Even after a year away from football, could FSU safety Myron Rolle be a first-round draft pick in 2010?

That's what the folks at Fanhouse.com are suggesting in a recent very-early mock draft of next year's potential first round. A projection of rising seniors has Rolle as the No. 31 prospect on the board, just ahead of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow at the end of the first round.

Rolle, who graduated in August and was named as a Rhodes Scholar in November, is in a unique position as a top NFL prospect who has for now chosen a path outside of football. He'll certainly be a draft pick, but the questions are when and where.

NFLdraftsite.com, ambitious enough to mock out all seven rounds for 2010, has Rolle as a third-round pick, with six other Seminoles projected as draft picks: cornerback Patrick Robinson (third), defensive tackle Doug Thacker (sixth), receiver Preston Parker (seventh), defensive end Markus White (seventh), tackle Caz Piurowski (seventh) and linebacker Dekota Watson (seventh).

-- Greg Auman, Times staff writer