Ali Highsmith

[SmilinAssasSin27]

Ali Highsmith, LB, LSU....He's been out of position an awful lot tonight. Is this normal for him, cuz I know he's highly regarded as a possible late 1st rounder?

[SmilinAssasSin27]

Ali Highsmith LB 6’1 223 LSU

Highsmith showed a lot of potential as a freshman, finishing with 21 tackles, two for loss, and a sack on the year. He pushed aside the idea of a sophomore slump, breaking out with 75 tackles, 9.5 for loss, and four sacks on the year. As a junior last season he earned All SEC honors, finishing the season with 65 tackles, 5.5 for loss, and three sacks. Highsmith saved his best for last, finishing with a career high 93 tackles, 9.5 for loss, and 1.5 sacks on the year.

Highsmith is the ideal weakside linebacker prospect. He is a very good athlete, with excellent closing speed that flies around the field. He has the ability to come off the edge and close on the quarterback, and the speed to chase backs down. Highsmith is very good in coverage, where his athleticism and speed allow him to stay stride for stride with his man and follow them all over the field.

Size is the glaring issue with Highsmith. His height and overall bulk are below average, and he can be taken out of running plays when a blocker comes straight at him. He lacks the size and strength to shed blocks once engaged, so he has to beat blockers with his quickness.

Highsmith is an attractive option for a team that needs speed and playmaking ability in a weakside linebacker. He is very active and has the talent to be a standout in that role, but his size and strength limits him to that spot. His natural gifts should be on display in the post season, which could push him up into first round consideration.

[Jwalk - JayCutty6Goes - CasinoRoyal]

My head hurts.

[SmilinAssasSin27]

try www.websters.com

[Jwalk - JayCutty6Goes - CasinoRoyal]

try www.websters.com

Is that what you used? Or did you use www.lonely?whywait.coom??

[SmilinAssasSin27]

.coom? what's that?

[Requiem / The Dagda]

Highsmith would be a nice selection for the Broncos in round two.

[slim]

.coom? what's that?

Please ignore him...he is clueless.

[slim]

BTW...Highsmith is a bit small. Kinda reminds me of Ian Gold.

[SmilinAssasSin27]

Agreed. 225 is too small. Has made a few nice plays but I see him getting overwhelmed in the NFL.

[Requiem / The Dagda]

Tell that to Ernie Sims.

[SmilinAssasSin27]

I will. What's his phone #?

And Ali Highsmith is no Ernie Sims.

[EMB6903]

Tell that to Ernie Sims.

but highsmith isnt nearly as talented as Ernie Sims.

[HolyDiver]

Ali Highsmith, LB, LSU....He's been out of position an awful lot tonight. Is this normal for him, cuz I know he's highly regarded as a possible late 1st rounder?


I do not like Highsmith...........Too small and really not an impact player.

[BOSSHOGG30]

We don't need another Ian Gold. Time to get bigger and stronger.

[MHCBill]

/\
|
|
|
|

Exactly

[G_Money]

Also not a Highsmith fan.

It's not his fault, I'm not a huge fan of Xavier Adibi for the Broncos either, and while I personally love the idea of taking a guy like Woodyard and converting him back to SS I wouldn't be ecstatic over a 1st day pick of him to play the Will for us either.

If I can get a Woodyard as a safety-conversion project or Dizon as a LB/ST guy on the 2nd day, that's one thing, but I'm not taking Highsmith or Adibi in the 1st or 2nd, not for what we need, and I don't care that some sites rank them as the 2nd and 3rd best OLBs in the draft.

JMO.

~G

[Requiem / The Dagda]

Highsmith isn't another Ian Gold, that's just a typical response for someone who lacks the ability to actually evaluate talent. Highsmith might be undersized, but he's an exceptional player with fantastic range, good blitzing skills and always is around the ball. This is like the talk over on Broncomania how a running back over 215 pounds can't excel here.

Just ridiculous.

Oh, and Woodyard isn't even close to a first day pick. Fourth round at best.

[G_Money]

Um...I believe I said that I'd be happy with Woodyard as a safety conversion (which would come on the 2nd day) and not as a first-day pick. So apparently I agree with you.

And Highsmith is always around the ball - but his speed will be less effective in the pros. I also said I wouldn't take him for the Broncos, because he's got work to do in moving through trash - he's best in open space and the Denver D currently doesn't provide open space except to the opposing ball-carriers. He'd make a lot of tackles 7 yards downfield, but we already have guys who can do that.

