Larry English
Overview
English is a two-time Vern Smith Leadership Award recipient, given to the Mid-American Conference's top player, as voted on by league coaches. He is just the second defensive player to ever receive that honor, as Central Michigan linebacker Ray Bentley captured the inaugural award in 1982. English is also only the fourth player to earn that award twice in a career, joining quarterbacks Brian McClure of Bowling Green (1984-85), Erik White of Bowling Green (1991-92) and Byron Leftwich of Marshall (2001-02).
One of the premier pass rushers in the collegiate game, English ranks second to Phillip Hunt of Houston (33.5 sacks for minus 229 yards) among the NCAA's active players with 31.5 sacks for losses totaling 220 yards. His 31.5 sacks set the school all-time record and rank fifth in Mid-American Conference history. That total also ranks seventh in NCAA annals. His five sacks vs. Idaho in 2007 is topped by just two other players on the NCAA single-game record books.
English wreaked havoc in the opposing backfields throughout his career. His 63.0 tackles behind the line of scrimmage set the school career record and rank fifth on the NCAA all-time record chart (the NCAA began compiling sack and tackle for loss totals beginning in 2000), as he is just the seventh player in major college annals to register 60 or more tackles for loss since those statistics were recognized by the NCAA.
English attended Marmion Military Academy, where the team co-captain and MVP was regarded as one of the most feared players in the Suburban Catholic Conference. The first- team All-SCC, Aurora Beacon-News All-Area, Daily Herald Tri-City All-Area and honorable mention IHSFCA All-State as a senior, he totaled 98 tackles and six sacks from his inside linebacker position and rushed for 312 yards on 38 carries (8.2 avg) as a fullback, despite being hampered early in that season by an ankle sprain that limited him to seven games.
English was named team MVP, first-team All-SCC, Aurora Beacon-News All-Area and Daily Herald Tri-City All-Area as a junior. He led the Tri-City area with 100 tackles, and added two interceptions along with two fumble recoveries. In addition to earning three letters in football, he also threw the discus for the track team as a freshman and added three more letters in basketball. The Honor Roll student was selected team captain in basketball. He received All-SCC and All-Area honors as a junior on the hardwood.
English turned down a scholarship offer from the University of Iowa, enrolling at Northern Illinois in 2004. He made four tackles vs. Maryland in his collegiate debut, but suffered a shoulder injury that would sideline him for the rest of the season, earning a medical hardship. In 2005, English started nine games at right defensive end, moving up from fifth on the depth chart to lead the team's down linemen with 57 tackles (35 solos). The 230-pounder had yet to show his pass rushing prowess, sacking the quarterback just twice, but his eight stops for loss ranked second on the squad.
As a sophomore, English garnered All-Mid American Conference first-team honors. He made 51 tackles (32 solos) in 13 games, leading the team and ranking second in the league with a career-high 12 sacks. That total tied the school single-season record that was first set by Scott Kellar in 1984. He also paced the Huskies with 16.0 tackles for loss and caused four fumbles, the most in the MAC for 2006.
The Vern Smith Leadership Award winner and first-team All-MAC pick led the conference with 10.5 sacks in 2007. His 17.0 stops for loss also led the league and ranked 16th in the nation. He produced 67 tackles (29 solos), fourth on the squad, and also recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. His banner junior campaign came to a crashing halt in the Poinsettia Bowl, as he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee that would require surgery.
The injury bug continued in 2008, as English suffered a torn pectoral muscle in spring drills. He played nearly all season with pins in his broken thumb, but he still led the team with eight sacks and 16 stops behind the line of scrimmage, ranking fourth and third, respectively, in each category among MAC players. He was again named the recipient of the Verne Smith Award, finishing his final season with a career-low 37 tackles (26 solos).
GENERAL REPORT. GRADE: 6.72
Body Structure: English has good muscle development, but needs further body tone in his lower frame. He has good arm length with muscular definition, adequate hamstrings and thighs. He added bulk to his frame during the 2008 off-season in order to compete better at defensive end, but outside of rush end duties he may be better suited as an outside linebacker - if he can generate enough foot speed.
