I know this isn't a draft forum but we are talking Lb's. Thought I would post this as a primer for the college season.
2012 DRAFT OLB PROFILES
*Note players not necessarily listed in order of grade
4-3 LBs
Zach Brown, North Carolina, 6-2, 230, 4.35, SR… Fast, athletic WLB who will finally get a chance to be a full-time starter this fall after backing up Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter the past couple of seasons; still finished second on the team with 72 tackles last fall; has uncommon speed for a LB; indeed is a former state sprint champion who holds the UNC school record for the indoor 60-meter dash with a 6.72 clocking; not always that instinctive but can outrun most mistakes; has exceptional lateral range, but isn’t that aggressive or instinctive attacking the line of scrimmage; can run with just about any receiver in college football and has decent ball skills; picked off three passes last fall; not all that big at barely 230 pounds and can be engulfed at the point of attack by big offensive lineman, but is a physical tackler; is a also a dynamic special teamer.
Travis Lewis, Oklahoma, 6-2, 235, 4.40, SR ... Super productive WLB who already has piled up 360 career tackles; not all that big or physical, but is a weight-room warrior with good strength and really explodes into tackles; also is a tremendous athlete with sub-4.4 speed, although tends to be somewhat stiff in the hips and doesn’t change direction all that quickly; has good instincts and exceptional acceleration and range; can also run with most backs and TEs and as a former star high school RB has good ball skills for a LB; indeed, already shares OU career record for picks for a LB with 8; can get into the backfield, but is not a natural blitzer; also struggles to get off blocks when engaged at times; will miss the first month of the season with a broken foot.
Lavonte David, Nebraska, 6-1, 225, 4.62, SR … Was a very good junior college LB before blowing up at Nebraska last fall where he posted a team-record 152 tackles; safety-sized at a bulked up 225 pounds, but has a thick lower body and plays bigger; also has good though not great speed with a projected 40-clocking in the 4.6 range, but again plays faster; is a good athlete with fluid hips; is also a real student of the game and is very instinctive; reads the play well and is very quick and explosive; can beat the offense to the point of attack, but can also get off blocks when engaged; has shortish arms, but is a very good tackler who drives through ball-carriers; can also blitz and make plays in coverage; had 6 sacks last fall, while breaking up 10 passes; can turn and run with most backs and TEs, but doesn’t have the greatest hands himself.
Keenan Robinson, Texas, 6-2, 235, 4.65, SR … Active, athletic backer with sideline-to-sideline range; versatile player who will line up on the strongside this fall, but could also play in the middle or on the strongside; aggressive run defender with a quick first step, good instincts and the ability to change direction on the fly; not huge by NFL standard, but has good functional strength and is a physical tackler who had 113 tackles in 2010; can get into the backfield, but is not necessarily a natural pass rusher; also covers a lot of ground in coverage and had a couple of picks last fall, but isn’t quite as instinctive when playing in reverse; excellent all-around athlete was a state-level triple jumper in high school where he also played some WR; also a good student and character player.
Sean Spence, Miami, 6-0, 225, 4.58, SR ... Disruptive WLB with first-round physical skill, but is somewhat undersized; one of the best all-around athletes on a roster full of good all-around athletes; has excellent instincts and a fine motor, as well has the speed, quickness and agility of a safety; not all that big at barely 225 pounds, but still packs a wallop when he finds the ball as he explodes through ball-carriers; isn’t going to stack and shed at the point of attack because of his size, but is tough to block because he is so active; specializes in getting into the backfield before a play has a chance to develop and had 13.5 other tackles for loss last season; not a natural pass rusher, though, but did have 2.5 sacks last fall; has great balance, can change direction on the fly, as well as flip his hips in transition out of his back-peddle; solid in coverage, but has the hands of a LB; missed three games in 2009 with a knee injury.
Danny Trevathan, Kentucky, 6-1, 230, 4.55, SR … Fast, athletic WLB with excellent range and instincts; solid wrap-up tackler had a 144 stops in 2010 including 13 for loss; also enters the season with an active streak of 9 games with double-digit tackles; had another 80 tackles in 2009 when he played through a broken wrist; weight room warrior isn’t all that big, but has bulked up to 230 pounds; does a nice job getting off blocks; has good quickness and excellent closing speed; has reportedly run the 40 in under 4.50 seconds; still more of a sideline-to-sideline type; not a natural blitzer and doesn’t make a lot of plays in coverage, although he can run with most backs and TEs; character player who goes hard all the time.
Nigel Bradham, Florida State, 6-2, 240, 4.65, SR … Consistent, versatile veteran WLB with 26 career starts; athletic player with good speed and better quickness; has good instincts with sideline-to-sideline range; solid wrap-up tackler led the team with 98 tackles last fall, although he doesn’t deliver many big hits; also not known as a natural blitzer, but did have 5 sacks last fall; covers a lot of ground in coverage and can run with most backs and TEs, but doesn’t have great ball skills and has only one career pick and 5 pass breakups; has a thick lower base, but isn’t that physical at the point of attack and struggles getting off blocks.
Tank Carder, Texas Christian, 6-2, 230, 4.67, SR … Athletic WLB leads the aggressive Horned Frogs defense; not overly big, but is an excellent tackler who rarely misses a stop; also very quick and instinctive with sideline-to-sideline range; can make plays in both directions; had 3.5 sacks and 6 other tackles for loss last fall; also one of the better coverage LBs in college football has 15 career pass break-ups, although he doesn’t necessarily have great hands; will struggle at times to hold the point of attack but generally does a good job shedding blocks; has an outstanding work ethic and should be a good special teamer at the next level; health is an issue, though, as he had problems with a shoulder in the past; also suffered multiple serious injuries including a punctured diaphragm, collapsed lung, and broken bones in his back in a car accident as a youth and wasn’t allowed to play high school football; fearless kid, though, who was a national BMX bike champion in elementary school.
