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The second in a series on top prospects by position leading up to the April 26-27 NFL Draft:
Top outside linebacker prospects
This is all I need to know about Southern California's Keith Rivers: He wore No. 55 for the Trojans.
Check, please. I'm sold on the guy. Because 55 is the number once worn at USC by Willie McGinest, Junior Seau and Chris Claiborne, and it's a jersey the school's football team doesn't exactly hand out randomly.
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| Keith Rivers matched the best OLB time from the combine with his 4.51-second 40 at USC's Pro Day. (US Presswire) |
Better add Rivers to the list. He not only was one of the top defenders in the nation last season; he was the best linebacker anywhere, named to All-American and All-Pac-10 first teams despite being handicapped by a sore ankle.
Rivers is quick. He's fast. He's a reliable tackler. He's instinctive. He's outstanding in pass coverage. He works hard. He hits hard. And he's versatile, playing all three linebacker positions at the Senior Bowl practices.
More important, he lived up to his number.
"When I got it," said Rivers, "they sent out (a notice) to all the other 55s and let them know a new person was going to be wearing it because it hadn't been worn in years. I was honored to have it and tried my best to live up to it."
Though born in California, Rivers grew up in Orlando, Fla., so let's be honest here: He didn't know a lot about USC's 55s or the linebackers who wore the jersey. What he did know was that he was going somewhere with a rich tradition of great defensive players, some of whom were linebackers ... and, yes, some of whom drove 55.
"After awhile," he said, "you get a sense of how important it is and how important it is to practice hard every day and work hard in the weight room because the number means so much. It's bigger than you."
Few at USC were bigger than Rivers during his stay there. He had 240 career tackles, including 18.5 for losses. He was a dominant figure as the team's weakside linebacker -- chosen in 2007 as a Butkus semifinalist and one of 17 quarterfinalists for the Lott Trophy.
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Granted, his numbers were down from his junior season, but Rivers underwent preseason surgery to remove bone chips in his left ankle, an injury that caused him to miss a game and that became a topic of conversation with more than one team at the annual NFL scouting combine.
Rivers called the injury "a freak thing," adding that it wasn't "that big of a deal," but if a club is going to invest a top 15 draft choice in the guy -- and someone will -- it wants to make sure it's not taking a risk.
Trust me, it's not. At USC's Pro Day this week, Rivers had a 42-inch vertical jump, 5½ inches higher than the next-best outside linebacker at the combine, and a 10-foot-7 long jump. He also ran 4.51 in the 40, tying Wesley Woodyard's time in February for first place.
But Rivers is as impressive to meet as he is to watch, and that might have had something to do with him being a team captain. It might have had something to do with wearing that most famous of USC jerseys, too.
"There's a (responsibility that goes with it)," said Rivers, "on and off the field -- to be a leader, to make plays and to dominate."
Sounds like a job description for the first linebacker in the draft. Keith Rivers, come on down.