nose tackle college question

[tvooz]

this year i plan to watch more college football with the intent to do a little scouting. in particular, i'm interested at looking at some nose tackle prospects. i believe the cowboys will need to draft a future replacement for ferguson. what traits should i be looking for? how can one tell if a 4-3 tackle can make the transition to nose?

 

[TwoSteppinJJ]

Mainly Strength if he's bowling over O-lineman than thats a good sign... You also want a guy that is a "clogger" takes up alot of space, 6-4 with 310 Lbs size... Somethign like that or bigger lol.

Just going throw a couple names out there.

Kareem Brown, Miami
Jeremy Clark, Alabama

Those are a few players that interest me, Frank Okam also does to but hes more of a 4-3 DT and pass rusher.

 

[dwmyers]

Height isn't necessary for a NT. Some of the best ranged in at 6 feet 0 inches tall.

Otherwise, yes, I'd agree with much of the above.

Positive traits:

1) Is he strong?
2) Can he control gaps?
3) Does the opposing team often double team him?
4) Despite the DT, does he get to the runner?
5) What kind of pass rush does he deliver? Can he push the pocket back?
6) Is he in shape?
7) What kind of conditioning does he have? How fresh is he at the end of the game?

Negative traits:

1) Is he high in his stance?
2) Does he constantly try to shoot gaps?
3) Does he get pancaked? If so, how often?
4) Does he guess badly? If so, how often?

 

[bobtheflob]

It's hard to look out for these types of players because they don't do anything flashy. One gap guys who can get to the quarterback will get a lot more attention. Guys who seem to be in on a lot of tackles on runs up the middle are probably a good bet.

 

[dogberry]

To follow up, does Parcells prefer the 310 lb NTs to the 350 lb guys. Is this a conditioning or agility issue?

 

[dwmyers]

If you read the biography of Parcells, you'll see that he coaches his football teams to stay in front of the running back, to get runners to go sideways and then he runs them out to the sideline. This places a fair amount of emphasis on the physical conditioning of his linemen and linebackers. Parcells DL and LB have to have some range or this doesn't work.

I don't think size is as critical as conditioning. But a lot of the big guys have conditioning issues. If they can hold their position and run a lot better with 10 lb less weight, I think Parcells wants them lighter.

David.

 

[Pokes28]

The biggest attribute of a NT is not being able to be pushed backwards. He may not get much push forward, but can not be a guy that goes backwards.

David Harrell - Pokes
dwh