NFL interested in two TSU players

Photo: Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, #45, DB, 6' 2"/170 lbs.

By MIKE ORGAN, The Tennessean

The number of NFL scouts coming to see Tennessee State's top prospects continues to grow.

Eight NFL scouts, and one from the Canadian Football League, will attend the Tigers' game Thursday night at Tennessee Tech.

They will be there mainly to observe TSU's top two senior defensive players — cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and end Shaun Richardson.

A scout from the Minnesota Vikings attended TSU's practice Tuesday.

Rodgers-Cromartie and Richardson said they try to ignore the fact that representatives from NFL teams are monitoring them so closely, but it's not easy.

"It doesn't really affect me. My coaches just tell me to go out there and play the game like I'm taught and everything else will take care of itself,'' said Richardson, a 6-foot-3, 250- pounder who transferred to TSU from Joliet (St. Louis) Junior College last season.

Photo: Shaun Richardson, #13, DE, 6-3/250 lbs.

Richardson leads TSU in tackles for losses (7) and sacks (5).

He said he has recovered from a sprained knee and bruised shoulder, which hampered him the previous three games.

"I'm 100 percent and ready to go,'' Richardson said.

Rodgers-Cromartie said knowing the eyes of so many people who could steer his future are on him can be daunting.

"You realize they're watching everything you do and the way you play could have a lot to do with what happens (in the NFL draft),'' Rodgers-Cromartie said.

Rodgers-Cromartie has broken up a team-high five passes, blocked three kicks, and is averaging 22.3 yards on 17 kickoff returns.

Feeling good: Richardson isn't the only player the Tigers welcomed back to the lineup. Coach James Webster said his team, which had a bye last week, is healthier than it's been all season.

"We really needed the bye week,'' Webster said. "We've had a very tough schedule, played some very tough opponents. We needed some time just to rest up and heal up."

Basketball staff: Former Whites Creek High and Belmont basketball player Brian Collins has joined the TSU staff as a graduate assistant. Collins, who graduated from Belmont in 2006, is enrolled in graduate school at TSU.