Top NFL Draft prospect Allen Bailey could break through tonight

by Dan Kadar on Sep 23, 2010 6:27 PM EDT in 2011 NFL Draft

When Miami and Pittsburgh square off tonight, it could be the coming party for Hurricanes defensive lineman Allen Bailey.

Don't know Bailey? You should. He's a hulking power end at 6-foot-4 and 285 pounds. As a draft prospect, he should be mentioned in the same breath at Ohio State's Cameron Heyward.

But tonight could be special for Bailey because he'll get to play multiple positions on the line. It's a specialty for Bailey, a linebacker turned lineman.

On a depleted line, Bailey is expected to move from end to tackle on third downs. It's a move Bailey made several times last season, a breakthrough year. When he played inside in 2009, Bailey had seven sacks in eight games. When he moved outside for the final five, Bailey had no sacks.

Although Bailey has said he prefers to play end, he could be a force tonight from the inside.

Also in this game, keep a keen eye on Miami cornerback Brandon Harris. Everyone touts the junior wide receiver class of A.J. Green, Jonathan Baldwin, Michael Floyd and DeAndre Brown. But the junior cornerback class of Harris, Patrick Peterson, Aaron Williams and Janoris Jenkins is just as impressive.

Personally, I'm a Peterson guy. But some love Harris for his man-to-man skills. Harris doesn't have elite size like Peterson, he's incredibly agile and smart.

The game also features two good – but far from great – left tackles. Orlando Franklin (Miami) and Jason Pinkston (Pittsburgh), are both finesse blockers. In a weak senior tackle class, both could really help themselves tonight and throughout the season.

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Anyone know how long Romeus from Pitt is out this year?

I like him as a possible first rounder.

The player I would like least at #9 would be my sister’s cat, Captain Creamsicle. She does have a great work ethic and agility, but I’m really concerned that at 9 lbs., she’s too small to play safety in the NFL. She also bites way too often on play action and is easily distracted by someone waving string in the crowd. Lastly, her wonderlic score was pretty awful, answering "meow meow meow" for most of the questions- Dr. Brackish Okun

by mob16151 on Sep 24, 2010 12:04 AM EDT reply actions

Possibly Louisville on October 30th

Their bye week follows that so probably by November 11th at UConn.

by dbcouver on Sep 29, 2010 1:15 AM EDT up reply actions

Spence looked awesome last night

Kid can play. On the other hand, what has happened to Dion Lewis?

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 Sep 24, 2010 5:56 AM EDT reply actions

I ddint watch

How was he last night?

by Yankees10 on Sep 24, 2010 11:32 AM EDT reply actions

So.......

How did he do???? I didn’t get to watch the game. This is really annoying, all the front-end analysis with no back-end analysis.

by swg777 on Sep 27, 2010 11:59 PM EDT reply actions

I didn’t catch the whole game. If you’re annoyed by something, I think I’ll be fine without you returning.

Mocking the Draft: Talking NFL Draft all year.

by Dan Kadar on Sep 28, 2010 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Nice approach. I value your analysis, but would just like to see some follow-through. Sue me. I guess I’m being unreasonable. My comment came four days after this post so it isn’t like I was demanding a whole lot in a hurry. I only wanted the other half of the missing piece. Sorry if that is too much.

by swg777 on Sep 28, 2010 11:42 PM EDT up reply actions