Mark Herzlich - Boston College (HT: 6-3⅝ - WT: 250) Combine 40: N/A - Pro Day 40: N/A - Position Rank: 6 of 30
Positives: Plays with fire and intensity, a natural leader at the linebacker position who embraces that role... Has ideal frame to play inside in 4-3 scheme, but in athletic enough to drop into zone coverage and make plays in a 3-4... Loves to hit, never shies away from contact, forced seven fumbles in four years at Boston College... Fearless and very instinctual on the field, generally stays with gap assignments and isn't often fooled by misdirection plays... Does not give up on plays, always wants to make the tackle... Production is unquestionable, tallied 110 tackles (81 solo) and six interceptions in 2008 (12 career picks)... Does not miss many tackles, breaks down well and wraps up ball carrier... Battled and overcame Ewing's sarcoma to come back and play only a year later... Has received numerous awards for courage and leadership... Has the mentality NFL teams look for in a linebacker and team leader.
Negatives: Tends to tackle too high, needs to lower pad level when making hits near line of scrimmage... Does not drive feet particularly well when tackling, uses upper-body strength to wrestle opponents to the ground instead of driving through with legs... Has decent speed, but not as quick as top players at the position... Does not have a big arsenal of pass-rushing moves, mostly relies on upper-body strength to shed blockers instead of utilizing spin and rip moves to disengage... Is able to run with most TEs in college, but may have difficulty keeping up with NFL TEs, is probably best suited in zone coverage... Some teams may have questions about health after battling cancer a season ago.
Defense
Season
Team
TOT
SOL
AST
TFL
SK
FF
INT
BK
TD
Totals
314
218
96
31½
5
7
12
0
2
2006
Boston College
42
32
10
5
1
1
1
0
0
2007
Boston College
97
55
42
12
1½
2
1
0
0
2008
Boston College
110
81
29
11
2½
2
6
0
2
2010
Boston College
65
50
15
3½
0
2
4
0
0
(January 26) --
The Sideline Scouting crew has completed another successful day in Mobile and posted full practice reports from both the
North
and
South squad practice. Full transcripts are now also available from the evening
press conference with head coaches Marvin Lewis and Chan Gailey and several
players from both teams. Make sure to keep checking back for multiple daily updates as we begin to wrap up the week of practices here at the 2011 Senior Bowl.
