Alex Michael NFL Draft Scouting Report

by KashMoney on Apr 24, 2011 9:57 PM EDT

Alex Michael
6'2, 302 pounds | Guard | Southern Mississippi

Agility: Michael is a good athlete and can gain leverage quickly with great balance. He has quick feet and above average agility that allows him to keep his feet under him and maintain his balance while sliding side to side. His agility helps him to get out of his stance very quickly. He has the flexibility to bend knees and block with leverage.

Movement: He is a coordinated athlete and stays on his feet. He has the foot quickness to slide side to side. His athleticism allows him to get out of his stance quickly while maintaining his balance. Moves body well to adjust to quick pass rushers attacking the inside. A little slow at re-directing and changing direction when switching off with the OT on DL stunts.

Pass blocking: He gets hands up fairly quick. Uses a good hand punch to keep defender at bay most of the time, but is an area that needs improvement. Has good leverage and base to withstand initial push from the defender who is bull rushing. Michael sets up quickly with balance and leverage. He is very good at setting up quickly and uses his quick feet to get out of stance and slide side to side to neutralize defender. Sometimes he gets to high in pass protection causing him to lose leverage.

Quickness: He gets out of his stance fairly quickly. He has good flexibility that allow him to bend knees to give him good explosion coming out of his stance. Michael is a smart football player and can handle complex defensive schemes and diagnoses the play quickly. He is very instinctive and reacts to defender movement on the line of scrimmage.

Run blocking: Michael does a decent job on positional and angle blocks. He needs to work on pushing defensive lineman straight back and finishing the block thru the whistle. He gets out of his stance quickly and jolts the defender with his hands. He does not have foot quickness and agility to pull and lead block well out in space.

Strength: Michael has good playing strength but lacks power to move the defensive lineman straight ahead on running plays. He does however has the body type to handle the massive nose tackles at the pro level. He needs to work at exploding into the defender more in the running game. Has the strength to handle bull rushers when he keeps his feet under him and uses leverage.

Technique: Needs to show more aggression in the run game and drive defenders into the ground. His overall production is great in key situations and is very good when he uses proper techniques. He is adequate in pass protection using good hand placement. Struggles with quicker defensive lineman while pass protecting. Maintains very good concentration especially on key downs and gives good effort.

Final Word: Michael has the size, footwork, and balance to be a good pro. He needs some coaching with his techniques and hand placement, but has the abilities to someday be a productive starter. He does not have the foot speed to pull and block out in space. Michael's best position would be the right guard position where he is an adequate drive blocker and can withstand the bull rush from interior defensive lineman. I see him as a 6th round prospect and a team that drafts him should give him time to develop and learn the game hopefully from a solid veteran. He would be a good quality backup at this time adding depth on some NFL teams depth chart.

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Alex Michael

School: University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (Conference USA)

Position: Offensive Lineman: Guard, Center, Tackle, Special Teams Line

Height: 6-2

Weight: 319 lbs

Testing: 40 yard dash 5.17 seconds, bench press 30 reps of 225 lbs,

Pro Day: Friday, March 11th, 2011 @ University of Southern Mississippi.

Flight City: New Orleans LA or Jackson, MS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9N_RMPxAw0

2010 (r-Sr.): Entering the 2010 season the Golden Eagles’ offensive line was among one the least experienced in the country. Southern Miss. relied heavily on Alex’s previous 3 years of experience up front as he soldified his starting position and leadership on the offensive line as a senior. Alex earned the opportunity to start at right guard, having played in 27 games over his first three seasons. Helping to lead and guide one of the least experienced lines in 2010, Alex was a leader in elevating the offense to 18th best in the country in all of D-1 football. They ranked 19th in the country rushing for an awesome 200.8 yds per game and 35th in the country passing for a very consistent 252.5 yds p/game. There is no doubt that Alex’s athleticism, intelligence, and leadership all played a decisive factor in the Golden Eagles’ improvement and impressive overall performance.

Alex appeared in 39 career games at Southern Miss coming off the bench for first 27 before starting every game this year at right guard … Voted team’s top offensive lineman three times during the year, coming against Prairie View (9/11), East Carolina (10/9) and Tulsa (11/26) … Averaged at least an 80 percent grade in seven games with lowest graded a 73 percent … Finished the year with three straight 80-plus percent grades … Provided 130 pancakes, knockdowns during the year with double-digit number in five games … Had season-high 17 against both Prairie View and Houston (11/20) … Played in the 2010 Beef O’Brady’s Bowl vs. Louisville at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. Graduated with B.A. degree in Human Performance and Recreation in summer 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/user/frontlinescouting1#p/u/12/UfR4MiMFans

Game replay of Southern Mississippi Offense vs. Tulsa Defense (Alex Michael is the Right Guard # 55)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWLhXj8RWsk

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/549165-2011-nfl-draft-senior-prospects-to-watch-in-beef-o-bradys-bowl

2009 (r-Jr.): Participated in all 13 contests, seeing action mostly on special teams, including the field goal squad …

2008 (r-So.): Played in all 13 games for the Golden Eagles, working mostly as a backup at right guard … Appeared on special teams as well …

2007 (r-Fr.): Appeared in one game against UAB …

2006 (Fr.): Redshirted …

Prep: Played for Coach Ty Trahan, a former Southern Miss standout linebacker from 1996-1999, at Southeast Lauderdale High … Missed his entire senior season due to an ankle injury …2005 Offensive Lineman of the Year … 2005 Best Defensive Player … 2005 All-Division 5-3A First Team … All-Southeast Region by PrepStar … Mississippi Top 125 prospect for 2006 … 2004 Honorable Mention All-District Best Offensive Lineman … Did not allow a sack as a junior … All-American Scholar … National Beta Club … Who’s Who Among High School Students in America … Southeast 21 Club (Students making 21 or better on ACT) … Holds a 3.70 G.P.A … Lettered four years in basketball and three in track and field … Threw the shot-put in track … Named all-division second-team in basketball … Also recruited by Alabama, Mississippi State and Washington … Who’s Who Among American High School Students … Personal: Son of Eddie and Liz Michael … Graduated with B.A. degree in Human Performance and Recreation in summer 2010.

References:

Steven Brown

Scouting Bureau

662-736-2602

888-305-4872

NFLPA Certified Agent: Dr. Lynn Lashbrook SMWW President & Founder

by Bradley C on Apr 24, 2011 11:03 PM EDT reply actions