tougher against NFL defensive lineman who are quicker and stronger than college. From the footage the Cardinals saw, most college players would run around, not through, Johnson.  But even at his size, NFL lineman or linebackers are capable of both.

Grimm also liked his hands, relatively quick feet, work ethic and demeanor.

“I proved from the Senior Bowl to the combine to my pro day that I can manage my weight and everything,” Johnson said. “Whatever happened, happened. I’m just excited I got drafted.”

Arizona State was in danger of ending its 46-year streak of having at least one NFL draft pick, but the Sun Devils were proverbially saved in this draft’s final minutes.

Guard Paul Fanaika was scooped up by Philadelphia in the seventh round (213th overall). A couple minutes later, safety Troy Nolan was taken 223rd overall by Houston.

The Sun Devils had a draft pick every year since 1963, but this figured to be the biggest challenge in years.

More on this later as well, but Cardinals fifth-round pick Herman Johnson laughed about his size in a quick conference call with reporters.

He’s heard the sayings and jokes all his life, so what else should a 6-foot-7, 382 pound guard from LSU do?

Johnson talked about his size - he was 15 pounds, 14 ounces at birth, the largest baby born in Louisiana. He also talked about reuniting with former LSU teammates Ali Highsmith and Early Doucet in Arizona and his admiration for former Cardinal offensive lineman Leonard Davis, and not just because the two are similarly sized.

Cardinals assistant head coach/offensive line coach Russ Grimm said Johnson would either be a guard or tackle in the NFL and that will be determined as quickly as possible. Johnson may be closer to 400 pounds than 350, but, in time, Grimm said he wants Johnson to lose a little weight and gain strength.

–According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bears offered their second-round pick for Anquan Boldin on Saturday, but were quickly rebuffed.

Not a shock.