Has anyone changed minds on their favorite DE like mine has? Was on a Nick Perry high after the combine, but have now switched to Whitney Mercilus. Being an Illinois student, I was at all the game and watched them closely. Yes, he's labled a "one-year wonder". He didn't put up stats before because he wasn't starting. Illinois D has one primary DE, who plays in most snaps, Mercilus won that spot this year. The other DE spot is rotated in and out with an extra LB or DB. Mercilus had limited snaps his Sophomore year, and then his Junior year got a ton more snaps; thus production came along with it. I was down on Mercilus due to the following things: 1.Slower off the snap 2.One year wonder 3.Average pass rushing moves 4.Doesn't accelerate well 5.Average upper body strength 6.265, isn't the best for a DE.. so a little small. 7.Can be "too" aggressive Then I started watching more games and combine, and become more impressed. Whitney was in average shape, and it looks like he lost all his fat (had a small gut) and added pure muscle. He showed me pass-rush moves at the combine that i've never seen him do before. He had a faster 20 yard split than "combine master" Nick Perry. Yes, he weighed in at 261. I'm not too worried about that, we signed Wimbley and he's smaller than that. That average upper body strength has improved with his work ethic. I've seen so much improvement from his last season at UoI to the combine, that i'd love to draft this guy. His work ethic is off the charts, and he's so down to earth. Literally coming from being dirt poor in Akron, OH (left UoI early to support his parents who are native from Haiti). Majored in Community Health, and graduated with a 3.4 GPA (at UOI, which trust me... is hard). He's a no-non sense player, i've seen almost every athlete in Champaign bars, but this guy. He's got raw talent, the athletic ability, and the right mindset to be a star. Sorry for the long write-up, but i've locked in who I want with our first round pick.
Alabama had their 2nd Pro Day for Upshaw, Barron, and Richardson, supposedly no Titans people were there. Guess we don't need Barron? Or we're dead set on a DE.
I was going off tweets being tweeted during the workouts, there were no mentions of Titans personnel being there. But clearly our people made it to the workout.
I prefer to go DL over safety in the 1st but Barron would be an instant start and Babs would go back to Nickel.
My favorite DE prospect is Jake Bequette because he had 10.5 sacks in only 10 games in the SEC, and he fits our defense perfectly. He's also my favorite prospect because he is projected to slip to the 3rd or 4th round. Too many question marks with all these 1st round D-ends, IMO. If we did get one in the first I would want Mercilus(who actually had 16 sacks this year) because Couples won't fall.
