I thought it would be fun on this Friday to play a little game of name that prospect with CSR. As I was reading Mr. Dator’s excellent piece comparing Luke Kuechly to Dan Morgan, I decided to go on a mission to find out if there was another player entering the 2012 draft who could compare in any way to the stud linebacker from BostonCollege. While I didn’t find a carbon copy of Kuechly, I’m still excited to present to you a player who put up some very impressive numbers of his own over his last two seasons in college. Many of you have already had this guy on your radar, as I have seen quite a few comments about him over the past several months. In fact, he was a selection of mine a while back in one of my mock drafts. Let’s look at a couple of negatives and positives concerning our mystery prospect.

On the negative side, our prospect is dissimilar to Kuechly in that he is a bit undersized for the linebacker position and also lacks his strength and athleticism. Although he sometimes has trouble shedding blocks and diagnosing plays quickly enough, he does display excellent form while tackling, which always bodes well for a prospect’s chances at the next level. Additionally, he has a passion for football that is evidenced by the non-stop motor he plays with, and his stats are even further proof of this. Ultimately, he is predicted to be drafted somewhere in the vicinity of the fourth round. Interestingly, both Kuechly and our mystery prospect were born in the state of Ohio. Nevertheless, if for some reason the Panthers choose not to pick Kuechly in the first round, this linebacker may be an option later on in the draft. Take a look at their stats below to see how closely they compare and let me know if you can name that prospect.

Luke Kuechly

Mystery Prospect