I'd argue Barwin is the "safest" conversion project in this draft.
- He saw playing time at TE and on Special Teams as a
true freshman
Player Bio: Connor Barwin :: Football.
- He was asked to walk-on the basketball team and was effective as a reserve
Player Bio: Connor Barwin :: Men's Basketball.
- He played on STs and as a reserve TE in all 13 football games as a sophomore.
- He was again asked to walk-on for basketball as a sophomore and collected 32 rebounds, 9 blocked shots, and 5 steals in 22 games...the 38 personal fouls may have been a tad excessive, but he's no shrinking violet.
- He started at TE as a junior, the guy playing ahead of him the previous two years was signed by Philadelphia and had a monster game against Arizona in the playoffs this year.
- He was asked to switch to DE in the Spring and wound up starting...and leading the Big East (a BCS conference) in sacks.
If NE drafts him and askes him to change position to 3-4 OLB, is there any question about his ability to adapt and contribute?
Further, Barwin currently has 16 lbs on Matthews, he's faster in a straight line, more explosive, has similar change of direction numbers, and longer arms for blocking passes and stacking blockers...he also doesn't have this note in his profile: "Prefers to run around blocks rather than take them on. While he improved as the year went on, remains a work in progress in disengaging from blocks." Which is the "safer" project, the slightly undersized kid with the bloodlines and no true position or the kid who is already NE Linebacker-sized and has demonstrated his ability to adapt to change?