Spotlight #1: Penn State DT Devon StillSpotlight #2: Nebraska OLB Lavonte David 

1^st quarter

14:57: David with a tackle for a short gain.

13:23: Still breaks into the backfield, the run is stopped short in an opposite gap.

11:45: Devon Still blocked one on one, forces the guy back with ease, disengages and tackles the quarterback for loss on a quarterback draw.

9:07: David with an ankle tackle on a receiver after a short completion.

8:02: David up on a tackle for a gain of 1 or 2. Good instincts to cheat up out of his gap.

6:24: Still splits a double team and gets pressure on the quarterback, forces the quarterback to get rid of it too soon.

6:19: Still single teamed this time, sheds the block with ease, forces another early throw.

5:31: David with trouble getting off a block. He needs to get more physical.

2:48: Still was blocked well on two straight plays by double teams, but this time, he disengages from the double and gets a tackle for either a loss or no gain on an inside run.

1:21: David finally pushes a guy out of bounds on an outside run.

0:59: David doesn’t bite on the misdirection, unlike most of the Nebraska front 7, he does whiff on the tackle. Eventually a gain of 11, cleaned up by the secondary.

2^nd quarter

14:26: Still can’t disengage on a short 5 yard run for a first down right past him.

13:50: Devon Still breaks into the backfield, doesn’t make the play, but makes the play happen with his penetration against a double team. Tackle for loss.

11:33: Still with an explosive burst into the backfield, but the play is a quarterback draw away from him. A little too overly aggressive here, but still an amazing burst.

8:45: David helps on a tackle up the middle after a gain of 1 or 2.

8:07: Dennard has been playing better on late. Pass deflection here.

6:14: Still breaks into the backfield, it’s a screen away from him, but Penn State’s awesome defense bottles it up for a yard at best.

4:57: David takes a poor route to the ball, blocked well, can’t get off, partially responsible for allowing a sizeable gain on the ground.

3:41: Dennard with his 2^nd pass breakup of the game. He’s solidifying himself as the #3 cornerback in this class behind Morris Claiborne and Dre Kirkpatrick.

3:30: Still a little overly aggressive again, explodes up into the backfield, loses balance, falls over, takes himself out of the play as the gain goes for 7 yards on the ground out an opposite gap.

2:38: Still pushes off the ball on a quarterback sneak for a conversion on 3^rd and 1.

2:19: Still disengages off a block, makes a tackle for a short gain on a quarterback run up the middle.

0:30: David finally stops a 12 yard run.

 

3^rd quarter

14:52: Still vacates his gap trying to get off a block, a sizeable run through his gap. Again, overly aggressive.

9:24: Still gets pressure on the quarterback, flushes him out of the pocket, forces him to run for no gain.

9:08: Still overly aggressive, blocked off the play on a pretty big gain up the middle.

8:51: Still pancaked on a touchdown run to the outside.

7:42: David on a tackle for a gain of 1.

6:25: Dennard allows a completion. David is in the area as well.

5:24: Derek Moye with a 40 yard completion. The 6-5 Moye is one of Penn State’s all time leading receivers. He missed a couple games with injury this season, but in 7 games he has 30 catches for 514 yards and 3 touchdowns. He has 4 catches for 78 yards tonight. He looks like a late rounder.

4:59: Still burst up the middle for a tackle for loss, nullified because Nebraska had a false start penalty that was accepted. Still, this plays demonstrates Still’s explosiveness once more.

3:34: Still able to get to the outside of the tackle box, stop the quarterback on a run for no gain.

2:46: David gets in on a pile for a short gain.

4^th quarter

13:52: David misses a tackle for a loss after a catch in the backfield.

12:43: David helps plug a running lane on 2^nd down, gain of 2, 3^rd and 8.

9:37: Still is one of the most explosive defensive tackles I’ve ever seen. He bursts up the middle and disrupts the handoff on a run play. That’s how fast he was and he wasn’t unblocked. He shed with a swim move and burst in that amount of time. He gets a tackle for loss and forces a fumble, recovered by Penn State.

7:00: David helps on a tackle for loss.

2:33: David with a short tackle.

2:04: David with a tackle for no gain or loss, this time he led the charge on the tackle.

1:49: David leads the charge on a 4^th and 1 stop, essentially icing the game.

0:00: Devon Still is quickly rising up defensive tackle boards and might end up being the first defensive tackle off the board this year. The last time I saw him, he was harassing Illinois’ offensive line and disrupting Illinois’ offense in a 10-7 win. At 6-5 310, Still has 4 sacks on the season and more impressively, 15.5 tackles for loss, among the leaders in the country.

Still added to that total tonight. He had several tackles for loss and several quarterback pressures. He was in the backfield on every other play. He flashed a ton of explosiveness. He’s so quick off the snap and sheds single blocks with ease. He also had good success against double teams, which is especially impressive.

He needs to learn to play with more gap discipline and learn keep his explosiveness under control. He’s a gambler at the line, and too overly aggressive, but that will get better with age. He also wore down a bit as the game went on, something I also noticed against Illinois. It is worth noting he rarely missed a snap and he goes hard on almost every play.

On the other side, Lavonte David had a bunch of tackles. He’s a playmakers and always has a ton of tackles. He’s one of the best linebackers in college football, but he’s undersized at 6-1 225. A lot of people like to compare him to Miami’s Sean Spence, who is a similar size, but he doesn’t have Spence instincts. Spence is just on another planet with his instincts. David looked good in coverage and might end up moving to safety at the next level. He would also fit as a cover 2 linebacker. I have Sean Spence as a 2^nd round pick. David’s about a 3^rd round in my book, maybe a high 3^rd rounder.

The other highly rated defensive player for Nebraska is Alfonzo Dennard, who had another great game. He had a great 2010 season as the #2 cornerback opposite Prince Amukamara, but after he struggled to start this season, some were wondering if he was worth a first rounder if he couldn’t effectively be a #1 cornerback. However, he was hurt in the first half or so of the season and he’s been nothing short of dominant in the last 3-4 games. He looks like the #3 or #4 cornerback in this class and a top 20-25 pick.

Dennard was not covering Penn State receiver Derek Moye, but perhaps he should have. The 6-5 210 Moye had 4 catches for 78 yards in the game, giving him 34 catches for 592 yards and 3 touchdowns on the season despite missing 2 games and most of a 3^rd. Those stats are essentially in 7 games and that’s with poor quarterback play for Penn State. He’s got 3 years of strong production and great size. He looks like a 5^th-6^th round pick at the moment, but he can move up.