He's had about 2 months (probably less) of spring lifting thus far. I am excited to see what he can pick up over the summer.

And I know this has been said before, but the kid is an absolute freak of nature with regards to his body and athleticism. I've seen him around campus and he is heads and shoulder above any LB in that regard in the past 5 years I've been here. That said, I do know a few Chicago guys who saw him play in HS and they were much more impressed with his size and strength than his play.

Still a lot of time left...

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He was dynamic coming off the edge as a true freshman. He was moved to the middle out of necessity, and I really hope Toryan and Te'o ensure that he doesn't have to move back.

brought "always around the ball" to the negative connotation. He was always around the ball, but not making the play. More importantly, he was around the ball a lot when the ball had already advanced 5 yards.

Granted, he wasn't, apparently, playing his most natural position, but for all the fire, his actual production was out of synch. I'm hoping he gets much, much better at shedding blocks. Read: "I'm hoping he learns how to shed a block."

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Sometimes I rhyme slow sometimes I rhyme quick.

I know he made some plays off the edge as a freshman, and has converted some nifty turnovers. But for a guy who played damned near every snap last year (in the games where he wasn't hurt), and in the middle of the defense -- and in a defense that is supposed to funnel tackles to the linebackers -- he was very average. Harrison Smith had more tackles than him, although he probably played way fewer snaps than B. He only had two sacks all year, despite blitzing a ton.

I'm not saying he's terrible -- the question was about NFL ability. I liked Hoyte and Mays a whole lot, but they didn't get drafted either.

His tackle lines are just not all that impressive. 4 against SDSU. 6 against Stanford. 5 against Pitt. In the same games, Kyle McCarthy is racking up 10, 14, 15.

I'd say a really, really, really, long time.

When's the last time we could say that?

As for Mays, he only started for one season, whereas Smith could finish as a four-year starter. That's a whole lot more film for NFL scouts to evaluate.

and what he has the physical talent to do. I think we tend to forget that he has half of his career left in front of him. It's also my opinion that Smith has made more big plays in his first two years than those two guys made over the course of their careers.

if he wants to play LB in the NFL. I like his pluck and energy but at this point I don't see him being any better than an undrafted Brandon Hoyte or Corey Mays: decent college players, but benchwarmer NFLers not worth a draft pick.

While we have had sophomores contribute and play very well, he's still very young. He needs to learn the position first. If he finds his way to the field, he will play well.

that not seeing Filer on either list is disappointing. I had high hopes for him.

I think we're on the cusp of a big wave of ND in the NFL, health permitting. About time.

Probable based on what we've seen of them at ND:

Clausen
Floyd
Johnson
Rudolph
Tate
Walls
Young
Brian Smith
Blanton

Possible and close to the line based on their time at ND:

Hughes
Allen
Olsen
McNeil
Stewart
Aldridge
Kyle McCarthy
Harrison Smith
Neal

Duncan, Fauria, Gary Gray, Jonas Gray, Robinson, Sergio, Stewart, Kamara, and the Williamses could emerge this year, but I can't peg them one way or the other based on what I've seen to this point. If Kamara doesn't make the jump this season, he may never do so -- the guys who could pass him are his age or younger.

Olsen, Stewart, B. Smith, and Kyle McCarthy.

Olsen, in my mind, is as good a player as Dan Santucci and Dan Stevenson.

Stewart has two more years to develop and I think he will get there.

Brian Smith will be an NFL OLB.

Kyle McCarthy is a better college safety than Bruton and while not the athlete I think his production will get him drafted.

Which guys on this year's roster do you think will eventually be drafted to the NFL?

Roster: http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/nd-m-footbl-mtt.html

first-pass guesses:

probables at this point in time

Allen
Blanton
Clausen
Crist
Fauria
Fleming
Floyd
Hughes
Johnson
Neal
Robinson
Rudolph
Smith, H.
Tate
Walls
Young

borderline at this point in time

Aldridge
Brown, S.
Duncan
Gray, G.
Gray, J.
Kamara
Olsen
McCarthy, K.
McCarty, D.
McNeil
Motta
Smith, B.
Smith, T.
Stewart
Stockton
Wenger
Williams, H.
Williams, I.

I suppose we can expand this to cover incoming guys, too (like Te'o).