Sam Montgomery was a high profile recruit coming out of High School, but no one would have suggested at that time that he was being short-tracked to the NFL.
Montgomery hasn’t put on any weight since arriving at LSU. I find that a little worrisome. Although his frame is fine for the college game, he won’t be able to play Defensive End at his current 240 pounds.
Sam Montgomery is a natural athlete that almost never takes a play off. His athleticism is off the charts for a person of his size. Because of that, it’s easy to see that he will be a high profile draft prospect.
However, unless he puts on some weight, I don’t see how that could be at Defensive End. He doesn’t have a very strong upper body. He can do enough
There are a couple of obvious flaws in his game. First of all, he gets out of his stance awkwardly and slow. As the year moved on, his first step got quicker, but it’s something he needs to continue to work on. He can get pushed around in the running game. That is more of a product of his stance than it is his play against the run.
And, on more than one occasion, I’ve seen him exhibit what I would call poor pocket awareness. He’ll have an Offensive Tackle beat running the arch and he’ll come to a stop and try to work his way back to the inside. When he does this, the Tackle catches up with him and re-anchors.
Montgomery was an All-SEC selection in 2011 after posting nine sacks.
*The scouting report has been put together based on 2011 tape. It will be updated with 2012 information during and after the season.
WHERE HE FITS: As I said previously, I don’t think he can stay at Defensive End at his current measurables. Unlike Jackson Jeffcoat, however, I don’t think the NFL will ask him to put on any weight. He’s likely a 3-4 Outside Linebacker selection or a 4-3 OLB project like Von Miller was. I can’t say for sure that he can play Will or Sam Linebacker, but I think he has the athleticism you look for. He surely can play Rush Linebacker. I think he might actually benefit from being forced to stand up. He seems destined for the top half of the first round, but a lot of that will depend on whether he excels in Linebacker drills at the combine next February.