Tyler Nielsen, Iowa, 6-4, 235, 4.60, SR … Prototype SSLB played in only 8 games last fall after suffering a broken vertebrae in his neck that will have to be checked at this spring; tall OLB with long arms can play over the TE and does a nice job fighting off blocks at the point of attack; smart, instinctive with good speed and range, although he’s a little stiff and doesn’t change direction all that well; not a natural blitzer, but effective in both zone and man coverage; had 42 tackles last fall with an interception and 4 other pass breakups.
Greg Williams, Pittsburgh, 6-3, 240, 4.75, SR … Came to Pitt as a heralded RB recruit – he’s a cousin of former star NFL RB Edge James - but made a successful transition to OLB; has started 32 games; not flashy, but a solid all-around player who can get into the backfield as well as make plays in coverage; lacks great range, but reads the field well, is quick off the snap and has good strength at the point of attack; opportunistic type who has three career TD returns in his career; had 64 tackles in 2010.
Ronnie Thornton, Southern Mississippi, 6-2, 230, 4.65, SR … Athletic WLB with good quickness, instincts and range; three-year starter had 61 tackles in 2010 after posting 114 the previous year; excellent athlete with sub-4.7 speed; has sideline-to-sideline range, but isn’t a natural pass rusher; also has yet to make many plays in coverage.
Max Gruber, Pittsburgh, 6-2, 230, SR … Tough, smart player who can play all three LB slots; not all that big or fast, but is very instinctive; understands the scheme and does a nice job lining up the defense; physical tackler had 170 tackles the past couple of seasons, although he doesn’t make a lot of plays upfield; can contribute in coverage and on special teams.
Miles Burris, San Diego State, 6-2, 235, 4.75 …. Hard-nosed SSLB who always seems to be around the ball; emerged as a disruptive force in 2010 when he had 20 tackles for loss, including 9.5 sacks; not overly big or fast, but has a quick first step, good instincts and is relentless into the backfield; not very agile and is a non-factor in coverage; character player who could also figure at ILB.
Ryan Baker, LSU, 6-0, 230, 4.77, SR … Versatile veteran LB will shift inside this fall after leading the team with 87 tackles as a WLB last season; tough player missed only one game after breaking his jaw in a pres-season practice last fall and then played in four games with his jaw wired shut; smart, instinctive player reads the play well and gets to the ball in a hurry; also a very physical tackler, but lacks great measurables; isn’t all that big at just under 6-0 and barely 230 pounds; has good quickness, but has limited speed in space; sees gaps in blocking and does and gets into backfield on a regular basis; had 11 tackles for loss last fall, including 7 sacks; has limited range in coverage; slightly older player will turn 25 during his first year in the pros.
Brian Hendricks, Wyoming, 6-1, 230, 4.75, SR … Active WLB who is always around the ball; isn’t all that big or fast, but has excellent instincts; solid wrap up tackler who had just under 200 tackles the past couple of seasons, but hasn’t made many plays in the backfield or in coverage; good all-around athlete who was a star RB in high school; also had a career record of 102-1 as a prep wrestler and was a medalist in state 400M; good student and character player who was a team captain as a junior; suffered a knee injury in high school and also missed a couple of games in 2009 with a minor knee injury.
Brandon Maye, Mississippi State, 6-2, 230, 4.70 … Looked like a potential early pick when he posted 103 tackles and forced 5 fumbles as a sophomore at Clemson in 2009, but slumped to just 43 stops last season and ended up transferring; not all that big or physical and can be engulfed at the point of attack, but has good speed and range; hard hitter but will play out of control at times; also not that instinctive in coverage.
Paul Vassallo, Arizona, 6-2, 240, SR … Former junior college All-American made an easy adjustment to D1A football last fall when he recorded 100-plus tackles, including 8 for loss; has good size, quickness and range; uses hands well to fend off blockers and can hold the point of attack; also has good instincts and plays hard; not a natural blitzer, though, doesn’t make many plays in coverage; originally walked on and red-shirted a year at Nevada; missed much of his sophomore year at the JC level with a concussion.
Demario Davis, Arkansas State, 6-2, 240, 4.60, SR … Former high school WR brings nice size/speed measurable to OLB; runs well and has sideline-to-sideline range; also quick with good balance and the ability to change direction on the fly; also a physical tackler who made over 140 stops the past couple of years, but doesn’t get into the backfield that often; not all that instinctive, though, and while he has good hands and the speed to stay with most backs and TEs, doesn’t make a lot of plays in coverage.
Curnelius Arnick, Tulsa, 6-0, 230, 4.80, SR … Underrated backer will play in the middle this fall, but projects to WLB at the next level; not all that big or fast, but is quick and instinctive; good tackler had 115 stops last fall including 5 sacks; also a very coverage LB who reads the play well and has good hands; picked off 4 passes last fall and broke up four others;
Alex Hoffman-Ellis, Washington State, 6-0, 245, 4.55, SR … Interesting prospect who has played only three years of football, but is a really good athlete who can run to the ball and brings an attitude when he finds it; actually was a troubled teen who never played any sports at all until his senior year in high school, but has since played basketball in the Maccabi games and was a track star (long jump, triple jump and javelin) in his one year at a junior college; still learning the technical aspects of the position and can be overwhelmed at the point of attack, but has great range and can outrun mistakes; had 81 tackles last fall including a couple of sacks; also picked off two passes and broke up four others.
http://www.gbnreport.com/2012olbprofiles.html
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