Oregon may win, but UCLA has better NFL prospects

by Dan Kadar on Oct 21, 2010 3:40 PM EDT in 2011 NFL Draft

Against Oregon in 2009, UCLA's Akeem Ayers made a name for himself with a ridiculous pick six.

UCLA may have lost the game 24-10, but Ayers came out of the game looking like a future first-round pick. Since then, he's done nothing to make people think otherwise.

Against Texas earlier this season, Ayers was arguably the best player on the field when he finished with six tackles, two tackles for a loss, a sack and an interception. He'll carry the same title tonight against Oregon, now the nation's No. 1 team.

Ayers, a junior, is an athletic big man at 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds. With a 4.64 40-yard dash time, it would be easy to classify Ayers as purely a 3-4 outside linebacker. But he's more suited for a 4-3 defense that would allow him to showcase his range in pass coverage. Ayers can man up tight ends underneath and has good instincts to break on the ball. He's still developing as a pass rusher, though.

Oregon will likely win the game tonight, but UCLA has the better NFL talent. Along with Ayers, the Bruins have safety Rahim Moore on defense. His production has dipped following last season's 10 interceptions, but Moore has been playing closer to the line of scrimmage. His strongest area is coverage where he can play the deep middle and close in on the ball.

The Bruins also feature Kai Forbath, the best kicker in the nation. Don't be shocked to hear his named called in the first 150 picks in April.

Oregon isn't without NFL-caliber players, however. Redshirt sophomore LaMichael James has the speed and shiftiness to be a solid running back in a two-back scheme. Middle linebacker Casey Matthews has the kind of pedigree you can't ignore. He could be a decent special teams player and backup linebacker at the next level.

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The Ducks have more NFL prospects then James & Matthews, most of them just won’t be in the draft this year since this is a young team including James.

by The Legend on Oct 21, 2010 5:36 PM EDT reply actions

As to Legends' point

over at Turf Show Times, I’ve been posting a list of prospects from a couple games for every weekend. Starting next week, I’ll post them here at MTD. Here’s my list for this week’s games; it’s just an Excel spreadsheet. I’m tracking four seniors at Oregon, just one junior (TE David Paulson), and more than a half dozen sophomores. I’ve only been including round projections for seniors thus far, but I’ll include juniors and RS sophs at some point. Hit me up with some feedback if you’re reading this so I can fine tune it.

You don't seem to want to accept the fact you're dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who's the best, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands. A man who's been trained to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke. In *St. Louis* his job was to dispose of enemy personnel. To kill! Period! Win by attrition. Well, *Steven Jackson* was the best.

by 3k on Oct 21, 2010 5:54 PM EDT reply actions

Two guys that I think you are missing are SR WR Jeff Maehl and JR S Eddie Pleasant both are probably late round guys.

by The Legend on Oct 22, 2010 11:35 AM EDT up reply actions

I guess...

Maehl might sneak into the 7th, but he’s soooooooooo thin. And he certainly doesn’t have very good speed. He’s got to crack a 4.6 40 on Oregon’s pro day IMO. And Pleasant’s got a shot as well, but he’s pretty short for a FS at 5’11", an certainly isn’t a speedster (4.74 40 time).
But hey, the difference between 7th rounders and UDFAs is pretty much nonexistent.

by 3k on Oct 22, 2010 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m surprised by Pleasant’s time but tbh in a way the 40 to me is a little overrated because I know some guys that were timed slow in it but were faster on the field then other guys that timed faster in it then them and vice versa. Also Pleasant plays rover which is SS in the Ducks system.

As for Maehl he just finds a way to get open that’s why I think somebody will either draft him late or sign him as a UDFA. As for his size he has been working to get stronger, so he will probably be a little bigger by the time of the draft.

by The Legend on Oct 22, 2010 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Fair points

And obviously, my response was a “time will tell” crack, which you can say about any prospect. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on them, whether Oregon runs the table or not.

by 3k on Oct 22, 2010 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm not sold on Ayers

He plays hot and cold. Watched some tape of him against Temple last year, he waited for every play to come to him. No attack mode.

Watching the beginning of the 4th quarter now. Two plays in a row they ran right through his tackles. One they just cut right by him, the second he caught up on a long run from behind, but put no effort into it and the guy broke away. And now the TD they ran short yardage right to the spot he was lined up in. He was the end of the line, came towards the middle and let the guy outside of him. Someone with a jersey number of 26 blocked him.

Physical talent, no heart.

by ct17 on Oct 21, 2010 11:47 PM EDT reply actions

Couldn't agree more

Ayers has some remarkable physical gifts, but he is a horrific tackler [all arms] and only passable in pass coverage.

He would be a nice late 2, early 3 project to see if he can turn the corner, but his combine numbers and college stats will probably push him into the first round.

by ajblobaum on Oct 22, 2010 12:04 AM EDT reply actions