Wisconsin Badgers news, 5/8: NFL Draft gets underway tonight

Mock drafts are officially a thing of the past once the 2014 NFL Draft getting underway tonight. Based on various predictions stemming from early January, there has been a 50-50 split on whether Chris Borland will be taken in the first round.

CBS Sports' Pete Prisco does not have Borland being taken in the first round, instead predicting the linebacker will go to the New York Giants at No. 43. Draft Insider tabbed Borland as the 84th-best prospect and with a rough estimate between the third and fourth round. Joining Borland were Jared Abbrederis (136; 4-5), Ryan Groy (137; 4-5), Dezmen Southward (148; 5), Beau Allen (174; 5-6) and James White (191; 6). The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Bob McGinn believes the former Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year will be among the first 100 players to be drafted, including the third inside linebacker selected.

The Wisconsin State Journal's Tom Mulhern writes that at least seven former UW stars will be selected throughout the weekend. Allen will certainly find himself in this group, but it's much more stressful than one might even imagine. Players have heard so many different ranges of where they will be drafted, stemming from agents, front office executives, scouts, family members, coaches, social media, and the list goes on and on. When it comes to the actual day they are drafted, the combination of stress and nerves has to be at an all-time high, largely because they are on the verge of fulfilling their lifelong dream of playing in the NFL. Allen talked to Fox Sports Wisconsin's Jesse Temple about where he thinks he'll get drafted and what he'll be doing for the big day.

Head coach Gary Andersen and his coaching staff picked up a big commitment yesterday for 2015 in offensive tackle David Moorman. The four-star prospect is the fifth member of the class. My only question is how much weight is the coaching staff going to add to his 6-foot-5 frame? He weighs in at 275 pounds. Jeff Genyk was the lead recruiter for Moorman, and he now checks in at No.18 in 247 Sports' Big Ten recruiting ranks. The Badgers haven't traditionally utilized the great state of Texas for recruiting, but Andersen is bucking the trend by keeping an eye out for several prospects. Andrew gets you caught up to speed on all of the wild recruiting action.

Here's your Thursday Jaw Dropper -- Sports Illustrated's Martin Rickman has Melvin Gordon and the Badgers at No. 11  in his post-spring power rankings. I'm not buying any of this because there are plenty of holes on both sides of the ball that could dispute this to a tee. Will it be the defense that solidifies this extremely high ranking next year? Dave Aranda lost a lot of production within the front seven, but Warren Herring and Derek Landisch have the potential to really come into their own in 2014. Luke and Jake break down who will be running mates with Herring and Landisch, as they stroll through the defensive depth chart.

Quick Hitters

Wisconsin and Utah State both finished with top-five APR scores for college football teams.

The UW softball team picked up some conference accolades yesterday.

Mary Massei earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors, while Michelle Mueller and Taylor-Paige Stewart earned second-team honors #Badgers

— Badger Softball (@BadgerSoftball) May 7, 2014