LSU vs Oregon

Games like this are the best chance to see how college stars will fair as NFL players. All too often we see hyped college players stomp weak teams and look like studs; when these same players meet other top ranked teams and players they sometimes fold.

LaMichael James, Oregon- James faced a very stout D-line in LSU and performed very predictably; just ok. James cannot run between the tackles, he does not have the vision or toughness to see a tiny crease and bolt through hit. What I really like about James is his shiftyness in space and his ability to run the counter. This guy cuts very smoothly and that is key when running the counter. James will need to find a home in a westcoast driven team to find success in the NFL.

Michael Clay, Oregon- The obvious leader on Oregon's defense, I was very surprised with his instincts to the ball. If my MLB is not making the tackle on every play I want him to be close and Clay most always is. I expect Clay to hae a big year.

Lavasier Tuinei, Oregon- I really like the way Tuinei runs his routes; he is fearless in the middle and aggressive on the sidelines. He is not very big or very fast, but Tuinei plays with an attitude and that is a great attribute in a receiver.

Rueban Randle LSU- I was very impressed by Randles ability to go up and get the ball. He has great size/ speed ratio. Randle's greatest asset is his ability to go up and grab the ball out of the air. He plays the ball like a basketball player; almost boxing out defenders.

LB

The BIG question is…. How should you rate a linebacker. For me MLB must have at least 100 tackles, a few sacks and maybe an interception. For OLB, I’ll take upper 80s in tackles but I better see 8 plus sacks. Linebacker, especially MLB, used to be the marquee position for NFL defenses. Now there are so many great athletes on the D-line and the Safety position is so much more of a thinking man postion;  that great pass rushers and versatile safeties have over- shadowed the meat and potatoes linebacker position.  That being said, we have a lot of really nice LB prospects at for the 2012 draft and here are my tops.

 1.       Lavontae David MLB, Nebraska-  David had an incredibly productive JR year; I think he will only improve on that as he has moved to the Big Ten. My only question is his size at 6’1 220, NFL teams will want him to be a little bigger. Really though, if he posts another 162 tkls and 6 sacks this year, they won’t mind his size so much.

2.       Curnelious Arnick (Dark Horse) Tulsa-  6’1 230 115 tkls 5 sacks, and 4 INTs; do I really need to explain much more. Yes this is a very high rating for a guy that plays in Conference USA; but if you get the chance just watch him play and you will be a believer too. Hopefully an injury free SR. year and continued production will prove me correct. Everyone will be talking about this guy as a sleeper by draft time.

3.       Luke Kuechly MLB, Boston College-  Guys like Kuechly are why I hate weak conferences like the Big East. This guy is everything a Linebacker should be. He is the leader of the B.C. defense and totaled an incredible 183 tkls and added 3 INTs on top of that. I really wanted to put Kuechly  on top of my board, but I truly believe I have it right.

4.       Jerry Franklin MLB, Arkansas- This is the size LBs should be 6’1 245lbs! The kind of guy that just screams “COME GET SOME”. After a very solid JR. year I look for Franklin to get a lot of attention and breakout this year.

5.       Miles Burris OLB, San Diego St.- Burris is on the list for one reason; guy just gets in the backfield and makes plays. Burris is one of those players that just has a natural ability to get to the QB; and when he is not recording sacks he is stretching out the run and making RBs take losses.

I would be remiss if I did not add a couple more very exciting players to keep an eye on.

Bruce Taylor VA Tech, Audie Cole NC State, Ryan Baker LSU, Michael Mauti ( Injured Last season but really impressive in his 7 games)