Omar Gaither spent his entire college career at Tennessee as an outside linebacker. So, imagine his draft-day surprise when the Eagles informed their 6-1, 234-pound fifth-round pick that they were moving him inside to middle linebacker.
"I guess I'm considered a smaller guy," said Gaither, who played strongside linebacker for the Vols but was projected as a weakside linebacker in the NFL. "I'll see people on the street and they'll ask me if I'm a DB [defensive back] or a wide receiver, and I'm like, wow.
"I talked to a couple of teams that play a 3-4 and they thought I could play inside. But most [4-3] teams saw me as a WIL [weakside linebacker]. Nobody mentioned playing MIKE [middle linebacker] until the Eagles drafted me.
"It's a big change, but you've gotta roll with the punches. What am I going to say, no? The coaches looked at me on film and decided the best place for me was MIKE. And that's fine with me. They know best."
This is not your father's NFL. It's no longer mandatory that middle linebackers be the size of RVs, even though a few, including the Eagles' Jeremiah Trotter (6-1, 262) and the Bears' Brian Urlacher (6-3, 260) still are. In a league that averaged eight more passes per game than runs last year, speed has become a must-have quality, even if it means sacrificing a few pounds.
"We felt [Gaither] could play inside or outside," Eagles general manager Tom Heckert said. "We want to see how he does at MIKE. I don't think his size will be a problem. He's been up to 245 at Tennessee. He'll probably play at around 240. That's big enough."
Truth be told, six-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker Ray Lewis, considered the prototypical NFL middle linebacker, was a half-inch shorter and just 1 pound heavier than Gaither when he entered the league in 1996.
"There are a lot of MIKE linebackers in the league who aren't that big," Gaither said. "I'm bigger than [Mark] Simoneau [Trotter's current backup]. If not, we're at least the same size. Size is just something for the books. When you go out on the field, it doesn't make a big difference. The only thing that matters is how you play."
The Eagles think Gaither not only is big enough to make the move inside, but also smart enough. He is part of the Eagles' cerebral draft class that had the league's second-highest average Wonderlic Personnel Test score (26.9 out of 50) this year. Gaither received a degree in sports management from Tennessee earlier this month.
"I graduated on the first day of our minicamp," he said. "I woke up at 5:30 in the morning, drove [from his home in Charlotte, N.C.] to Knoxville, graduated, then got on a plane and flew here just in time for the team meeting."
The Eagles are holding their second minicamp for rookies and selected veterans this week. They will have a "voluntary" full-squad camp next week, then break until training camp. Gaither hopes to have a pretty good understanding of the MIKE position in Jim Johnson's defense by the time he heads back home for some R & R later this month.
"Moving to MIKE is the biggest adjustment for any outside linebacker," he said. "I can almost say it's completely different. Because you're surrounded by people. You've got people coming from your left and your right. You've got linemen you've got to worry about. It's just a lot more compact. You've got a lot more people in a lot less space.
"You're dealing with a lot of shifts, a lot of motion. And the MIKE has to make all those [defensive] calls, all those adjustments, and then do what he's supposed to do. It's tough. But the more you do it, the more repetitions you get, the easier it'll get."
He'll have plenty of time to learn. With Trotter entrenched in the middle, Gaither, like many of the Eagles' other draft picks, will mainly earn his keep next season on special teams. He was a standout special-teams performer at Tennessee, which is one of the reasons the Eagles drafted him.
"If you're going to be a backup linebacker, you'd better be able to play on special teams," said Heckert, noting that special-teams coordinator John Harbaugh "does a terrific job of going through all of the all-star tapes before the draft and figuring out who the good [special-teams players] are. We think [Gaither] can help us there right away. He's a leader. He's an aggressive player."
Gaither is eager to prove his special-teams worth.
"They take a lot of pride in special teams here," he said. "I know that's how I'm going to make the team. And I'm looking forward to it. Special teams are a lot of fun. It gives you a chance to play and get sweaty. Get your jersey dirty. I'd rather do that than stand and watch anyday."
