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- Mar 19, 2019
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DT Javon Kinlaw | South Carolina
Jeremiah has Kinlaw as the No. 8 overall prospect, and Brooks has him as the second-best defensive tackle.
37 games; 93 tackles (48 solo), 18 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, 10 passes defended
Kinlaw, who overcame homelessness, was asked what advice he'd give to himself at age 12: "Keep your head up, man. Stop being so shy. Just talk to people. Don't be afraid to talk to people. Don't be afraid. People probably pick on you because you ain't got much clothes. You're wearing the same clothes, but man, so much so greater is heading to you. Just keep growing. Keep being yourself. Keep being who you are."
LB Isaiah Simmons | Clemson
Simmons' versatility helped him land at No. 6 in Jeremiah's pre-combine rankings. Brooks ranked him as the top overall linebacker. Some have considered Simmons able to bring his hybrid linebacker/safety role to the pros, but he worked out only with linebackers in Indianapolis.
44 games; 253 tackles, 28.5 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, 22 passes defended, four interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), five forced fumbles; transitioned from safety in 2017 and became school's first winner of the Butkus Award (nation's top linebacker)
On lining up at multiple spots on the field and having success: "I think it's really beneficial for me. I know years ago it wasn't good to be a positionless guy. But now it's become a benefit for me just because of all the versatility I'll be able to do, play linebacker, play safety, whatever it is, I feel like it just helps me out."
LB Akeem Davis-Gaither | Appalachian State
Brooks has Davis-Gaither as the fifth-best linebacker.
55 games; 258 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 8.0 sacks, 18 passes defended, one interception, two forced fumbles; blocked a field goal to preserve 34-31 win over North Carolina
Davis-Gaither, who weighed-in at 224 pounds, was asked about being lighter than most linebackers: "Coming out of high school, I was 170 (pounds), so I just had that underdog mentality, where I was small but I wanted to play big. I wanted to show guys that size didn't matter to me. Hit guys in the mouth. Just really play hard. Just really be like a lion out of the cage on game day."
LB Carter Coughlin | Minnesota
49 games; 159 tackles, 40 tackles for loss (fourth in school history), 22.5 sacks (third in school history), seven forced fumbles, one fumble recovery; All-Big Ten Second Team in 2018 and '19; played high school football at Eden Prairie
On overcoming multiple changes during his time at Minnesota: "One thing we talk about as a team, talked about – it's crazy to say that now, it's past tense – is you can't always control what happens, but you can choose your response. When changes happen, a new coaching staff comes in, changes in life, you can always choose how respond, either taking it as a negative or a positive. It took a little while, but I took it as a positive and was all-in."
LB Kamal Martin | Minnesota
45 games; 177 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, nine passes defended, four interceptions, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries
On trying to team with Coughlin at the next level: "If that could be the plan. No, but we joke about it all the time because we've been roommates since June of 2016, and it hasn't stopped. We both signed with the same agent, we both room together where we're training and [are] rooming here. It's funny and a crazy story."
ON THE FIELD
Sub-4.5 40s: Three players — all linebackers — ran the 40-yard dash in less than 4.5 seconds on Saturday, compared to seven running backs on Friday. Simmons clocked the fastest time at 4.39 seconds, which was one-hundredth of a second shy of the 4.38 by Shaquem Griffin in 2018. Mississippi State's Willie Gay, Jr., ran it in 4.46 seconds, and Colorado's Davion Taylor finished in 4.49 seconds.
Not even close: While a combine record almost fell among linebackers in the 40-yard dash, defensive linemen were not close to records in that event, the bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 3-cone drill or 20-yard shuttle.
Click here to see this year's top performers in timing and testing drills.
DL SUPERLATIVES
Pro Football Network compiled official measurements in a sortable table that is available here.
According to Pro Football Network, Kinlaw and his Gamecocks teammate D.J. Wonnum are tied for the longest wingspan (83 3/4 inches) among defensive linemen at the combine this year. Kinlaw's arm length of 34 7/8 inches is tied with Florida's Jonathan Greenard and Penn State's Yetur Gross-Matos for the longest among this year's group. Alabama's Raekwon Davis measured the tallest at 6-foot-6 1/8 inches. Utah's Leki Fotu is the heaviest at 330 pounds.
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