Cornerback

Imhotep Charter's Najee Goode, a speedy cornerback and kick returner, has committed to play at the University of Maine. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior took an official visit to the school last weekend. "I really had a good relationship with the coaching staff," he said. "I like the location. I'll be away from the city and able to just focus on football and academics. " Goode, who lives near 24th and Diamond Streets in North Philadelphia, also received interest from Ball State, Buffalo, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Old Dominion, and Towson.

Penn State football said hello Friday to a recruit who has committed to the Nittany Lions' freshman class of 2013 and goodbye to a cornerback, a move that leaves the program dangerously thin at the position. Zayd Issah, a 6-foot-3, 209-pound linebacker from Central Dauphin High School in Harrisburg, told multiple recruiting websites that he had told Penn State coaches of his intent to play in Happy Valley. Later Friday, Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien tweeted that junior cornerback Derrick Thomas, who had been considered a contender to become a starter, "has left the team for personal reasons.

ALAMEDA, Calif. - The Oakland Raiders completed their offseason overhaul of the cornerback unit Monday by signing recent Eagles castoff Joselio Hanson and cutting 2011 third-round pick DeMarcus Van Dyke. Hanson was cut last week after six seasons as the Eagles' nickel cornerback. "He's been a guy that's played a lot of years in the league in the slot and we just felt like it was a good thing to get another veteran guy in there with what really amounts to a young room," coach Dennis Allen said.

Brandon Boykin checked Twitter on Friday afternoon and noticed a stream of congratulatory messages. The Eagles rookie cornerback was confused. He checked for news updates and saw that veteran Joselio Hanson had been released. Ten minutes later, Boykin's phone rang. It was Hanson, who shared the information and wished Boykin luck. They had a brief conversation, and Boykin embarked on a season as the Eagles top nickel cornerback. The Eagles' decision to release Hanson, who spent six seasons in Philadelphia, cemented Boykin's status.

Under different circumstances, perhaps the Eagles could afford to have Sheldon Brown injured. But for a team decimated by injuries, Brown's hamstring strain doesn't register the way it might for another player because the cornerback has been so reliable in his eight seasons in Philadelphia. In light of the Eagles' desperation at cornerback, there might not be a player the team can afford to be without more than Brown. He was listed as questionable for tomorrow night's game at Chicago, even though he insisted yesterday that he would play in the nationally televised game.

Michael Irvin was talking about not playing against Deion Sanders anymore, and he seemed to be mighty relieved. Irvin's smile, already the brightest and widest in the history of professional sports, was getting brighter and wider with each word. Now, the nightmare is someone else's. Now, Deion Sanders is a teammate of Irvin's on the Dallas Cowboys, and now, someone else can worry about beating the most unbeatable cornerback in football. "He is, no doubt, the best defensive back in the league and one of the best ever to have played the game," Irvin, the Cowboys' four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, said last week.

When Jason Hill was younger, he didn't set a goal to play college football. He didn't think about being the best defensive back in South Jersey. He didn't even worry about being a high school starter. He had another, more basic concern. He just wanted to get on the field. And it wasn't easy. There were obstacles, namely Hill's older brother, Harold 3d, and his cousins. "Jason was the baby," Harold Hill Jr. said. "They didn't want Jason to play on their team because he was the youngest one. That motivated Jason.

Penn State reportedly has landed two top recruits - a quarterback and cornerback - for the class of 2013. Christian Hackenberg has made a verbal commitment to the Nittany Lions, according to Lions247.com and Bluewhiteillustrated.com. Hackenberg, who is attending Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy, is a 6-4, 210-pounder. He is the first verbal commitment of the Nits' 2013 class. He is rated a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and 247 Sports. The cornerback is 5-11, 180-pound Ross Douglas, a speedster from Avon.

Free agency begins this week, but the top player the Eagles should target won't technically be on the open market when the clock strikes 4 p.m. Tuesday. But he will be available, and he will make more of a difference than any of the hundreds of free agents looking for jobs in two days. Darrelle Revis is on the trading block, and the Eagles should do whatever is takes to acquire the New York Jets cornerback. They have the draft picks; the salary-cap space; and, most important, a glaring hole in the secondary that makes dealing for the all-pro a no-brainer.

On the day the NFL's free-agent market opened, the Eagles released cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, one of the most heralded free-agent signings in franchise history. Asomugha, who played two seasons in Philadelphia, was scheduled to receive a base salary of $15 million this season, with $4 million guaranteed. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman met with Ben Dogra, Asomugha's agent, at the scouting combine last month. The sides could not agree on a restructured deal. Roseman said Tuesday that the Eagles had thought over this decision for the last two weeks.

