Linebackers for the 2008 NFL Draft

Image: Rey Maualuga


When you talk about linebackers for the 2008 NFL Draft it all starts with the University of Southern California (USC). I don’t ever remember three linebackers from the same school drafted in the 1st round all in the same year. That is what might happen in the 2008 NFL Draft if juniors Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga decide to forgo their senior year and enter the NFL Draft early. Two out of their three starting linebackers are on the Lombardi Award watch list.

Keith Rivers is a senior so we know he will be in the 2008 NFL Draft and with his size, speed and athleticism he will likely be a top 20 pick. Rivers is a (pre-season) Playboy All-American and already on the Lombardi Award watch list. Rivers is blazing fast with nice size (6’ 3” 235 lbs), he finished 2006 with an impressive 162 tackles, 13.5 tackles for a loss and one interception. Rivers seems to be in the first round of everybody’s 2008 NFL Mock Drafts.

Brian Cushing is a little different player physically; he has the size and skills to play defensive end or linebacker and will probably be a target of an NFL team that uses the 34 defense. Cushing is 6’ 4” 247 pounds; he played last year at End but will be moved back to his more natural outside linebacker position this year.

Last but not least in Rey Maualuga, he is soft spoken off the field, but plays with a nasty attitude on the field. Rey had a difficult freshman year, he was arrested for punching another student and then he had to deal with the death of his father. But as a sophomore he seemed to put all his troubles behind him, he had an outstanding year on the field recording 115 tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss and two interceptions. He also was stellar in the class room earning a 3.2 grade point average. Rey is a pure inside linebacker and at a lean and mean 6’ 3” 250 pounds, he won’t have any problem holding his ground in the NFL. Rey was the John Mackey award winner as a freshman. Maualuga might even end up as the best pro out of all of them; the guy is just an animal. Maualuga is also on the Lombardi Award watch list.

Not far behind USC is Virginia Tech, with Vince Hall in the middle and Xavier Adibi on the outside, opposing offenses are going to have difficulty running the ball. Hall isn’t real tall at 6’ 0” 237 pounds but he is solid, strong and is adept at fighting through blockers and getting to the ball carrier. Adibi isn’t rated as high as he should be by NFL scouts because he is a tad small at 6’ 2” 225 pounds, but he is cat quick, good in pass coverage and comes off the corner in a hurry to get to the QB on blitzes. Virginia Tech’s defense last year allowed the least points (11) and total yards per game (219.5) in the nation and the scary thing is their defense might be even better this year as five of their front seven return and they have a shutdown corner in Brandon Flowers.

Penn State was called Linebacker U for years and it looks like that nick name will be back in 2007. Linebacker Dan Conner is the headliner, Conner will move from the weakside to the middle to replace Paul Posluszney who was selected in the 2007 NFL Draft. Everybody knows about Conner, but the linebacker that should emerge as an NFL Prospect this year is Junior Sean Lee. Lee has excellent sideline to sideline speed and is an excellent tackler. Lee came on strong towards the end of last year; he recorded 13 tackles against Wisconsin and 11 against Ohio State.

Ohio State seems to put together an excellent linebacker corps year after year and this year should be no different. The headliner is everybody’s All-American and last year’s Bronco Nagurski Trophy Award winner, middle linebacker James Laurinaitis. The Bronco Nagurski Award is given to the nation’s best defensive player and Laurinaitis won it as a sophomore. The other linebacker is a rising star, only a junior, but like Laurinaitis, started last year as a sophomore, Marcus Freeman (6’ 2” 238 lbs). Freeman received a redshirt in 2005 due to a knee injury, but fully healed he should be a force in 2007. He probably won’t leave for the NFL early but could be a name to watch for the 2009 NFL Draft.

LSU will also have a formidable group of linebackers, Ali Highsmith is the big name of the group, a little small at 6’ 0” 228 pounds, but he has safety speed and hits like, well, a linebacker. He didn’t play great in 2007 but I expect him to have a better year in 2007. Luke Sanders is the other senior, he has impressive size at 6’ 4” 235 pounds, but he is going to have to fight for a starting spot because junior Darry Beckwith is coming on strong. It is going to be hard to keep Beckwith off the field in 2007, he even outplayed Highsmith at times last year.

The sleeper linebacker corps hails from Louisville, everybody knows about super star Malik Jackson, with a solid senior season he could easily be a first round draft pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, Jackson is a sideline to sideline tackling machine with nice size (6’2” 235 lbs), last year (2006) he recorded an impressive 16 tackles for a loss, nine sacks and three fumble recoveries. The intriguing addition to this group is redshirt junior Linebacker Willie Williams. A transfer from West Los Angeles, but he originally signed with Miami (Fl) after being labeled as one of the top players in the nation coming out of high school. He has the size and athleticism (6’ 3” 240 lbs), we just have to see if he can put it together mentally. Williams, the new comer, will have to beat out junior Lamar Miles, who is himself a very talented linebacker, but Miles is only 6’ 1” 220 lbs. so I wouldn’t count Williams out just yet.

Here are a few other senior linebackers that should her there name called early in the 2008 NFL Draft:
1. Jonathan Goff, Vanderbilt
2. Jasper Brinkley, South Carolina
3. Philip Wheeler, Georgia Tech
4. Shawn Crable, Michigan
5. Wesley Jefferson, Maryland
6. Alvin Bowen, Iowa State
7. Rory Johnson, Mississippi
8. Romeo Davis, Miami (FL)
9. Bo Ruud, Nebraska
10. J. Leman, Illinois
*Small School Stud: Bryan Smith, McNeese State