FanPost

Get Your Tickets! Shazier Train Leaving at 1:20!

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via www.elevenwarriors.com

Y'all know I'm high on Shazier! Well, I'm going to try and show you why. First, my arguments for why he would be the perfect pick for us at 20.

1. He is a leader and Keim loves leaders - Shazier is notorious at OSU for his leadership and team-first mentality...according to history, this is what Keim values more than anything else...what was it - all except one of last years prospects drafted by us were team captains? Shazier fits this mold.

2. He can play ILB or OLB - which is 2 positions of need...he can fill in for DWash while suspended, then add depth to our OLB corps once DWash comes back...or he could stay at ILB in 4-3 sets, but this is a whole 'nother topic all together...

3. He is a physical freak - see below...

4. He is a tackler - see below...

5. He has great production - see below...

6. He can cover tight ends - multiple talking heads have specifically singled Shazier out as an excellent weapon to cover tight ends, in particular.

7. He's used to wearing red - OSU has red jerseys...so does Arizona...what a coincidence, right?

8. He's a 20 or a 12 - the last 2 numbers he's worn for Ohio are #2 and #10...add them up and he's a 12, where Walterfootball ranks him compared to everyone else...multiply them and he's a 20, where we should pick him in this years draft.

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Ryan Shazier

Tackles Def Int Fumbles
Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
*2011 Ohio State Big Ten JR LB 13 38 20 58 5.0 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
2012 Ohio State Big Ten JR LB 12 70 45 115 17.0 5.0 1 17 17.0 1 12 0 0 0 3
2013 Ohio State Big Ten JR LB 102 42 144 23.5 7.0 4 4
Career Ohio State 210 107 317 45.5 15.0 1 17 17.0 1 16 0 0 0 9

Comparing to other prospects I've looked at:

Jadaveon Clowney

Tackles Def Int Fumbles
Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
*2011 South Carolina SEC JR DL 13 17 19 36 12.0 8.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5
*2012 South Carolina SEC JR DL 40 14 54 23.5 13.0 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 3
*2013 South Carolina SEC JR DE 28 12 40 11.5 3.0 4 1
Career South Carolina 85 45 130 47.0 24.0 0 0 0 7 1 2 0 9

Anthony Barr

Tackles Def Int Fumbles
Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
2010 UCLA Pac-10 SR WR 12 1 0 1 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
*2011 UCLA Pac-12 SR RB 12 1 1 2 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
*2012 UCLA Pac-12 SR LB 14 60 23 83 21.5 13.5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 4
*2013 UCLA Pac-12 SR LB 43 23 66 20.0 10.0 1 6
Career UCLA 105 47 152 41.5 23.5 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 10

Khalil Mack

Tackles Def Int Fumbles
Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
2010 Buffalo MAC SR LB 12 40 28 68 14.5 4.5 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 2
2011 Buffalo MAC SR LB 12 38 27 65 20.5 5.5 1 23 23.0 0 3 0 0 0 5
2012 Buffalo MAC SR LB 52 42 94 21.0 8.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 4
*2013 Buffalo MAC SR LB 3 56 44 100 19.0 10.5 3 125 41.7 2 7 5
Career Buffalo 186 141 327 75.0 28.5 4 148 37.0 2 22 0 0 0 16

Kony Ealy

Tackles Def Int Fumbles
Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
*2011 Missouri Big 12 JR DL 13 7 9 16 3.0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2012 Missouri SEC JR DL 18 19 37 10.0 3.5 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 1
2013 Missouri SEC JR DL 1 30 12 42 14.0 8.0 1 49 49.0 1 6 3
Career Missouri 55 40 95 27.0 12.5 1 49 49.0 1 13 0 0 0 4

