’Bama linebacker Evans has mentor in Mosley
Ex-Gilman, Virginia star Kiser shows his speed; Brown’s stock falling
INDIANAPOLIS — Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome’s history with Alabama players has been well documented. He seems to have a particular fondness for drafting Crimson Tide linebackers.
Jarret Johnson was a fourthround pick in 2003. Courtney Upshaw was taken in the second round in 2012. C.J. Mosley went in the first round in 2014.
Rashaan Evans, one of the top inside linebackers in the 2018 draft class, seemed well aware of that history as he excitedly confirmed that he planned to meet with Ravens officials at the NFL scouting combine Saturday night. And the thought of being a teammate with one Raven was particularly enticing.
Evans has a strong relationship with Mosley and the two try to get together whenever the Ravens’ middle linebacker returns to the Alabama campus. Mosley advised Evans before the combine and told him to “take things slow, be patient, [know] that this process is kind of long, but at the same time, just enjoy it.”
The two were never teammates, but Evans has followed Mosley closely since he entered the pros.
“I always try to model my game after him,” Evans said. “He’s an exceptional linebacker. He plays the game the right way. That’s somebody I always wanted to play like.”
Evans is projected to be a firstround pick in April. After playing mostly on special teams in his first two seasons at Alabama, Evans switched from outside linebacker to the inside ahead of his junior season. Still, he has plenty of pass-rushing ability with 10 sacks over his final two college seasons. Kiser gets his close-up: Virginia middle linebacker and former Gilman standout Micah Kiser found himself Saturday standing behind a lectern adjacent to where Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith, one of the top players in the draft class, was surrounded by reporters.
It was another reminder of how interesting the NFLscouting combine experience has been for Kiser who is focused on making a strong impression and proving that he’s plenty fast and explosive to be a quality sidelineto-sideline linebacker.
“I’m not the biggest person here, the fastest or the strongest, but I’m smart and I’m a productive football player,” he said. “I like to marry those two together.”
Kiser had a good Sunday, posting an unofficial time of 4.67 seconds in the 40-yard dash. With questions about his speed coming in, he said Saturday that his 40 time is “kind of my make-or-break thing for real.”
Given his Baltimore upbringing, Kiser is unsurprisingly partial to another long-time NFL middle linebacker.
“Obviously, Ray Lewis,” he said with a smile before rattling off some of his other favorite ex-Ravens, a list that includes Ed Reed, Chris McAlister and Michael McCrary. “Growing up, when you have the Ravens defense in your backyard, you’re going to watch that.”
Kiser wasn’t the only Cavaliers player at the combine with Baltimore ties. Quarterback Kurt Benkert, a two-year starter at Virginia, was born in Baltimore and played junior varsity football at Loyola Blakefield. However, his parents got a divorce and he finished his high school years in Florida. Brown ‘going to slide’: NFL Network lead draft analyst Mike Mayock has little doubt that Oklahoma offensive tackle Orlando Brown’s performance at the combine will push him down teams’ draft boards.
Once viewed as a potential firstround pick, the son of the former Ravens tackle of the same name did just 14 repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press, tied for the third fewest for an offensive tackle since 2000, according to Pro Football Reference. His 5.85-second 40-yard dash was the fifth slowest since 2003, his 191⁄ inch vertical leap was the third lowest ever and his 6-foot-10 broad jump was the worst that Pro Football Reference has ever recorded.
“That’s going to hurt him with some teams,” Mayock said in an interview with reporters Saturday. “First and foremost, there’s going to be a small group of teams because of what he does that like his style of play. But he’s going to slide a little bit.”