If we're waiting on the DL to grow into their roles / waiting for the Bates scheme to be replaced, then we'd be in a holding pattern with Highsmith until we had either the talent or the scheme to take better advantage of his strengths (speed, nose for the ball and open-field ability) and to mitigate his weaknesses (eaten up by blockers, has a hard time getting through trash, size).

He's the wrong backer for us until at least one of those things changes, while there are LBs we can add who will be effective both now and later.

But then, that's apparently a worthless opinion from somebody who doesn't have the gift for evaluating talent that you obviously believe you do, so feel free to ignore it.

~G

[CoachChaz]

Um...I believe I said that I'd be happy with Woodyard as a safety conversion (which would come on the 2nd day) and not as a first-day pick. So apparently I agree with you.

And Highsmith is always around the ball - but his speed will be less effective in the pros. I also said I wouldn't take him for the Broncos, because he's got work to do in moving through trash - he's best in open space and the Denver D currently doesn't provide open space except to the opposing ball-carriers. He'd make a lot of tackles 7 yards downfield, but we already have guys who can do that.

If we're waiting on the DL to grow into their roles / waiting for the Bates scheme to be replaced, then we'd be in a holding pattern with Highsmith until we had either the talent or the scheme to take better advantage of his strengths (speed, nose for the ball and open-field ability) and to mitigate his weaknesses (eaten up by blockers, has a hard time getting through trash, size).

He's the wrong backer for us until at least one of those things changes, while there are LBs we can add who will be effective both now and later.

But then, that's apparently a worthless opinion from somebody who doesn't have the gift for evaluating talent that you obviously believe you do, so feel free to ignore it.

~G

Don't worry G. Dream knows everything and apparently you, like me, have no clue what you are talking about.
________
BMW VI (http://www.bmw-tech.org/wiki/BMW_VI)

[G_Money]

Hey, I never pretended to be a pro about the draft, just to have a few educated guesses here and there to share with other people interested in the draft.

If I'm being grouped in with you then I consider that a step up.

But I'll try to keep my attempts at talent evaluation to a minimum when Dream's around - I don't like to offend people as the new guy in town, and he obviously has strong opinions for me to take into account before draft day that he wants to share.

~G

[mclark]

I like Highsmith, but I'd never draft him for Denver in the first round. I agree that we need to get bigger. And DJ Williams is a very good size for our weakside (and smallest) linebacker.

Highsmith is probably a late-first round pick. I don't see him being around for long in the second round.

[CoachChaz]

I'm with G. Put some weight on Highsmith and Adibi and I'm interested. Until then, i don't want to have to come up with schemes that get them around blockers.
________
ROOR BONGS (http://roorbongs.org)

[BOSSHOGG30]

Or we can draft these guys in the later rounds
5th round: OLB, Andrew Studebaker, 6’3” 245lbs., Wheaton
Anyone who can run a 4.47 at 245 pounds has my interest. The kid might be from a small school, but he has all the measures of a NFL player. I take a shot on this kid in the 5th round without any hesitations. He played defensive end in college but I think he transitions better as an outside linebacker in the NFL. OLB Jarod Mayo is another option here.

5th round: OLB, Chris Graham, 5’11” 235 lbs., Michigan
Is fast with good overall athleticism. Displays good closing burst in pursuit and changes directions quickly for his position. He is at his best in space. Does a fine job of breaking down and wrapping up in the open field. He possesses the quickness and fluidity to hold up one-on-one versus most quicker backs out of the backfield. He has versatility having played MIKE and WILL. He has experience on special teams and shows enough speed and toughness to contribute covering kicks at the next level.

[slim]

If we wait until the second day to draft a LB, give me Jordan Dizon.

[CoachChaz]

I'm on board with Studebaker as well.
________
Honda g engine (http://www.honda-wiki.org/wiki/Honda_G_engine)

[HolyDiver]

If we wait until the second day to draft a LB, give me Jordan Dizon.


He's only 220...............How about drafting him to play Safety..............You know, when we drafted Gold, there was talk he was drafted to play Safety......

[G_Money]

Dizon's not fast enough to play safety.

I would not be against drafting him, though - unlike most of our team he knows how to tackle, he has leadership qualities, and can play ST immediately while giving us depth at the position. Give him some time to learn, and I think he can play in this league.

And if he can't play full-time LB, then all we got was Keith Burns.

Darn.

~G