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2012 DRAFT PREVIEW: DTs

Overview: Like several other positions in the 2012 draft class, it appears there should be some decent talent available at DT, but there is still a lot of sorting out to be done. It is also unlikely that any DTs are going to quite as early this coming April as is in 2010 when DTs Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy were the 2nd and third picks respectively by Detroit and Tampa Bay, or this past April when former Alabama DE Marcel Dareus was the third overall pick by Buffalo. That said juniors Jerel Worthy of Michigan State and Miami's Marcus Fortson, as well as seniors Kheeston Randle of Texas and Clemson NT Brandon Thompson are currently considered to be potential mid-to-late first round prospects, while there is a deep group of possible second-day candidates at the position led by Alabama NT Josh Chapman, Penn State's Devon Still, Tydreke Powell of North Carolina and Jaye Howard of Florida. The 2012 DT class could also get more interesting in a hurry if any of emerging juniors Kawann Short of Purdue, 350-pound Dontari Poe of Memphis or Baker Steinkuhler of Nebraska opt to leave school early this winter. NFL scouts are also intrigued tosee how North Carolina junior Sylvester Williams fares at the D1A level this fall. Williams is a highly regarded, 320-pounder who dominated at the junior college level last fall and while very raw has unusual athletic ability for a guy that size. And speaking of size, 380-pound Liberty DT Asa Chapman is nothing if not hard to miss. He's also hard to move off the line of scrimmage. Overall, though, there may not be as many quality small-school DTs vying for a spot in the upcoming draft as there have been in the past couple of seasons, although Eastern Washington's Renard Williams is one worth warching.

Top 20 DT Prospects

#	Player	H/W	School	CL	#	Player	H/W	School	CL
1	Jerel Worthy	6-3, 305	Michigan State	JR	11	Kaleb Ramsey	6-3, 295	Boston College	SR
2	Marcus Forston	6-3, 300	Miami	JR	12	Derek Wolfe	6-4, 300	Cincinnati	SR
3	Brandon Thompson	6-2, 310	Clemson	SR	13	J. R. Sweezy	6-5, 295	North Carolina State	SR
4	Kheeston Randle	6-5, 295	Texas	SR	14	Mike Martin	6-2, 300	Michigan	SR
5	Josh Chapman	6-1, 315	Alabama	SR	15	Travian Robertson	6-3, 305	South Carolina	SR
6	Devon Still	6-4, 305	Penn State	SR	16	Tony Jerod-Edie	6-4, 300	Texas A&M	SR
7	Tydreke Powell	6-2, 315	North Carolina	SR	17	Renard Williams	6-2, 305	Eastern Washington	SR
8	Jaye Howard	6-3, 305	Florida	SR	18	Dominique Hamilton	6-4, 305	Missouri	SR
9	Kendall Reyes	6-4, 295	UConn	SR	19	Chas Alecxih	6-5, 285	Pittsburgh	SR
10	Alameda Ta'amu	6-3, 330	Washington	SR	20	Micanor Regis	6-2, 305	Miami	SR

Future file: It usually takes young DTs a year or two to really establish themslves as legitimate prospects once they make the move to the collegiate ranks. Young DTs pro scouts will be keeping an eye on this fall for future reference this fall include sophomores Akeem Spence of Illinois and 350-pound Kwame Geathers of Georgia, along with redshirt freshman George Uko of Southern California and 330-pound Christian Littlehead of Oklahoma State.

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