Athletic Ability: English is an undersized defensive end, despite the recent weight addition. He might have to project to outside linebacker in the pros, but may not have the quickness to play at that position (4.82-second 40-yard clocking at the NFL Combine). He is a good athlete and could make the conversion, as he is quicker than fast and has good lateral agility. He has good straight-line quickness and the ability to plant and change direction fluidly. He does a good job of giving a shoulder and flattening working down the line. While he has good weight room strength, he does not have the bulk to consistently stack and control when working inside. He is best when given the ability to run and pursue down the line of scrimmage. GRADE: 6.7
Football Sense: English has very good field vision and shows maturity and patience letting the plays develop. He knows how to play within the defensive scheme and does a good job of flowing to the ball. He has a good grasp of the playbook and is not the type that is easily fooled by play-action. He has enough ability to stay tight with the short-area receivers, but does struggle some to locate the ball when dropping off in zone coverage. He is smart enough to deal with the mental side of the game. He shows good alertness to plays in front of him, but is best when getting a clear lane off the edge, as he is slow to recognize side blocking schemes. GRADE: 7.0
Character: English is a good program type who goes out of his way to mentor younger teammates. He has no known off-field issues and is a well-mannered athlete that the coaches cite his work ethic. GRADE: 6.8
Competitiveness: English is a good competitor who plays with intensity and aggressiveness. For the possible move to the linebacker position, he has above average playing strength and can be explosive in his hits. He is not the type to take plays off and shows good effort until the whistle. He is a physical take-on type of tackler who consistently fights through the play. GRADE: 6.6
Work Habits: English is still a 'tweener type, lacking ideal size to be a down lineman and might not be sudden enough to play linebacker. He could prove to have good value as a rush end or weak-side linebacker in a 3-4 defense. He has the physique that shows a good power base and is very accountable for his actions. From the look at his upper body, he knows how to put the extra hours into his weight training and has developed a violent punch to help him compensate for a lack of bulk when battling bigger blockers in the trenches. GRADE: 6.5
ATHLETIC REPORT: GRADE: 6.36
Key and Diagnostic Skills: English excels at sifting through and avoiding trash to locate the ball. He has good eyes coming from the backside and the lateral range to flow with the ball. He does a nice job of waiting for the action to come to him rather than over-commit, doing a nice job of neutralizing the bootleg. He shows good snap anticipation (no off-side penalties the last two years), knowing when to dip his shoulder and explode past blockers en route to the quarterback. He is not reckless on the field, a rarity for a pass rusher, as he knows he can get success by showing patience. He is alert to the option and is not the type who will be fooled by misdirection or play-action fakes. His problems arise when he has to work in-line, as he spends a lot of time trying to disengage and loses sight of the play. When he finds the ball, there is no hesitation in his moves to pursue the play. He is better coming off the edge than when having to deal with in-line reading responsibilities. GRADE: 7.2
Playing Strength and Explosion: English has a developing frame with good upper body strength but lacks the sand in his pants to hold up to NFL offensive linemen as a defensive end. He is not the type that can anchor well at the line of scrimmage and is generally washed out by double teams when trying to work in-line. He has a quick straight-line burst to disrupt the backfield activity, and does a good job of redirecting on the move, but lacks the foot speed to simply fly to the ball, and while his weight room numbers are good he often struggles to shed once a blocker latches on to his jersey. He does not have the lower body strength to hold his ground at the Xs. He is weight room strong, but because of his size, he does not generate enough force to work across blocks in pursuit and can be overmatched at the line of scrimmage vs. the bigger offensive tackles. He relies mostly on hand placement to gain separation and his burst and arm-over action to slip blocks. While his weight room numbers do not always translate to the football field, he is a take-on type that might struggle vs. the bigger blockers, but will give them a battle until the whistle. GRADE: 6.3
Lateral Pursuit/Range: English does a nice job of flowing to the ball and while he lacks blazing speed, he can run long distances to chase down the play. He shows good balance on the move and should be able to adjust to linebacker at the next level, as he generally played upright, especially on stretches and screens. He needs room to operate, as he is more effective as a pass rusher coming off the edge when standing up than with his hand on the ground. He just lacks the top-end speed you look for in a linebacker. Even though he has lateral agility, he does have upper body stiffness trying to turn and run out of his backpedal and might have trouble mirroring in pass coverage. He does a nice job of planting his foot and redirecting when chasing down screens. He has the backside pursuit ability to slip and work around blocks to get penetration (holds the school records for sacks and tackles for losses). He shows urgency and explosion chasing to the perimeter and above average acceleration working down the line. GRADE: 6.7