While preparing for the NFL draft, Rutgers cornerback Logan Ryan has learned that one of the best traits he could take into pro football is to show toughness, especially between the ears. Ryan, The Inquirer's 2008 South Jersey defensive player of the year from Eastern High in Voorhees, bypassed his senior year at Rutgers for the draft. He said he has heard he could go anywhere from late first round to the third round. The consensus among draft experts is that it could be in the third round.

FOR THE 12th straight year, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock is breaking down each of the positions in the draft for the Daily News , providing his assessment of the best player at each position, as well as his top riser and sleeper. Mayock, 54, resides in Newtown Square and is a graduate of the Haverford School. A former safety, he was a 10th-round pick of the Steelers in 1981 and played two seasons with the Giants (1982-83). CORNERBACKS THE BEST Name: Dee Milliner School: Alabama Height, weight: 6-foot, 201 40 time: 4.35 Vertical jump: 36 inches Arms: 32 inches Round projection: 1 Mayock: "The 40 he ran at the combine erased any questions people had about his long speed.

When Dee Milliner ran the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds in February, he appeared to cement his status as a top-10 pick in the NFL draft. Though widely considered the top cornerback prospect, Milliner entered the NFL combine with questions about his speed. "Just watch the combine," he boldly told reporters in Indianapolis a few days before he was to run. "I know my body. I know what I can do and how I can run," Milliner said recently during a phone interview. "So I just knew I could go out there and produce.

On the day the NFL's free-agent market opened, the Eagles released cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, one of the most heralded free-agent signings in franchise history. Asomugha, who played two seasons in Philadelphia, was scheduled to receive a base salary of $15 million this season, with $4 million guaranteed. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman met with Ben Dogra, Asomugha's agent, at the scouting combine last month. The sides could not agree on a restructured deal. Roseman said Tuesday that the Eagles had thought over this decision for the last two weeks.

On the day the NFL's free-agent market opened, the Eagles released cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, one of the most heralded free-agent signings in franchise history. Asomugha, who played two seasons in Philadelphia, was scheduled to receive a base salary of $15 million this season, with $4 million guaranteed. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman met with Ben Dogra, Asomugha's agent, at the scouting combine last month. The sides could not agree on a restructured deal. Roseman said Tuesday that the Eagles had thought over this decision for the last two weeks.

The peril of a high-profile free-agent signing is evidenced by an examination of Nnamdi Asomugha's two seasons in Philadelphia. During that time, Asomugha's reputation sank from perhaps the finest cornerback in the NFL and the marquee free agent on the market to a player who might be unceremoniously released any day. Asomugha is still on the Eagles' roster. But unless the two sides can renegotiate the big deal he signed in 2011, the Eagles will be scouring the free-agent pool to find his replacement.

Free agency begins this week, but the top player the Eagles should target won't technically be on the open market when the clock strikes 4 p.m. Tuesday. But he will be available, and he will make more of a difference than any of the hundreds of free agents looking for jobs in two days. Darrelle Revis is on the trading block, and the Eagles should do whatever is takes to acquire the New York Jets cornerback. They have the draft picks; the salary-cap space; and, most important, a glaring hole in the secondary that makes dealing for the all-pro a no-brainer.

Imhotep Charter's Najee Goode, a speedy cornerback and kick returner, has committed to play at the University of Maine. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior took an official visit to the school last weekend. "I really had a good relationship with the coaching staff," he said. "I like the location. I'll be away from the city and able to just focus on football and academics. " Goode, who lives near 24th and Diamond Streets in North Philadelphia, also received interest from Ball State, Buffalo, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Old Dominion, and Towson.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Nobody in the National Football League has more experience at watching head coaches walk the plank than Nnamdi Asomugha. When Andy Reid is fired by Eagles owner Jeff Lurie on Monday, he will be coach No. 6 for the 31-year-old cornerback. His sixth boss to get canned in 10 NFL seasons, joining Bill Callahan, Norv Turner, Art Shell, Lane Kiffin and Tom Cable. For a lot of players in the Eagles' locker room, a 4-12 season is something they've never experienced.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - If it had happened at Lincoln Financial Field, there would have been cheers. But most of the MetLife Stadium fans didn't notice when cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha was pulled off the field in favor of Curtis Marsh about a minute and a half into the fourth quarter, after Asomugha was called for his second pass-interference penalty of the game. Asomugha, 31, a four-time All-Pro selection with the Oakland Raiders, has looked dazed and confused for much of his two seasons with the Eagles, since signing a 5-year, $60 million free-agent contract in August 2011.