With the NFL Draft slated for April 25-26, this is the third of daily looks at a player who could be on the New England Patriotsf radar. All profiles can also be found at projo.com/patriots.
Player: Brian Cushing, USC
Height and weight: 6-foot-3, 243 pounds
Position: Inside linebacker
Hometown: Park Ridge, N.J. (Bergen Catholic)
Senior year: 73 tackles (46 solo), 10 ? tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 6 passes defensed, 1 interception
Career: 182 tackles, 27 tackles for loss
Honors: SI.com first-team All-America, Associated Press second-team All-America
NFL Combine numbers
4.68 seconds (40-yard dash)
30 reps (bench press)
35 inches (vertical)
10-feet (broad jump)
Is he a fit for New England?
Yes, particularly because he carries that tag of versatile. While teammate Rey Maualuga received all the accolades in college, there are many scouts who feel that Cushing will have the better NFL career. After a shoulder injury early in his freshman year, Cushing was a regular starter for the Trojans at strongside linebacker, and started at defensive end in his sophomore year when injuries forced them to alter the defense. He is instinctive and athletic, both of which would bode well at inside backer in New England.
Scouts like Cushingfs textbook size, versatility and athleticism; he is good in coverage on tight ends and running backs, and hefs a big hitter who uses his physicality to intimidate opponents.
Cushing played in all 13 games his senior year, but his durability is one of his few questions marks ? he missed three games as a junior with a high ankle sprain and five due to shoulder separation as a freshman.
