This kid is a beast and he’s likely moving up on many draft boards.

Will Courtney Upshaw be a defensive end or an outside linebacker in the NFL? The Alabama star and surefire first-round pick has insisted throughout Senior Bowl week that he has no preference.

But this much seems assured: The preference of opposing offensive tackles would be that he take up another line of work.

One of the standouts of a dominating Crimson Tide defense, Upshaw has had a fine week of practice at the Senior Bowl. He has worked with the defensive ends throughout the week, though he plans to do OLB drills at the Combine and at Alabama’s pro day. However, Upshaw did get some work standing up in a 3-4 look this week, noted Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, a member of the South coaching staff this week.

Haslett is among those who have been impressed by the first-team All-American, who garnered BCS championship game MVP honors with seven tackles and a sack in Alabama’s shutout of LSU.

“He’s a tightly built guy that’s powerful, extremely fast,” Haslett said. “… I think he’s got so much upside. I think he’s a heck of a football player.”

Power is the 6-1½, 273-pound Upshaw’s game, whether he’s playing the run or getting after the quarterback. The opposition knows this. What follows is a lot of pushing — and pulling, as Upshaw noted.

It’s early in the process, but draft mania is already catching fire. With Twitter we now have an outlet where more and more people can discuss topics like the draft. Upshaw will get a ton of attention throughout this process.

Michael Oher is a big man. At 6’5” and 309 pounds that would seem rather obvious, but that’s not exactly what I’m talking about. Oher’s got quite a back story, a fact that hasn’t been lost on we in the profession of sports writing. A novel concerning his life leading up to his college career has not only been already released, but is in the works for becoming a feature film. While the material remains accurate, it seems reports of Oher’s intelligence (according to Oher) were exaggerated. But no worries, like I said, he’s a big guy.

And what is this life that resulted in a bestseller? OK, I’m not going into too much detail here, it’s been repeated in other places ad nauseam and I don’t want to throw up on my keyboard. Oher grew up more or less homeless, the son of a crack addict and a father who was never there. Roaming through schools, forgotten on holidays and birthdays, it wasn’t until he was taken in by the Tuohy family at 16 that things truly started to turn around for him. Living with the affluent Memphis family helped grant him the stability and backing needed to get him into a position to rise to national attention.

As if all that wasn’t enough to leave a man a bit bitter, he learned that his last name was, in fact, not his last name at all. While trying to obtain a drivers license, Oher learned that government records retained the name of Michael Williams, his biological father’s surname. A bit of a surprise for anybody I must say. Oher took it in stride, getting a license as Michael Williams for a time before eventually changing his legal name to Oher (Oher is from his mother’s side btw).

In high school, Oher maintained a solid 0.3 GPA, something I imagine didn’t sit very well with him. Luckily, his performance on the field kept him afloat. His high school stats earned him places on numerous All-American first teams as a an offensive tackle, as well as Rivals.com’s All-American Bowl All-Time Team. Why might you say?

He didn’t allow a sack for the full two years he played high school football. Oh, and you ever hear of a “pancake?” I think you can guess easily enough. Well, Oher racked up 200.

Oher was naturally offered positions at numerous colleges across the country, eventually deciding on Ole Miss. His freshman year he started in 10 games as right guard and was named to the All-American freshman first team by Rivals.com and The Sporting News. He earned the first of his four letters too.

2006 saw Oher improve his game, starting every game (this time at left tackle) and continuing in that position for the rest of his time at the school. His junior year he was a fourth team All-American and was on the SEC first team.

Heading into his senior year Oher was posited on about every preseason All-American first team around. He didn’t disappoint. By the end of his time at Ole Miss, Oher had won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy (for the SEC’s best blocker), was the Southeast offensive lineman of the year, was team captain, and helped the rebels hold opposing defenses to a paltry 1.54 sacks per game. He was also a key reason why Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis had 1,000+ rushing yards for back to back seasons.

For such a huge presence on the line, Oher’s real skill comes from his ability to move that girth around. He also has a real head for the game, keeping defenses guessing by making a great quick move forward to fake the rush on passing plays before dropping back. Overall, Oher’s ready for the NFL, ready for the punishment he’s likely to receive; surely it can’t be worse than anything he’s already endured.

Latest on Oher

Considering the performance of offensive tackles in last year’s draft, 4 in the first round, Oher should definitely be considered a contender for the top ten. However, with the teams up there looking to acquire new defensive and offensive (read quarterbacks and wide receivers) talent, there simply might not be a place for him. He’ll be going in the first round, but could be as low as say, 21 to the Eagles. There still remains a real possibility though that he could still go to St. Louis or Cincinnati (2 and 6 respectively).

Career
Ole Miss Official Michael Oher Page
You want a number associated with Oher? Go here.

News and Commentary
Michael Oher Scouting Report
Quick summation of strengths and weaknesses.
From homeless to the NFL: Oher’s journey to draft unique
Great article about Oher’s past and present.
Big Things Predicted for Oher from the Start
Commentary on Oher’s potential.

Oher says
On his past hardships
“I don’t dwell on anything. I’m not going to feel sorry for myself because I didn’t have a place to stay a lot of time. It is what it is. We’ve got to go through some things in life. Take it and run with it.”
As posted on USA Today

Sources and Links
OleMissSports.com
USAToday.com
Scout.com
SportsIllustrated.com

SI.com’s Peter King shares 10 draft nuggets that he got from Mike Mayock:

1. “This is by far the worst year for the top 10 that I’ve seen. Down around 18, 20, you’ll get every bit the player you’ll get in the top 10 for a third of the price.”

2. His gut feeling is Detroit’s taking Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford with the first pick of the draft.

3. “I can’t bang the table for Stafford the way I did for Matt Ryan last year. I don’t see an elite player in him every time I watch, which you need to see if you’re taking a quarterback that high.”

4. Mayock, if he had his choice of first-round picks for talent and value, would be around 22. “The value in this draft is at 15 and beyond.”

5. He says eight or nine tight ends will be drafted in the first three rounds. He loves the best of the bunch, Oklahoma State’s Brandon Pettigrew. (I’d love to see the Bills land him, by the way. Perfect offensive weapon for a coordinator, Turk Schonert, who loves to use the tight end.)

6. He likes Eugene Monroe over Jason Smith, if you’re picking a franchise tackle. “Smith’s got a better upside. Very aggressive. But Monroe’s got the best feet in the draft. He’s a really accomplished technician.”

7. He thinks Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry — who Detroit would play at middle linebacker if the Lions made him the first pick of the draft — would be optimally used at strongside linebacker in the 4-3 because he can cover, he can play physically over the tight end, and he’s got upside pass-rushing ability.

8. He’s scared of Brian Orakpo, the Texas defensive end who’s the apple of a few teams’ eyes in the top half of the first round. “Buyer beware,” Mayock said. “He’s boom or bust. I don’t know if he’s DeMarcus Ware or Vernon Gholston. I’ve seen him have some really good games, and I’ve seen what I considered to be Brandon Pettigrew tearing him apart. The point is, I don’t see it all the time from Orakpo, which concerns me.”

9. Of the elite quarterbacks, he likes USC’s Mark Sanchez the best. “He’s the most ready made for the pro game right now.”

10. If you need a cornerback in this draft, sit it out. There are no corners even well above average, never mind great.

Those are 10 pretty solid observations and outside of maybe deeming Mark Sanchez an elite quarterback-candidate, I can’t find fault in anything Mayock said.