Wide Receiver

ONE OF THE first things the Arena Football League needs to change is that all players receive 1-year contracts. Since the lockout killed the 2009 season, owners have done everything they can to keep costs down. One-year deals are hardest on the players, but they also make it difficult for fans to form bonds and for franchises to maintain identities. But if there is a benefit to so much roster upheaval, it is that teams that are miserable one year can start from scratch the next.

THE SOUL has taken another hit to the wide-receiving corps after veteran Larry Brackins was placed on injured reserve with a strained left hamstring. Brackins, the last remaining player from the 2008 championship team, was injured in last Saturday's win over San Jose and will miss a minimum of three games. Star wide receiver Donovan Morgan already is out until at least May with a fractured left wrist. Given the vertical nature of arena football, having problems at wide receiver is like driving a car on the expressway with three doughnut tires.

Six South Jersey players, three on offense and three on defense, were named yesterday to the Associated Press first-team all-state football squad. The offensive selections were running back Doug Easlick of Cherokee, wide receiver Isaac Irby of Holy Cross, and offensive lineman Ed Tyler of Delsea. The defensive first-teamers included linebacker Jamison Young of South Jersey Group 4 champion Overbrook, lineman Jason Jamison of Millville, and defensive back Cory Collins of Egg Harbor Township.

Between four and seven enshrinees will be announced Feb. 4, the day before the Super Bowl. Bill Parcells, coach Tim Brown, wide receiver Cris Carter, wide receiver Andre Reed, wide receiver Jerome Bettis, running back Curtis Martin, running back Will Shields, offensive lineman Aeneas Williams, defensive back ...

Academy Park senior Mark Doe, a fleet wide receiver and defensive back, has committed to play football at the University of Delaware. Doe, 17, of Collingdale, is projected to play wide receiver for the Blue Hens. He has been clocked at 4.56 seconds in the 40-yard dash. "Delaware is a great school, it has a winning program, and it's not too far from home," the 5-foot-9, 160-pounder said. Doe also received interest from Monmouth, Old Dominion, and Villanova.   Contact staff writer Rick O'Brien at 610-313-8019 or robrien@phillynews.com .

The Soul will be shorthanded for Saturday's visit to Georgia. Star wide receiver Donovan Morgan fractured his left wrist in Sunday's loss to Cleveland and will be out 4 to 6 weeks, according to Soul GM Tom Goodhines. Reserve wide receiver Emory Sammons will be activated for the first time this season, and veteran Larry Brackins will see more playing time to compensate for Morgan's absence. Morgan leads the team with 23 catches and eight touchdowns, and is widely considered the face of the franchise.

TEN YEARS ago, the Eagles hit pay dirt in the second and third rounds of the draft, selecting safety Michael Lewis, cornerback Sheldon Brown and a running back by the name of Brian Westbrook. Lewis, Brown and Westbrook made a collective 241 starts for the Eagles and helped them make it to the NFC Championship Game four times and to the Super Bowl once. Since then, with two notable exceptions, the draft's second and third rounds have been one dry hole after another for the Eagles.

The Soul yesterday signed defensive back/wide receiver Larry Kendrick, defensive lineman Tom Johnson, and offensive lineman/defensive lineman Harrison Nikolao. Kendrick, 28, joins the Soul after a successful season in the af2 with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers. He was a multiple recipient of the Ironman award, finishing with 15 touchdown catches as a wide receiver and five interceptions (two returned for TDs) as a linebacker. He also returned a fumble for a touchdown and returned 24 kicks for a 19.4 yard average with a score.

DALLAS - Penn State was so concerned with how it would handle Houston's fast-paced offense that it utilized two scout teams in practice to try to emulate the tempo. "We have more or less the same offensive line every single play and then two sets of wide receiver groups with the quarterback and another group with another quarterback," strong safety Drew Astorino said Sunday. "As soon as one offense is done, the other offense runs right on and runs a play instead of having to go back and look" at the card listing plays.

Lincoln University coach O.J. Abanishe, continuing to build his team for the Lions' return to football in September, signed 16 players during last week's national signing period, the university announced yesterday. The Lions, who practiced last fall with more than 40 players, will be playing football for the first time since the 1960 season, competing at the Division II level. Abanishe said his first goal was to recruit some linemen, and he signed three, two on offense - 6-foot-3, 312-pound Maurice Gooden of Glen Mills and 6-2, 290-pound Dorian Smith, a transfer from Phoenix College - and one on defense - 6-foot, 280-pound Ricky Smith of Dayton, Ohio.

