Carl Nassib – DL – Penn State Carl is a fifth-year senior and this is his first year as a starter. He is a former walk on who was awarded a scholarship prior to the start of the 2013 season. His older brother Ryan is the backup quarterback for the New York Giants. Carl is your classic “late bloomer”. Until this season he was just a backup role player for Penn State. He plays left end in Penn State’s 4-3 defensive scheme. In 2013 he had a total of 13 tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks. In 2014 he had 7.0 total tackles including 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks. This year as a first time starter he finished with 46 total tackles, including 19.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks. He also had an interception and 6 forced fumbles. As I write this, he is not listed as being in any All Star games, which is shocking. Size – 6'6" – 275 – 4.90 (all estimates) Strong Points – Tall and long with the frame to carry 290+. Plays hard on every down, goes snap to whistle. Stays low and knows how to use his hands. Has good strength and power and can shed blocks. Shows some natural 2-gap ability. He is a consistent player versus the run and pass and has some natural pass rush talent and feel. Very good pursuit player who takes good angles. A good, but not a great athlete. Weak Points – Has not played a lot of football until this year, raw. Can be fooled by misdirection and can be a bit slow to react at times. Does not have the speed or quickness usually associated with productive pass rushers. Summation – Carl is a player on the rise. You seldom see a 4-3 defensive end who can convert to a 5-technique defensive end in a 3-4 but that’s what I feel Carl is at the next level. When you look at his frame you see a tall, long guy who should easily be able to get to 290+ once he gets involved in an NFL weight program. While he can play left end in some 4-3 schemes, he lacks the speed, quickness and suddenness that most teams want in a defensive end. Carl is a semi-long strider and not a real nimble quick footed guy. He has good natural strength and explosion and plays with bend. When watching enough tape you see the natural two gap skills that he possesses. He is very competitive and plays hard on every snap. With his lack of experience, he can get caught out of position and be a bit late reacting but these things should improve as he gains experience. Following the Combine I expect Nassib to get a lot of individual workouts form coaches. How he does in those workouts will determine how high he gets drafted. If he plays in the Senior Bowl, that will also help his cause. Because of his upside, I can see him being drafted as high as the second round. He will be a role player as a rookie but I can easily see him as a starter by his second year. He will be an interesting guy to track between now and the Draft.