Each year a unique set of prospects enters the professional ranks with a chance to make an immediate impact on the country's most powerful sport. The 2013 NFL Draft, held April 25-27, won’t be any different. Left tackle is the second most important position on the field, as salaries and a history of early draft picks have indicated. It's fairly simple, actually. If the quarterback is the most important player on the field then he who protects the quarterback is No. 2. And the No. 1 overall pick in 2013 could be a bookend tackle.

Only a few years ago, Western Kentucky was a highly successful Division I-AA program under Jack Harbaugh, father to NFL coaches Jim and John. Now, one of Jack Harbaugh’s top former players has taken the Hilltoppers to new heights.

College football's bowl season begins on Saturday with the New Mexico Bowl and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Here are predictions on the first 14 bowl games. 

Week 2 of the 2012 college football season is in the books and plenty of coaches saw the temperature on their seat increase by a few degrees. Kentucky's Joker Phillips and Boston College's Frank Spaziani won last Saturday, but both coaches rank as the top two on the hot seat going into Week 3. Auburn's Gene Chizik and Iowa's Kirk Ferentz are ranked for the first time in 2012, while Arkansas' John L. Smith makes an appearance after the Hogs' stunning overtime home loss to Louisiana-Monroe.

The 2012 college football season is just around the corner, and Athlon continues its countdown to kickoff with a look at our first and second All-MAC teams for this season.

Athlon's 2012 All-MAC Team

First-Team Offense

Conference realignment finally reached the MAC, with Temple departing for its second stint in the Big East and UMass joining the league as it moves up from the FCS ranks. The MAC is coming off its most successful postseason in league history after recording a 4–1 record in bowl games.