This is one of the busiest times of the year. Now that Christmas has come and gone New Years is right around the corner. But in all your festivities, if you haven't been watching the early Bowl games you have not only missed out on some great football, but some great NFL Draft Prospects as well. Here is a shortlist of guys who not only represented their school this bowl season, but themselves as well.

Besides Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler, this year's quarterback crop is not the strongest. Sure, there is the star Junior quartet of Vince Young, Brady Quinn, Omar Jacobs, and Drew Stanton, but will any of them leave for the draft? The chance to be the number 3 QB prospect was wide open, and in the GMAC bowl Toledo QB Bruce Gradkowski stepped up and relished the opportunity. Not only did he lead his team to a decisive 45-13 victory over UTEP, he also solidified himself as a first day draft pick. He showed a strong arm and good accuracy all night and amassed 298 yards and a career high 5 TDs. His decision making could be questioned on his 2 interceptions, but that won't stop a team from taking a chance on Gradkowski.

Who is going to win the Reggie Bush sweepstakes? That seems to be the question on everyone's mind. But in Memphis' 38-31 victory over Akron in the Motor City Bowl, running back DeAngelo Williams proved that the "loser" of the Bush Bowl is going to end up quite happy. Running back hungry teams that miss out on Bush will find themselves with a complete back in Williams. Showing a rare combination to run for power up the middle and speed on the outside he gained 233 yards and 3 TDs on 30 carries for an astonishing 7.77 yards a carry. In doing so he became the NCAA career leader in 100 yard games with 34. The NFL will love him.

Though they came up on the short end of 35-28 score line against Cal, BYU WR Todd Watkins quieted some critics. In a relatively disappointing season (he still scored 9 TDs) Watkins came to play in the Las Vegas Bowl. He caught 5 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown and showed great speed, athleticism, and the ability to make tough catches. In a year without any can't-miss WR prospects, Watkins surely had to make a big jump up a lot of GMs boards with this performance. At 6'3 Watkins has great height and could be the playmaker that many teams have been desperate for.

The lone bright spot in UCF's heartbreaking 49-48 overtime loss to Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl was Senior WR Brandon Marshall. A virtual unknown before the game with an uncertainty of being drafted, Marshall came up with 11 receptions for 211 yards and 3 TDs. Those kinds of numbers will turn some heads, but throw in the fact he is 6'5 230 and Marshall suddenly becomes an intriguing prospect. But if you look at his stats, he has been doing it all year long. Marshall ended the year with 74 receptions, 1195 yards, and 11 touchdowns. The size and production surely must be enough to get himself into Day 2 of the draft.

Winning in the NFL is all about creating favorable matchups. Rutgers Junior FB Brian Leonard creates plenty of mismatches. Though Rutgers lost the Insight Bowl 45-40 to Arizona State, Leonard still had one heck of a game. He carried the ball 8 times for 36 yards and a touchdown. He also had a big 3rd down conversion run called back for a questionable block in the back by one of his WR. The most impressive stat was his 6 catches for 101 yards including a 31 yarder where he broke 3 tackles. A 100 yard receiving game by a fullback? Amazing. As a lead blocker he helped freshmen RB Raymell Rice gain 112 yards on the ground. If Leonard decides to leave early he could hear his name called pretty early.