Ndamukong Suh: NFL Draft Profile

We’ll take a look at Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh as he enters the 2010 NFL draft.  We’ll examine his college career and our expectations for his upcoming NFL career.

As a senior at Grant high school in Oregon, every major Division one program was aware of who Ndamukong Suh was.  The common thread amongst recruiters was he was a 6 foot 4 inch, 300 pound monster that had the speed to chase down the quickest running back on the edge or the force to plow through the strongest offensive lineman to reach the quarterback.  As a senior at Grant HS; Suh had 65 tackles, 10 sacks and four fumble recoveries that led to accolades such as Parade all-America honors, Portland Interscholastic League Defensive Player of the Year and class 4A Defensive Player of the Year.  After his senior year, Suh was listed as the #1 prospect in the state of Oregon, the sixth best defensive end in the country, and the 51st best prospect in the nation.

As a redshirt freshman at Nebraska in 2005, Suh played the first two games before undergoing knee surgery that cost him the rest of the season.

In 2006, after recovering from knee surgery, Suh started out as a backup defensive lineman.  Despite his limited playing time, he racked up 19 tackles (eight for a loss), two quarterback hurries, 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and an interception.

In 2007, Suh began to show signs of brilliance in the trenches.  He started 11 out of 12 games, tallying up 34 tackles (20 solo), and had four games with four or more tackles.  Suh made key plays for the team that don’t show up on the stat sheet.  He was consistently showing his versatility and intangibles that led to many clutch defensive performances.

Wake Forest:  Recorded two tackles for loss. Both of those tackles transpired when Wake was inside the Nebraska 10 yard line.  One of those drives resulted in Wake being forced to kick a field goal; the other drive ended in a game-winning interception.

Ball State: Posted a career high six tackles recovered a fumble in the final four minutes to seal the win for Nebraska.

Iowa State: Recorded four solo tackles, two stops for a loss, and a six yard sack in the 2nd half.

Texas A&M: Posted three tackles (2 solo) and blocked an extra point.

Colorado: Five tackles (2 solo) and broke up two passes.

As a junior in 2008, Suh transformed from a really good defensive lineman into a superstar.  With 76 tackles, Suh became the first Nebraska defensive lineman to lead the team in tackles since 1973.  Suh’s menacing style created havoc in the backfield as he recorded 19 tackles for a loss (8th best total in school history, led team) and had 7.5 sacks (led team).  Suh also forced a fumble, hurried the QB six times, batted down three passes and blocked two kicks.  He finished with nine games with five or more tackles and had at least one tackle for a loss in 11 out of 13 games.  Suh’s role as the unstoppable force helped Nebraska finish second in the Big 12 in total defense (349.8 YPG).  Compare that to Nebraska’s total defense from 2007 (476.7 YPG) and became increasingly obvious that Suh had officially established himself as one of the preeminent defensive players in the country.  Suh’s continuous harassment of the offensive line forced constant double-teams, which created vulnerability and that led to rest of the defensive line feasting on quarterbacks as Nebraska posted 35 sacks (up from 13 in 2007).  Along with his 2007 season, Suh made some game-changing plays for Nebraska in 2008 including two interceptions for touchdowns; one of those turned into the game-winner that sealed a win against Colorado.

As a senior in 2009, Ndamukong Suh propelled himself from mid-late first rounder into the top-five prospect in the 2010 NFL Draft.  Suh posted 82 tackles (47 solo), 12 sacks, 10 passes defended, 23 tackles for a loss, 26 QB hurries and one interception.  In addition to a tremendous season, Suh had one of the most triumphant games by a defensive player in division one history; Suh had 12 tackles (seven for loss, a Nebraska single game record) and 4.5 sacks against Colt McCoy and the Texas Longhorns.  In addition to the Texas game, defensive domination ensued throughout the remainder of the season for the Huskers as the team ranked second in total sacks (42), ninth in total defense (284.5 YPG) and second in scoring defense (11.2 PPG).  Suh was voted to be a First-team All-American, conference defensive player of the year and a Heisman Trophy finalist where he finished 4th with 815 votes, the most ever by a fourth place finisher.

Suh has every essential gift necessary to become a great defensive linemen in the NFL.  The Husker has displayed uncanny strength and explosion in college to put offensive linemen in the NFL on alert.  He displays outstanding athleticism for his size and is a far better tackler than most NFL lineman hope to be.  Suh is able to split double teams, recognize screens quickly and has good hands to make the interception.  Mel Kiper has Suh ranked fifth overall on his big board; Todd McShay has him ranked 2nd.  Comparisons to Suh’s skill-set include Richard Seymour and John Randle (former Viking).  If those comparisons prove to be accurate, Suh will have a very successful NFL career.