Doug Free Profile

[Jimz31]

6-5 210 OT/OG Northern Illinois

OVERVIEW
Regarded as one of the elite offensive tackles in college football, Free almost gave up football before his career ever began. In ninth grade at Lincoln High School, Free was going to walk away from the game to work at a dairy farm. "I was 15 years old, the job paid well and I loved what I was doing," he said. "I kind of had to be talked back to football. And it all worked out."

It worked out in part because the 5-10, 155-pound freshman sprouted into a 6-5, 210-pound sophomore. That spurt, along with his farm work and weightlifting, pushed Free onto some college radars, but none of the major programs came calling.

"There was talk with Wisconsin, the only I-A program in the state, about walking on as a freshman and maybe getting a scholarship as a sophomore," Free said. "North Dakota and North Dakota State had interest. So did Minnesota-Duluth, where my brother Nic played. And Northern Illinois showed a lot of interest."

Once he saw the farms and fields surrounding NIU, Free quickly enrolled at the school.

At Lincoln High School, Free lettered three times in football and was an honor-roll student. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel rated Free the ninth-best prospect in the state. The team captain and Defensive Lineman of the Year added first-team All-Fox Valley Conference accolades on offense and defense. He was a first-team Herald Times Reporter all-area and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel all-state choice.

He led the team to a 7-3 record and a playoff berth; the team finished second in the league. Free recorded 64 tackles, eight sacks, seven blocked kicks, six forced fumbles, five pass deflections and two fumble recoveries as a defensive tackle in 2002. He also had six receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown as a tight end. As a junior, he added first-team All-FVC recognition.

Free redshirted in 2002 at Northern Illinois and was penciled in as a reserve on the offensive line (third on the depth chart) entering 2003 fall camp. Free became the starter after a tragic event in which Shea Fitzgerald was killed with 12 others in the collapse of a back porch during a party in Lincoln Park. "I still have trouble talking about that," Free said.

Fitzgerald's tragic departure cleared the way for Free. Ever since starting the 2003 opener, a 20-13 victory against Maryland, he became a fixture at left tackle. He also became the bodyguard for All-American tailback Garrett Wolfe over his next 49 consecutive starts.

Free registered 40 knockdowns in 2003. The following season, the sophomore All-American third-team and second-team All-Mid American Conference choice participated in 878 total snaps (806 on offense and 72 on placement kick unit) in 12 starts. He lined up at left tackle for the first 10 games before shifting to tight end. He led the offensive line with a 91 percent blocking grade and 17 flat-back blocks. He also finished fourth on the team with 67 knockdowns.

As a junior in 2005, Free was named first-team All-MAC, as he again graded 91 percent for blocking consistency. He was also nominated for MAC All-Academic and CoSIDA District V All-Academic honors with 3.24 grade-point average as an Industrial Technology major. He made 49 knockdowns and 13 flat-back blocks while seeing action in 806 plays.

Free earned first-team All-MAC accolades in 2006. He was a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's Draddy Award, honoring combined academic success, football performance and exemplary community service, and received "Halfway All-American" recognition by CBS SportsLine.com at the season's midpoint.

Free registered 59 knockdowns and 10 flat-backs, but he struggled with health issues all year. He was bothered by a groin pull in fall camp, and then suffered a right foot stress fracture when his leg was stepped on in the season opener vs. Ohio State. He played in the next two games before telling trainers of the injury, and the fracture was then treated. He was forced to attend classes wearing a boot to protect the foot. This limited his range and quickness on the field. His season would come to a sad end when he allowed two sacks and three stops behind the line of scrimmage in his final game, vs. Texas Christian in the Poinsettia Bowl.

NIU head coach Joe Novak recently praised Free, saying, "No question, Doug has the talent to play on Sundays. Knock on wood, I believe he's going to be a first-round draft pick. Doug Free's a lot better athlete than Ryan Diem. (Free) can run! You just don't see many offensive linemen that can run at that size like he can. What's impressive is he'll sit back in pass protection and then we'll throw the ball down the field and he'll run down field and block a safety. I mean, get downfield! You just don't see kids who can do that. He's special. Our kids call him 'Doug Freak' because he runs so well."


ANALYSIS
Positives: Has a thick upper body with wide hips and thighs, with room to add at least another 15-20 pounds with no loss in his impressive quickness (5.09 40-yard dash) … Very agile for a player his size and possesses very good lower-body weight-room numbers (565-pound squat, 350-pound power clean) … Shows good flexibility on the move and demonstrates good knee bend in his kick slide … Hard worker in practices and the training room who will do the little extras to improve … Well-liked by the team and staff, taking pride in his leadership role … Has a good understanding of blocking schemes and is alert to twists and games … Slides out with good quickness and arms extending to defeat the edge rush … Does a nice job adjusting to action working in space, coming off the ball with good urgency … Hardly ever in a position of disadvantage and uses his long arms to reach and seal … Can set quickly in the short area and has the feet to mirror moves in one-on-one situations … More of a finesse/position and sustain type of blocker, but has the quickness and movement skills to fire off the snap on pulls and traps … Effective at reaching or turning the defender in when he keeps good hand placement … Pulls with good speed and can locate and land in space … Does an excellent job of seeking out the linebackers and gets downfield in a hurry, taking good angles to neutralize … Has the speed to cut, wall off and force the chase path by the defender … Has good leg drive and anchor to hold off the pass rusher and even when he over-sets, he recovers quickly … Has better slide and lateral agility moving to the outside than redirecting inside, but can handle quickness when he moves his feet to mirror.

Negatives: More of a finesse type who likes to use his body to lean and push the defender, lacking the upper-body strength to punch and shock with his hands … Has good speed, but won't explode into the opponent, preferring to reach and grab … Needs to improve his lower-body strength and must get more aggressive in his handling of the bull rusher (can be pushed back into the pocket) … Better pass protector than run blocker; he is slow to recover bringing his feet when redirecting inside … Gets too narrow in his base at times and needs to be more consistent in his attempts to gain leverage … Gets good hand placement, but you would hope he would shoot his hands with more pop on contact … Good at the reach and scoop, but must work harder to gain advantage in attempts to seal off … Must also stay on his blocks longer (gets off too quick; he tries to locate other people to hit) … Might be a better fit at guard early in his career to cover up upper-body strength issues (especially vs. the bull rush).

Compares To: Adam Meadows, Denver -- In his prime with the Colts, Meadows was an athletic mover and good finesse blocker. Free possesses the same quickness, reach and second-level blocking ability. Some compare him to former NIU blocker Ryan Diem, but he is a much better athlete with quicker feet. Free needs to improve his hand punch and bulk up if he wants to play left tackle at the next level. With his quickness and lateral agility, he might have better success as a pulling guard.


HIGH SCHOOL
Ranked as No. 9 college prospect in state by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (2002). Named team captain and Defensive Lineman of the Year, first-team All-Fox Valley Conference on both offense and defense, first-team Herald Times Reporter All-Area, and first-team Milwaukee Journal Sentinel All-State on 7-3 playoff entry and league runner-up as a senior for coach John Dixon. Recorded 64 tackles, eight sacks, seven blocked kicks, six fumble-cause hits, five deflections, and two fumble recoveries at DT, plus made six receptions for 141 yards and one TD at TE (2001). Named first-team All-FVC as a junior. Lettered in football (3). Honor roll student.


PERSONAL
Birthdate: 1-16-84. Major: Technology.