Senior Bowl Week - Margus Hunt

[SMU2007]

Agreed with some of the above posters. This should come as no surprise. You can count on 1 hand the number of games Margus stood out at SMU as a DE (ignoring blocked kicks). Why would it be any different playing against the top talent in the NCAA. He has a lot of potential with his athleticism and size but I don't think he's going to go out there and dominate in a practice situation.

[goldenstang]

Margus is going to make his money at the combine not at senior bowl practices.

[kull]

Playing against fresno is a lot different than playing against the best tackles in college football.

- Don't forget that Hunt got injured in the Baylor game, and spent a lot of the season hurt. He didn't stop trying to block kicks because he felt great. I think he played better in the bowl game because he got healthier.

- We have no idea if they are running a 3-4 or a 4-3 in the bowl game. I would guess a 4-3, and he has never played in a four man front. He has been taught the last 4 years to occupy blockers, and if he is playing as a 4-3 end, he is suddenly being asked to rush the QB and use his agility. That could have a massive impact on how he is doing in practice.

His potential and his attitude are going to get him drafted in the first two rounds regardless of how he does at the senior bowl.

they are running a 4-3, and that is a major reason why is coming on slow at the senior bowl.

[ghost]

Wait until he breaks the bench record at the combine and the flexibility he shows such as the interception earlier this year where he scooped a ball out of the air just before it hit the turf.

[ojaipony]

Game today at 4 EST today.

New FB Fan Club page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Margus-H ... 8038046147

"Cowboys Visit with SMU's Margus Hunt" (ESPN):
http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/ ... argus-hunt

[PonyPride]

Before the Cowboys canned Rob Ryan and switched from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3, a scout said he wanted to see Margus get over 300 pounds. If drafted by Dallas (or any other team that wanted him to bulk up), he surely would, but he's in great shape and feels most comfortable around 280.

How the team's stance has changed, I don't know, but 4-3 teams don't necessarily covet huge defensive ends as much as 3-4 teams do.

[GiddyUp]

Is he on the red or the blue team?

[RGV Pony]

The north (wearing white #96)

[GiddyUp]

Duke and Rice players on the Red team. Doubt that has happened often if ever.

[mavsrage311]

Before the Cowboys canned Rob Ryan and switched from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3, a scout said he wanted to see Margus get over 300 pounds. If drafted by Dallas (or any other team that wanted him to bulk up), he surely would, but he's in great shape and feels most comfortable around 280.

How the team's stance has changed, I don't know, but 4-3 teams don't necessarily covet huge defensive ends as much as 3-4 teams do.

Nice way to think about it. 4-3 teams don't want their defensive ends to be too big, they need to get around the offensive tackle. 3-4 teams want their DE's to be big and take up offensive linemen. I thought once the Cowboys switched to a 4-3 they'd have little interest in Margus, but mabye that's not the case. I can see the Cowboys trading down, and taking Margus along with an offensive linemen or two with their first 3 picks.

[AusTxPony]

He got a nice mention after a tackle in the second series for the South. Discussed his NCAA record blocks of FGs.

[Pony147]

I didn't get a chance to watch the game. How did he do?

[Navy Mustang]

Well, I watched most of the second half. He did have a lot of penetration. But sometimes he was taken advantage of. The announcers actually noted a couple of times how he had been burned. But Margus was playing a 4-3 defense and he's used to a 3-4. He would be a step from the QB and the QB would throw to a RB where Margus didn't cover, which gave the RB a lot of yards. In Margus' defense (ha, yes meant to be double meaning) JG Davis would have been there to absolutely clean up the RB in a heart beat. But Margus has been trained to go for the QB quickly in the 3-4 with more LB support. A lot of the tackles that I saw made were by the middle defensive line guys with Margus again one step behind. He did have some really good OT's playing against him. The other North DE's that swapped for Margus didn't have near the success (in my opinion) due to the great OT's on the offense. One of the announcers said the OT's were round 1 draft picks where Margus was a round 2 - FYI.

Margus is still a great athlete - very rough when playing something different than what he knows. But I think the combine will show that he has exceptional talent and just needs to find the right home and the right coach willing to who him what he needs to do. As someone else said in this post, most 4-3 DE's are not noted for their size like Margus. He will be best used as a 3-4 DE.

I think he will still do well in the draft. An NFL team would be crazy to pass up on him. Heck, most NFL teams don't start rookie's anyway - they give them more time to develop.

[JoeKidd]

For those that were able to watch the game was the 1 tackle aforementioned the only one Margus was involved in? Any other quarterback hits?

[MustangIcon]

I think someone will grab Margus in Rd 2 based on potential. That said, I would not want my Texans to draft him that early.