Rivers is ready to join club
Before the 2007 college season, Southern Cal linebacker Keith Rivers received a call from a fellow member of his elite fraternity: Willie McGinest.
Wearing jersey No. 55 at USC means something special, as McGinest's preseason call to Rivers illustrated. McGinest was checking in on Rivers, also giving him some pointers from a voice of experience.
Once a 55, always a 55.
"Great linebackers have worn it and made it proud," said Rivers, one of the top-rated linebackers in this year's draft and a surefire first-round pick. "I was honored to have it and tried to do my best to live up to it."
Members of the 55 Club include Junior Seau and Chris Claiborne as well as McGinest, and if Rivers can duplicate what those players have accomplished in the NFL, he'll make the team that selects him happy.
In this year's class of pure linebackers - not defensive ends who project to outside linebacker in 3-4 alignments - it's Rivers and everyone else.
Scouts believe he can fit in any scheme and has the desired intangibles not to allow a big-money contract affect his approach.
For teams playing the 4-3, the 6-foot-2-inch, 241-pound Rivers projects as an outside linebacker. Clubs playing the 3-4 project Rivers on the inside, mostly playing on the weak side.
The Patriots have taken a close look at Rivers, flying him in for one of their allotted 30 predraft visits, although one NFL scout feels the No. 7 pick is a bit too rich for Rivers because he doesn't run as well as other top-flight linebackers, such as 2007 first-round pick Patrick Willis (49ers, 11th overall). Still, Rivers should be selected within the top 15 picks.
Oklahoma's Curtis Lofton (6-0, 246), Tennessee's Jerod Mayo (6-1, 242), and Penn State's Dan Connor (6-2, 231) are other top linebackers in Rivers's mold, although they are projected as late first-round to second-round selections.
The other aspect to consider when assessing the linebacker class is that teams playing the 3-4 will be projecting defensive ends as outside linebackers.
Ohio State's Vernon Gholston (6-3, 266), Florida's Derrick Harvey (6-4, 271), Auburn's Quentin Groves (6-3, 259), and Clemson's Philip Merling (6-4, 276) are all considered first-round caliber, and with more NFL clubs expected to target players to boost their pass rush after the Giants' success in Super Bowl XLII, they will all likely be selected within the first 31 picks.
As for New England prospects, Boston College's JoLonn Dunbar (6-0, 231) tops the charts. He is considered a late-round to free agent prospect. While he doesn't have the build that teams generally seek, he has solid intangibles and adds special teams value.
Adding speed and athleticism to the linebacking corps is one of the Patriots' annual objectives, but this year the need is likely a bit greater. When assessing linebackers for their scheme, the Patriots generally like bigger, sturdier players to line up inside, because they must be physical enough to grapple with guards firing out at them. The outside linebackers are most often college defensive ends, which makes for a challenging projection in determining how they will play going from a three-point stance to a two-point stance. After the first round, Oklahoma's Lofton, UNLV's Beau Bell (6-1, 244), and Alabama's Darren Mustin (6-1, 237) are solid candidates at inside linebacker, while Purdue's Cliff Avril (6-3, 253), Michigan's Shawn Crable (6-5, 245), and Eastern Michigan's Jason Jones (6-5, 273) are names to remember on the outside.
Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com.
