One of the great things about the Internet is that it can lend support to almost any theory.

Search long enough and you can find someone promoting the Rev. Jeremiah Wright as an American patriot. Search longer and you might find someone promoting Jim Belushi for an Oscar.

Or maybe, you want to promote Al Woods as a top-four NFL draft pick. There's evidence on the Internet.

In case you're wondering, Woods is a rising junior defensive tackle at LSU.

Don't confuse him with LSU's other defensive tackles. Glenn Dorsey was the one taken fifth in the first round of this year's NFL draft. Ricky Jean-Francois was the one who starred in the national championship game against Ohio State. Woods was the one who didn't make a tackle in the championship game.

That didn't faze Todd McShay, who covers the draft for Scouts Inc. and ESPN. He predicts the 6-foot-4, 320-pound Woods will be the fourth player taken in the 2009 NFL draft.

Mock drafts a year in advance might be as unbelievable as Roger Clemens. Nonetheless, they make for good reading, particularly if you're an SEC fan.

While perusing the Internet for 2009 mock drafts, I found 17 SEC players projected as first-round picks. McShay had 13 SEC players going in the first round, including seven in the first 10 picks.

On second thought, maybe it's not good reading for SEC fans. Most of the top picks will be juniors, including three from Florida - Heisman Trophy quarterback Tim Tebow, wide receiver Percy Harvin and middle linebacker Brandon Spikes. Georgia fans also will be less than thrilled with McShay's projections, which have junior quarterback Matthew Stafford and redshirt sophomore running back Knowshon Moreno going high in the first round.

None of these players has intimated he's interested in leaving college before his senior season. But how many could resist if these early, early mock drafts prove prophetic?

One mock draft predicted Tebow would be the first player taken in the 2009 draft. Another projected Stafford as the No. 1 overall pick.

You might have questions about both.

Stafford's production has yet to match his potential, which drew raves from draft analysts before he played a down of college football. But he does have a powerful arm and mobility. Moreover, he hardly has been throwing to top-drawer receivers in his first two seasons at Georgia.

No one can question Tebow's production or potential. However, detractors can point out that coach Urban Meyer's offense won't prepare him for the NFL (See former Meyer quarterback Alex Smith for details).

But look at it this way: What quarterback would you take ahead of them in next year's draft?

"Nobody," according to the mock drafts.

CollegeFootballNews.com ranks Tebow and Stafford one-two as NFL quarterback prospects. Nate Davis of Ball State is third, followed by Purdue's Curtis Painter, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, and Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour.

College stars like Missouri's Chase Daniel and Kansas' Todd Reesing are way down the list. West Virginia's Pat White didn't make the top 25.

As questionable as such rankings might be, they at least underscore the abundance of talent in the SEC.

Six SEC defensive linemen - Woods and Tyson Jackson of LSU, Sen'Derrick Marks of Auburn, Greg Hardy of Ole Miss, Jeff Owens of Georgia and Antwain Robinson of Arkansas - were projected as first-round picks. So were offensive linemen Andre Smith of Alabama, Herman Johnson of LSU, Ciron Black of LSU and Michael Oher of Ole Miss.

Six players from defending national champion LSU were projected to go in the first round. That includes Woods, who has started only one game and made just 29 career tackles.

Maybe he will get to start a couple of more games before he's the fourth pick of the 2009 draft.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.

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