CJ Mosley

Tackles Def Int Fumbles
Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
*2010 Alabama SEC SR LB 13 30 37 67 1.5 0.5 2 76 38.0 2 12 0 0 0 0
*2011 Alabama SEC SR LB 11 17 20 37 4.5 2.0 1 1 1.0 0 3 0 0 0 0
*2012 Alabama SEC SR LB 14 66 41 107 8.0 4.0 2 16 8.0 1 4 1 0 0 1
2013 Alabama SEC SR LB 62 46 108 9.0 0.0 5 1
Career Alabama 175 144 319 23.0 6.5 5 93 18.6 3 24 1 0 0 2

Calvin Pryor

Tackles Def Int Fumbles
Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
*2011 Louisville Big East JR DB 13 31 12 43 3.0 1.0 2 25 12.5 0 7 0 0 0 2
*2012 Louisville Big East JR DB 13 52 48 100 2.5 1.0 2 10 5.0 0 7 1 5 0 5
*2013 Louisville American JR S 3 54 21 75 5.5 0.0 3 26 8.7 0 4 2
Career Louisville 137 81 218 11.0 2.0 7 61 8.7 0 18 1 5 0 9

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix

Tackles Def Int Fumbles
Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
*2011 Alabama SEC FR DB 13 5 6 11 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
*2012 Alabama SEC SO DB 14 23 14 37 0.5 5 91 18.2 0 9
2013 Alabama SEC JR DB 11 30 21 51 3.5 0.0 2 24 12.0 0 4 0
Career Alabama 58 41 99 4.0 0.0 7 115 16.4 0 15 0 0 0 0

Dee Ford

Tackles Def Int Fumbles
Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
*2009 Auburn SEC SR DL 13 6 6 12 2.5 1.0 1 3 3.0 0 1 0 0 0 0
*2010 Auburn SEC SR DL 13 7 4 11 2.0 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
*2011 Auburn SEC SR DL 3 6 1 7 2.0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2012 Auburn SEC SR DL 23 11 34 6.5 6.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
2013 Auburn SEC SR DE 18 11 29 14.5 10.5 1 2
Career Auburn 60 33 93 27.5 20.5 1 3 3.0 0 3 0 0 0 3

Kyle Van Noy

Tackles Def Int Fumbles
Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
*2010 Brigham Young MWC SR LB 13 24 11 35 7.5 2.0 0 0 0 2 1 44 1 2
*2011 Brigham Young Ind SR LB 13 50 18 68 15.0 7.0 3 79 26.3 0 5 1 9 1 3
*2012 Brigham Young Ind SR LB 13 37 16 53 22.0 13.0 2 26 13.0 1 7 0 0 1 6
*2013 Brigham Young Ind SR LB 2 41 26 67 17.0 4.0 2 17 8.5 1 7 0
Career Brigham Young 152 71 223 61.5 26.0 7 122 17.4 2 21 2 53 3 11

Rashede Hageman

Tackles Def Int Fumbles
Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
2010 Minnesota Big Ten FR DL 8 1 4 5 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2011 Minnesota Big Ten SO DL 12 10 3 13 3.5 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
*2012 Minnesota Big Ten JR DL 20 15 35 7.5 6.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1
*2013 Minnesota Big Ten SR DL 1 26 12 38 13.0 2.0 1 7 7.0 0 8 0
Career Minnesota 57 34 91 24.0 10.0 1 7 7.0 0 10 0 0 0 2

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Ryan Shazier

40 YD 20 YD 10 YD 225 BENCH VERTICAL JUMP BROAD SHUTTLE 3-CONE DRILL
4.38 2.58 1.56 25 42 10'10" 4.21 6.91

Comparing to some other prospects I've looked at:

Jadeveon Clowney

40 YD 20 YD 10 YD 225 BENCH VERTICAL JUMP BROAD SHUTTLE 3-CONE DRILL
4.53 - - 21 37 1/2 10'4" - 7.27

Anthony Barr

40 YD 20 YD 10 YD 225 BENCH VERTICAL JUMP BROAD SHUTTLE 3-CONE DRILL
4.41 2,67 1.57 19 34 1/2 10'05" 4.19 6.82

Khalil Mack

40 YD 20 YD 10 YD 225 BENCH VERTICAL JUMP BROAD SHUTTLE 3-CONE DRILL
4.55 2.57 1.53 23 40 10'8" 4.18 7.08

Kony Ealy

40 YD 20 YD 10 YD 225 BENCH VERTICAL JUMP BROAD SHUTTLE 3-CONE DRILL
4.92 - - 22 31 9'6" - 6.83


CJ Mosley

40 YD 20 YD 10 YD 225 BENCH VERTICAL JUMP BROAD SHUTTLE 3-CONE DRILL
4.63 2.70 1.56 - 35 9'10" 4.40 7.30

Calvin Pryor

40 YD 20 YD 10 YD 225 BENCH VERTICAL JUMP BROAD SHUTTLE 3-CONE DRILL
4.58 - - 18 34 1/2 9'8" 4.30 6.98

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix

40 YD 20 YD 10 YD 225 BENCH VERTICAL JUMP BROAD SHUTTLE 3-CONE DRILL
4.58 - - 11 33 9'11" 4.16 7.16

Dee Ford

40 YD 20 YD 10 YD 225 BENCH VERTICAL JUMP BROAD SHUTTLE 3-CONE DRILL
4.59 2.69 1.67 29 - 10'04" 4.73 7.07

Kyle Van Noy

40 YD 20 YD 10 YD 225 BENCH VERTICAL JUMP BROAD SHUTTLE 3-CONE DRILL
4.71 - - 21 32 1/2 9'4" 4.20 7.22

Rashede Hageman

40 YD 20 YD 10 YD 225 BENCH VERTICAL JUMP BROAD SHUTTLE 3-CONE DRILL
5.02 - - 32 35 1/2 9'6" - 7.87

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Here's what some are saying about Shazier:

CBSSports.com

STRENGTHS: Rangy athlete with terrific closing acceleration and burst. Explosive first step as a blitzer to force the QB from his spot. Very good bend off the edge with momentum to fight through blocks and disrupt the pocket. Flexible ankles and flattens easily.

Uses his length well at the point of attack with good take-on strength to deliver a pop, filling hard vs. the run. Eyes are always elevated with good ball vision and anticipation. Breaks down well on the move and gets low, showing clear improvement with his tackling technique.

Smart and puts himself in correct position to make plays. Sniffs out the ball and almost always finishes when he's in the area. Never quits working to the ball and relentless in pursuit.

Team leader and uplifting teammate with strong personal and football character. Versatile skill-set to drop in coverage, blitz and cover both sidelines. Very productive career with back-to-back seasons with 115-plus tackles, including a conference-best 143 stops in 2013.

WEAKNESSES: Lean frame and lacks elite bulk. Doesn't have the body type to get too much bigger. Needs to continue to get stronger to better shed at the point of attack. Too easily engulfed when attacking the line of scrimmage.

Sometimes content throwing his shoulder and not wrapping up. Overaggressive at times in coverage and needs patient and alert. Will lose track of his assignment in man.

Needs to stay disciplined and tidy up his timing to avoid late hits and unnecessary flags. Needs to keep his composure and keep his emotions in check. History of minor injuries that have caused him to miss playing time.

Compares To: Lavonte David, Buccaneers - While he's not quite as refined or tough as David, Shazier has a similar body type and movement skills to cover a large area and be a ultra-productive tackler at the next level.

--Dane Brugler (2/11/14)

PLAYER OVERVIEW

A high school defensive end, Shazier was recruited at linebacker and had scholarship offers from Alabama, Florida and LSU, but decided to go north and committed to Ohio State.

He steadily earned more playing time as a true freshman, eventually starting the final three games. Shazier tallied back-to-back seasons with 115-plus tackles as a sophomore and junior, combining for 44.5 tackles for loss over his career and earning multiple All-Big Ten honors.

