LB Shaq Thompson, Washington (Class: 2016)
If we're on the subject of linebackers, I really liked Washington Huskie Shaq Thompson's tape of the game he played against UCLA. It wasn't one of those things where you see solid play and then one or two really big ones. This was just play after play after play of excellent work.
Shaq Thompson isn't much bigger than a Ramik Wilson but you don't see his size deficiency come into play as frequently, most likely because of a combination of his frame (seems like he has longer arms) and trigger. When he's in pursuit of the ball, there's definitely more of a feel that nothing is going to get in his way. That's why all of his tapes are heavy on special teams footage. He's a really good gunner because he gets to high speeds and just doesn't give a f-ck about whatever is in his way. He's also genuinely fast. I believe he'll run in the 4.5's. You can see his versatility to be used in coverage by the places on the field he ends up aligned. He's practically a defensive back on a lot of plays.
Seriously, this is a stunningly good tape:
[video=youtube;b7ihqSNZt1g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7ihqSNZt1g&feature=player_embedded[/video]
This guy really gets my blood going, sort of like Aaron Donald used to a few years ago. I wouldn't say people don't know about Shaq Thompson. He's being commonly rated very high. But I'm a believer now.
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