The question was posed to Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo this morning: "Hey, Steve, any chance you're going to be watching the Nebraska-Arizona game tonight?" The subtext, of course, is that the Rams are the leading contender to land the No. 1 pick in the draft and one of the No. 1 prospects is Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. As you'll recall, Spagnuolo had four excellent defensive linemen when his Giants defense helped propel that team to a Super Bowl win two years ago. But Spagnuolo didn't take the bait: "You're getting way ahead of me on that," he said. "I've got a lot of San Francisco 49ers tape to watch tonight."
Spagnuolo might not be scouting the Holiday Bowl (yeah, right) but that doesn't mean you can't. The game starts at 5 p.m. on ESPN. Here's what NFL Draft Scout's Rob Rang had to say about the NFL prospects in the game.
Nebraska
DT Ndamukong Suh, No 93, 6-4, 300. Said Rang: He's the No. 1 player on my board. I would argue with anyone has any other player rated higher than him. When you look at talent, work ethic and the value of the position, he should be the No. 1 guy.
S Larry Asante, No. 4, 6-1, 215. Rang: He's moving up the board. He doesn't have the range you're looking for in a free safety. But he's big and strong and could be an in-the-box safety. He's the kind of guy I think (Scot) McCloughan might like. Barrows' note: The 49ers' in-the-box safety, Michael Lewis, turns 30 in April and had concussion issues this season.
Arizona
CB Devin Ross, No. 6, 5-11, 175. Rang: He's been behind good players early in his career. He's smooth in coverage, although a little undersized. You might not see a lot of him against Nebraska (because the Cornhuskers run the ball so much).
DT Earl Mitchell, No 49, 6-2, 295. Rang: He's a pretty solid lineman but is probably more of a 4-3 player. I'm not sure he would fit the 49ers system.
Lemme know which other upcoming bowl games you're interested in scouting ...
-- Matt Barrows
