JSn
Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2008
- Messages
- 7,428
- Reaction score
- 1
Trio of talented Trojan LBs on display at Senior Bowl
"The linebacker group in this year's draft is a very solid group," Miami general manager Jeff Ireland said. "There's some depth there. It's a very solid group."
Every team at the top of the draft, starting with Detroit, which owns the No. 1 overall pick, could use help at linebacker. The Saints, Washington, Kansas City, New England and Baltimore approached Maualuga and Cushing after Tuesday's practice. The Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers also could be replenishing at least one outside linebacker spot.
South team coach Jack Del Rio of the Jacksonville Jaguars -– a USC product –- said he is very impressed with the group of linebackers his alma mater sent him, adding that Maualuga "could be something very special."
The infusion of linebacker talent couldn't come at a more convenient time, as linchpin mainstays like Zack Thomas, Ray Lewis, Keith Brooking, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Peterson and Derrick Brooks are winding down their careers. Mayo, Willis, Beason, Barrett Ruud, James Harrison, DeMarcus Ware, Woodley, Lofa Tatupu, Terrell Suggs and other upstarts have begun the transition, yet there never seems to be enough linebackers to complete the puzzle.
What makes this incoming group of linebackers special, besides their athletic gifts and physical nature, is their intelligence. Coaches at the Senior Bowl are throwing boatloads of information at them to see if they make the right calls on passing and run schemes, not only on the field but in the film room. If a linebacker can't figure those things out now, all his physical tools might not mean much.