ONE OF THE first things the Arena Football League needs to change is that all players receive 1-year contracts. Since the lockout killed the 2009 season, owners have done everything they can to keep costs down. One-year deals are hardest on the players, but they also make it difficult for fans to form bonds and for franchises to maintain identities. But if there is a benefit to so much roster upheaval, it is that teams that are miserable one year can start from scratch the next.

  NEW YORK - The overnight wait paid off for Stanford tight end Coby Fleener. He's reuniting with his college quarterback, a guy named Andrew Luck. Fleener wasn't chosen in the first round of the NFL draft, in which Luck was No. 1. Fleener got a nice consolation prize on Friday night when the Indianapolis Colts grabbed him with the second pick of the second round. Chances are good Fleener will become a starter - and a main target - for Luck. "I just sent him a text message that had a lot of exclamation points in it," said Fleener, who had 10 touchdown catches last season and 18 for his career in Stanford's prodigious offense.

Who: Soul (5-1) at Orlando (1-5) When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Where: Amway Center (15,203). TV: CSN (tape-delayed until approximately 10:30 p.m.) Radio: ESPN-AM (950). About the Soul: They rolled up 83 points against Tampa Bay last week and average an AFL-best 74.2 points per game. San Jose is a distant second at 63.2. . . . Wide receiver Donovan Morgan said Thursday that the pin placed in his fractured wrist is due to come out Tuesday.

TEN YEARS ago, the Eagles hit pay dirt in the second and third rounds of the draft, selecting safety Michael Lewis, cornerback Sheldon Brown and a running back by the name of Brian Westbrook. Lewis, Brown and Westbrook made a collective 241 starts for the Eagles and helped them make it to the NFC Championship Game four times and to the Super Bowl once. Since then, with two notable exceptions, the draft's second and third rounds have been one dry hole after another for the Eagles.

Top Wide Receiver Prospects JUSTIN BLACKMON, OKLA. STATE He's not as explosive as teams might like, but who cares? He's a ball-catcher and pulls in nearly everything tossed in his direction. Blackmon will definitely go in the top 10. KENDALL WRIGHT, BAYLOR A 4.6-second 40-yard dash at the combine didn't seem to match his game film. But he has an assortment of moves off the line, has great in-air body control, and makes up for his lack of size (5-10, 196) with impressive athleticism.

JASON AVANT He has managed to up his numbers in each of his six seasons in the NFL, but costly fumbles and a lack of production in the red zone could have the Eagles looking for another slot receiver. RILEY COOPER The size is there (6-foot-3, 222 pounds), and he had a few moments last season, but he hasn't turned into that red-zone threat some thought he could be. MARTY GILYARD Signed in January after a season out of the NFL, he has experience returning kicks and could help in that area.

You can never have too many good wide receivers. You can't in the modern era of the NFL with the league nearing a 60-40 balance in favor of the pass. So while the Eagles would appear to be set at the position and not in the market for a first-round talent, if Justin Blackmon or Michael Floyd were to fall to them at No. 15 you can bet your Jeremy Maclin jersey that Andy Reid will snap up either one. Taking a receiver with the top pick in this year's draft - which opens with the first round Thursday - would not make sense for the Eagles if they were looking to address their most significant holes from a season ago. That would be on defense at linebacker, safety, and defensive tackle - and, sure, why not, cornerback, too. But the Eagles have been hammering the mantra of taking the best available player for months, and again, if Blackmon or Floyd is there, you have to take him. Judging by some mock drafts, neither will be available.

Remember Jeremy Bloom? He was the last wide receiver the Eagles drafted that can truly be labeled a bust, and that may be overstating the ineffectiveness of the fifth-round draft pick. Even if Andy Reid isn't given a pass on Bloom - who was supposed to cure the Eagles' return-game ills - the coach has done a splendid job of choosing receivers in the last six NFL drafts. Before that, his selection of ball-catchers was, to put it mildly, about as poor as Freddie Mitchell's modesty.

Now that Penn State has completed its first spring practice under new head coach Bill O'Brien, the evaluation of the players who were inherited from Joe Paterno's final team can proceed. O'Brien had to like some of what he saw in Saturday's Blue-White game. Converted wide receiver Bill Belton performed well at running back. Wide receiver Allen Robinson caught two passes that went for big gains. Jordan Hill showed again that he's "one of the better inside defensive tackles I've been around," according to the coach.

THE SOUL has taken another hit to the wide-receiving corps after veteran Larry Brackins was placed on injured reserve with a strained left hamstring. Brackins, the last remaining player from the 2008 championship team, was injured in last Saturday's win over San Jose and will miss a minimum of three games. Star wide receiver Donovan Morgan already is out until at least May with a fractured left wrist. Given the vertical nature of arena football, having problems at wide receiver is like driving a car on the expressway with three doughnut tires.