He played inside and outside in Columbus and has the versatile skill-set to fill various roles. He was loved by the Buckeyes coaching staff because of his team-first approach.

Shazier has instant acceleration and explosive closing burst, using outstanding edge speed and timing to disrupt the pocket. He lacks natural power to disengage blocks and needs to develop his discipline, but Shazier is a scheme diverse player who projects as a three-down weak-side linebacker in a 4-3 or as an edge rusher in a 3-4 base.

NFL.com

OVERVIEW

Two-time first-team All-Big Ten pick (2012-13). 2013: First-team All-American selection and Butkus Award finalist. Started all 14 games. 2012: Started in all 12 games. Was a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week pick. 2011: Played in 13 games and started the last three.

ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS

Highly productive, disruptive playmaker vs. the run and pass. Shoots gaps and plays behind the line of scrimmage (compiled 39.5 TFL the last two seasons). Agile to slip blocks. Quick, strong hands to shed. Knifes gaps and flows very well laterally. Striking tackler -- uncoils on contact. Excellent speed and range -- opens up his stride in space and really covers ground. Bends naturally. Changes direction and accelerates with ease. Explosive first step as a pass rusher -- shows the ability to dip, bend and run the arc low to the ground. Ample athleticism and flexibility to mark backs and tight ends. Four-down utility. Arrow is pointing up.

WEAKNESSES

Lacks ideal size and bulk. Still developing eyes and instincts -- will diagnose and trigger more quickly down the road. Gets caught in traffic or engulfed by larger blockers when he hesitates to step downhill. Prone to overaggressiveness -- occasionally overruns plays or loses cutback contain. Could stand to improve his eyes, awareness, anticipation and reactions as a zone defender. Took some time to acclimate before making an impact.

DRAFT PROJECTION

Round 1

BOTTOM LINE

The Big Ten's leading tackler, Shazier flies around the field and his unique athletic ability stands out. Offers a tremendous combination of speed, tackling and coverage skills to become a playmaker as a run-and-hit 4-3 Will or perhaps a 3-4 weakside 'backer if protected by a block-occupying nose tackle. Value is increased by the fact that he will not have to come off the field.

(And my personal favorite) Walterfootball.com

Ryan Shazier, OLB, Ohio State. Previous Rank: 14
4/8/14: A few years from now, this writer thinks people are going to wonder why Shazier wasn't drafted earlier. He will be a steal in the back half of the first round.

League contacts have told WalterFootball.com that they view Shazier as a nice weapon to develop into a coverage defender against pass-receiving tight ends. At his pro day, Shazier (6-2, 237) showed scouts that he maintained his speed despite adding about 12 pounds since the end of the season. There are a lot of teams that love Shazier, so don't be surprised if he's selected higher than most project.

Shazier is an explosive linebacker with sideline-to-sideline speed. He has good instincts and is a tremendous pursuit linebacker. Shazier jumped off the screen when watching Ohio State and was constantly around the ball making plays.

In 2013, Shazier recorded 143 tackles with 22.5 tackles for a loss, four passes broken up, four forced fumbles and six sacks. The junior showed nice pass-coverage ability to cover ground in the middle of the field. He also did well against physical run defenses. His added strength should improve his ability to shed blocks and hold up when runs come straight at him.

Shazier had an excellent sophomore season in 2012 with 115 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss, one interception, 11 passes broken up, five sacks and three forced fumbles. He recorded 58 tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles in 2011.

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Here are some video links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmT5sX7G3xk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Md3ZDL3k8

(and my personal favorite) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iql1UpBn_nQ

These following games are from 2012...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iep9UmzmT7s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2IsZbubpKw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICAGXx9YryE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU8lTlldcD4 (championship game)

etc.

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Sorry for the formatting...I did this quick...remember to recommend, this is comprehensive...

All aboard! The Shazier train is departing at 1:20...

<em>This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Revenge of the Birds' (ROTB) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of ROTB's editors.</em>