#124 - Eric Norwood, LB, South Carolina

Panthers.com have him listed as DE/LB

Norwood started 38 of 51 games at South Carolina – his last 26 at weakside linebacker and his first 12 at left defensive end...Recorded 255 tackles (175 solos) with 29.0 sacks for minus 227 yards, 54.5 stops for losses of 292 yards and 34 pressures...Caused two fumbles and recovered six others, advancing four of them for a total of 97 yards and two touchdowns...Added 36 yards and a score on two interceptions and deflected eight passes...Blocked four kicks, returning a blocked punt 16 yards...His 29.0 sacks set the school career-record...He also tied Richard Tardits of Georgia (1985-88) for seventh place on the SEC all-time record list...Joined John Abraham (1996-99) as the only players in school history to lead the team in sacks four consecutive years...His nine sacks in 2008 rank second on the USC season-record chart behind Andrew Provence (10.0 in 1982)...His 54.5 tackles for loss shattered the old school career-record of 35.0 by Provence...His 19.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage in 2007 topped the previous school season-record of 16.0 by Rickey Hagood (1983), and Norwood's 14.5 tackles for loss in 2008 tied Jasper Brinkley (2006) for fourth place on that annual record chart.

 

Nice clips. One concern is that I see him getting stoned when he can't slip by with a speed rush. He needs to learn to use his hands better, but that's true of almost every rookie pass rusher. I could see him evolving into a strong side version of Thomas Davis in a few years, and if he has the heart, a force to be reckoned with on kick coverage.

 

He's all about heart. He was only a 3* coming out of high school. Plus he barely qualified to play college academically. He said he realized that bad grades could really screw up your future.

He ended up being All-SEC 3 times, All American once, and broke a ton of records, including Jon Abraham's sack record.

Oh, he also graduated with over a 3.0 in 3 1/2 years (yes, it was Criminal Justice....but still).

He'll play a lot this year and end up being a great starter within a couple of years.