Cushing at ILB?

[Guest Aloysius]

When Rey sat out the Oregon game last year, Brian Cushing filled in for him inside. Considering that we may be looking at Cushing as a 3-4 ILB, it's a good idea to check out how he looked in that game.

 

Here are some highlights:

 

 

You can watch a larger version of the clip here.

 

And here's what PFW had to say about his performance:

 

Scouts were hoping to see USC SLB Brian Cushing perform better than he did when he moved inside against Oregon to replace the injured Rey Maualuga, but with action coming at him from both sides, he did not anticipate and react as quickly as he did tilted over the tight end on the strong side and did not play with as much pop, power and punch taking on blockers. He is versatile enough to fill in during a pinch, but his best position will be lining up over the tight end.

It's possible that Cushing could develop into a nice 3-4 ILB, but I'm more comfortable projecting him to strongside linebacker in a 4-3. In that, I pretty much agree with what Mike Mayock said about the USC product:

 

"Brian Cushing, to me, is the prototype 4-3 Sam (strongside outside linebacker). He can play over the tight end, can set the edge and also has the ability to drop into coverage. The added versatility of Cushing has a lot of teams thinking he can play the inside in the 3-4."

It's possible, but I'm not as confident about him being a fit as I am with Curry.

[ballpeen]

He's not as good as Curry, so I understand the fit part.

 

I doubt he moves inside in any scheme, just as I doubt Curry plays inside.

 

Doing so takes away one of the big pluses of their game.

[Herman M]

I like Cushings he is strong and has great vision for the game, he would be worth the #5 pick