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NFL opinions vary on Curran
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/042010/foo_612078169.shtml
By Marc Weiszer - [email protected]
Published Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Buzz up!Jessie Tuggle plans to follow this week's NFL draft with particular interest.
http://images.morris.com/images/athens/mdControlled/cms/2010/04/19/612087648.jpg David Manning Former Georgia linebacker Rennie Curran, right, was an All-SEC pick in each of the last two seasons after registering 245 total tackles.
David ManningFormer Georgia linebacker Rennie Curran, right, was an All-SEC pick in each of the last two seasons after registering 245 total tackles. The former Atlanta Falcon was among former and current pro players that linebacker Rennie Curran turned to for advice when he made the decision to leave Georgia after his junior season.
"Yes, you can make it," Tuggle said he told him. "If I played, you can play."
At 5-foot-105/8 and 235 pounds, Curran is undersized for an NFL linebacker.
Just like Tuggle, with whom Curran has kept in touch since his Brookwood High days, when he attended a camp taught by former Falcons, including Tuggle.
"People kept telling me as I grew up, 'You remind me of Jessie Tuggle. You remind me of Jessie Tuggle,' " said Curran, who got a highlight DVD from Tuggle, on which Tuggle had written that Curran would be "here" - in the NFL - in a couple of years.
At 5-11, Tuggle played linebacker for 14 seasons for the Falcons, becoming a five-time Pro Bowler despite starting out as an undrafted free agent from Valdosta State.
Now NFL teams are weighing whether Curran will be a hit or miss NFL prospect after he accounted for 245 tackles the past two seasons and became an All-SEC pick.
"There's some things to like about the kid," ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said. "He's a difficult evaluation. I think there's going to be some that think third or fourth round, some think undrafted free agent. There's going to be a wide range of opinion on Rennie Curran."
Kiper pegs Curran as going in the fourth- or fifth-round area. The three-day NFL Draft begins Thursday night.
"You look at his size and you look at how he produced, though, but the height factor, the short arms (hurt Curran's stock)," Kiper said. "He was a tackling machine, but he missed some tackles if you really scrutinize film."
Pro Football Weekly draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki said Curran could be a "very good" pro in the right system.
"I think he's got to go to a team like Indianapolis or Tampa Bay, a team that's tended to protect their linebackers and let them run to the ball," Nawrocki said.
The Colts have started fourth-round draft pick Clint Session the past two seasons, when he racked up a combined 200 tackles. Session is listed at 6-foot and 235 pounds.
"Everybody knows that Rennie's not a real tall guy," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "Is it an issue? It is, but it's more of an issue for some people than others. Some people look at a certain stature and say that guy can't do it. Other people look at the productivity and say, 'You know what? I believe he can be productive in our league, too.' Rennie would not be the first guy his height to play in the NFL at his position and play it well, so there are guys that have paved the way. Rennie, I think, can continue that tradition."
Curran said San Francisco and Tennessee brought him in for pre-draft visits.
He is rated as the No. 9 outside linebacker by The Sporting News, which projects Curran as a third-round pick.
"Some teams look at me inside and some outside," Curran said. "I think I'd play well in the middle, be able to move around and cause problems."
Kiper said Curran will need to be protected by defensive tackles if he's playing inside.
Nawrocki calls Curran an "explosive hitter" with "good instincts," but the odds may be against him.
"He's undersized and a lot of undersized linebackers have struggled to stay healthy and it's real the special guys like (Washington's) London Fletcher who ran a 4.42 coming out of college who have been able to carve out solid careers," Nawrocki said. "The day and age where undersized linebackers have thrived may have come and gone when you really look around the league and find out how many are there."
Curran hopes to add his name to that list and have a productive career - just like Tuggle.
"No matter what defense I'm in," Curran said, "I'm going to do what I've always done and that's make plays."
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/042010/foo_612078169.shtml
By Marc Weiszer - [email protected]
Published Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Buzz up!Jessie Tuggle plans to follow this week's NFL draft with particular interest.
http://images.morris.com/images/athens/mdControlled/cms/2010/04/19/612087648.jpg David Manning Former Georgia linebacker Rennie Curran, right, was an All-SEC pick in each of the last two seasons after registering 245 total tackles.
David ManningFormer Georgia linebacker Rennie Curran, right, was an All-SEC pick in each of the last two seasons after registering 245 total tackles. The former Atlanta Falcon was among former and current pro players that linebacker Rennie Curran turned to for advice when he made the decision to leave Georgia after his junior season.
"Yes, you can make it," Tuggle said he told him. "If I played, you can play."
At 5-foot-105/8 and 235 pounds, Curran is undersized for an NFL linebacker.
Just like Tuggle, with whom Curran has kept in touch since his Brookwood High days, when he attended a camp taught by former Falcons, including Tuggle.
"People kept telling me as I grew up, 'You remind me of Jessie Tuggle. You remind me of Jessie Tuggle,' " said Curran, who got a highlight DVD from Tuggle, on which Tuggle had written that Curran would be "here" - in the NFL - in a couple of years.
At 5-11, Tuggle played linebacker for 14 seasons for the Falcons, becoming a five-time Pro Bowler despite starting out as an undrafted free agent from Valdosta State.
Now NFL teams are weighing whether Curran will be a hit or miss NFL prospect after he accounted for 245 tackles the past two seasons and became an All-SEC pick.
"There's some things to like about the kid," ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said. "He's a difficult evaluation. I think there's going to be some that think third or fourth round, some think undrafted free agent. There's going to be a wide range of opinion on Rennie Curran."
Kiper pegs Curran as going in the fourth- or fifth-round area. The three-day NFL Draft begins Thursday night.
"You look at his size and you look at how he produced, though, but the height factor, the short arms (hurt Curran's stock)," Kiper said. "He was a tackling machine, but he missed some tackles if you really scrutinize film."
Pro Football Weekly draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki said Curran could be a "very good" pro in the right system.
"I think he's got to go to a team like Indianapolis or Tampa Bay, a team that's tended to protect their linebackers and let them run to the ball," Nawrocki said.
The Colts have started fourth-round draft pick Clint Session the past two seasons, when he racked up a combined 200 tackles. Session is listed at 6-foot and 235 pounds.
"Everybody knows that Rennie's not a real tall guy," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "Is it an issue? It is, but it's more of an issue for some people than others. Some people look at a certain stature and say that guy can't do it. Other people look at the productivity and say, 'You know what? I believe he can be productive in our league, too.' Rennie would not be the first guy his height to play in the NFL at his position and play it well, so there are guys that have paved the way. Rennie, I think, can continue that tradition."
Curran said San Francisco and Tennessee brought him in for pre-draft visits.
He is rated as the No. 9 outside linebacker by The Sporting News, which projects Curran as a third-round pick.
"Some teams look at me inside and some outside," Curran said. "I think I'd play well in the middle, be able to move around and cause problems."
Kiper said Curran will need to be protected by defensive tackles if he's playing inside.
Nawrocki calls Curran an "explosive hitter" with "good instincts," but the odds may be against him.
"He's undersized and a lot of undersized linebackers have struggled to stay healthy and it's real the special guys like (Washington's) London Fletcher who ran a 4.42 coming out of college who have been able to carve out solid careers," Nawrocki said. "The day and age where undersized linebackers have thrived may have come and gone when you really look around the league and find out how many are there."
Curran hopes to add his name to that list and have a productive career - just like Tuggle.
"No matter what defense I'm in," Curran said, "I'm going to do what I've always done and that's make plays."