Use of Hands: English has enough upper body strength to generate a strong punch to rock an offensive lineman back on his heels. He uses his hands quite effectively to grab, jerk and pull, but he is also quite effective shooting them violently to stun. He is also quite effective at reaching around and using his length to try and dislodge the ball from the carrier (eight forced fumbles during his career). While he can be quick with his hands and uses them well, he lacks the bulk to hold ground at the point of attack when working in-line or in the trenches, especially vs. double teams. He keeps a tight mirror on the tight end and will shock and jolt to reroute, but will give up his body some. When taking on the lead blocker, he does a much better job to control, slap and break free and is best served making plays on the move rather than in tight areas. GRADE: 6.5
Tackling Ability: English is a classic wrap-up tackler who does a good job of keeping his hands inside his frame. He plays at a good pad level and is conscious of attacking the ball carrier's outside leg to impede forward momentum. He uses his hands well to push back the lead blocker and clog the rush lanes, but needs to be more alert to side blocks and not try to get into too many one-on-one battles in the trenches, as he is better served making plays on the move than operating at the line of scrimmage. When he stays low in his pads, English can string plays out, but when he gets high in his stance he leaves his body too exposed. He has the strength to hold ground on the edge, but lacks bulk to maintain position working inside. GRADE: 6.2
Run Defense: English is best when making tackles on the move, but needs to show better angle concept, as there are times he simply runs right into the blocker rather than trying to avoid. He keeps his hands active in attempts to shed and knows how to use his punch to temporarily stun a lineman, but has to rely more on quickness rather than power to defeat double teams, as he does not have the strong anchor to beat them otherwise. He has his best success coming off the snap with a low pad level, as he can be rocked back when he's too tall at the point of attack. He has had decent success using his arm length to play off blocks in order to chase down plays from the backside. Against the run, English is a one-gap player who can be productive to slip blocks, shoot the holes and be disruptive. He is best when using making plays off the backside, as he does show enough hand strength to shed in on-on-one situations. He just lacks the bulk and leg drive to stack and control and can be run at, getting covered up too much to be effective taking on blocks. He has the speed to pursue and cut off the edge, showing adequate redirection agility. He will get caught up in trash, but has the burst to escape. GRADE: 6.3
Pass Defense: English showed adequate ability dropping back in the short area to pick up tight ends and backs. He has good explosion and adequate quickness to penetrate off the edge when given a free lane, but was generally removed in obvious passing situations (made just seven plays vs. the pass in 2008). He shows decent hip snap to turn and run with the tight ends and backs in the short area, but is rarely used in man coverage. Until he can learn to play linebacker, it is not recommended using him much in pass coverage. GRADE: 5.3
Zone Defense: English is still a work in progress dropping back in the zone, as he does not look instinctive in locating the ball with his back turned to the quarterback. He looks too stiff in his backpedal and needs to do a better job of sinking his pads, as he looks too tall and rigid in his stance to turn cleanly out of his breaks. He is better playing in the short area than in long pursuit, as he lacks the foot speed to maintain relation with the receiver. Until he actually lines up in pass coverage, it is anyone's guess on what he will bring to the table here. GRADE: 5.2
Pass Rush and Blitz: There is no question that English had good success coming off the edge, but it was generally vs. lower level type of offensive tackles. Due to bulk issues, he will not be able to play as a down lineman at the next level. While he has a good short-area burst, unless he is in a 3-4 alignment he might not be able to blitz as often from the weak-side linebacker position as he did as a rush end. He is not the type that will have great success shooting the gaps on the blitz, as bigger blockers had good success engulfing him. He uses his rip moves with good success and knows how to get skinny to slip off blocks. When he plays at a low pad level, he can get his hands underneath the blocker to drive his man back into the pocket. The thing you notice on film is his ability to gear down and change speeds to get the offensive lineman off balance. As a pass rusher, he is the type that will explode and burst through traffic. He is more of a finesse-type pass rusher who will not generate great speed, but he uses his hands to gain separation and his extra effort in pursuit allows him to get pressure. He does a good job of dipping his shoulder to slip off blocks and has the quick twitch moves needed to make plays coming from the backside. He seems to get soft when engaging the offensive tackle, as he knows he will get stonewalled in a power battle. As a linebacker, he will be much more productive as a pass rusher, as he can gain acceleration and get a better feel for the ball when he won't have to engage the bigger blockers on in-line battles. GRADE: 7.5
Compares To: ANTHONY SPENCER, Dallas -- Some draft experts claim Larry English is the next Shawn Merriman, but that's a stretch at this point. As a pass rusher, he shows great tenacity, but that seems to be the only consistent aspect of his game. There are too many contests where he lost in too much trash and isn't much of a factor. As an athlete, you have to be impressed with his power, but one look at his clocked speed makes you be concerned that he won't be able to drop back and handle speedy slot receivers outside the short area.
OVERALL GRADE: 6.42
Nice details all around. I like the focus of the picks and I agree with BSS that you can never have enough secondary. However, as last year proved, without some pass rush all the secondary in the world won't help you. I'm glad they didn't go that route with the first few picks.
No no, just trying to offset some rampant Gunzing.
