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Sidbury is our highest rated small college prospect. He leads our Dirty Dozen List of the top 12 Small College Pro Prospects that will be available in our Update Online Book this week.

Photo - DE/LB Lawrence Sidbury

Lawrence Sidbury #2 - 6’2” 265 lbs. - Richmond - Sp. 4.65
Hindu Theory - Shaun Phillips
Quick relentless senior defensive end has performed well over his small college career, playing a key role in the UR national title last fall. Lawrence is a quick twitch player who gets the most out of his good athleticism and projects to both end and outside linebacker in the NFL. He earned CAA first-team honors over his final two seasons, as one of the more dominant defenders at the lower level. He is fast on the snap to gain a quick advantage over blockers and wins many matchups with relentless effort. As a pass rusher, he comes out of his stance quickly with a strong fast hand punch that jars a blocker and uses his very long reach to keep blockers off his body. He has a sudden burst of speed that allows him to get his shoulder pass a blocker and bend the edge. He flattens out nicely with the burst of speed to finish with big plays. He has fine hand technique that allows him to counter quickly, though he needs development on his footwork and hand use to separate better and more consistently. He has the speed to pursue and makes plays from the backside. In run support, he struggles to play well at the POT and needs to get stronger and better as a technician. He is a high motor undersized end that plays with a lot of intensity, instincts and fine work ethic. He played both at end and up at linebacker in the Spiders defense with impact ability at each position. Despite a top motor, his lack of bulk and size causes him to get bounced around at times at the POT and washed out too often. He may need to rotate in a 4-3 set until he proves capable of playing the run better when directed at him. He can get worn down late in the game vs the run and needs to add bulk before being ready for fulltime duty. He has good change of direction skills with the flexibility and agility to redirect and make plays in space. In space, he is usually under of control and has keeps his feet underneath him to move toward the ball. He needs to be more consistent in his use of leverage and learn more moves for rushing the passer, other than trying to just beat the blocker off the snap with quickness. During his senior year, he started every game and finished the regular season with 11.5 sacks including 4 sacks in the national title victory over Montana. That performance earned him first team CAA honors for the 2nd time and several invites to the major All Star events. As a junior, he started 13 games and totaled 48 tackles, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 PBU including 3 TFL and 4.5 sacks that earned him 1st team CAA honors. Over his career, he started 30 contests and was a two time CAA honoree while recording 145 tackles, 38 TFL, 21sacks, 4 FF and 2 FR. At the combine, he ran 4.55 and 4.56 times, had a 35” VJ, a 10’ BJ and did 28 reps in the lifting. He had decent times in the agility drills to complete a good overall workout. He is the type who best fits an end position in a 4-3 scheme, though undersized and needs to lineup on the weakside. He needs to read plays and blocks quicker with film work development to improve his instincts. He also needs to develop better hand usage playing off blocks in close quarters that would help him to stay more active along the line. He has the athleticism to move to a 3-4 linebacker, but faces a tough learning curve there that will delay early contribution. He needs to show he can drop in coverage and matchup with backs or tight ends. He probably needs a creative coach like Rex Ryan or Bill Belichick to find a niche for him in their front seven as a flexible situational role defender like the Chargers Shaun Phillips. He is the type with good athleticism and toughness, but with ‘tweener size that needs to settle into the proper pro position. Top 100 grade but may fall beyond that in the draft. Clubs like the Ravens, Cardinals and Dolphins interested. Playmaker needs right setting, but he can rush the passer and has a relentless attitude to become a major surprise within a short time.