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GENERAL REPORT: GRADE: 5.86
Body Structure: Irvin has a wide frame with good thickness and well-developed thighs. He carries his weight well, but is a little soft in the midsection. Most of his solid bulk is in his upper body. He has a great wingspan and large hands to use when trying to separate from blockers.
Athletic Ability: Irvin has good timed speed, but does not show the suddenness of lateral movement needed to work down the line. He moves well going forward, but can't be considered explosive with his initial step. He shows decent agility and balance, but at times he appears slow in attempts to accelerate and has just adequate change of direction skills. He is better when working in-line, as he struggles to redirect or slide laterally down the line. GRADE: 5.7
Football Sense: Irvin is a good player who learns football well on and off the field. He is be capable of handling the mental side of the game, but just lacks production for his efforts. This is mostly due to his late start coming off the snap rather than poor recognition skills. GRADE: 5.5
Character: Irvin is a quiet individual who leads by example. He served as one of the team's captains as a senior and has been called one of the team's more dependable people by the coaching staff. GRADE: 6.3
Competitiveness: Irvin has decent toughness, but needs to be more aggressive. He won't give up on a play, showing good hustle, but is not the type to run long distances to make the play. It might look like he is cruising at times, as he does not play with consistent aggressiveness. GRADE: 5.6
Work Habits: Irvin shows good work habits on and off the field and the weight room. He is a pleasant sort in the locker room, and is known as a leader. He has a good work ethic, but could dedicate more hours in the film room. He is accountable and plays with good self motivation. GRADE: 6.2
GENERAL REPORT. GRADE: 5.59
Explosion/Pursuit: Irvin has good short-area quickness off the ball, but it is more of a straight-line burst, as he needs to show better lateral range. He has only average reactions, but must display better aggression and does not seem to be in a real hurry to get to the play when working down the line. He is not a quick twitch type coming off the snap and does not show the quickness needed to get on the edge of blockers. He is best working in-line, as he does not have the sudden quickness to make plays on the move. GRADE: 5.3
Strength at Point: Irvin has the tools to be effective with his hand punch, but when he plays too high he does not have the lower body strength to stall the double team. He has the strength to win battles at the line of scrimmage, but is still learning how to use his long wingspan to keep blockers away from his body. He needs to learn to shed consistently, but is combative coming out of his stance. He must improve his hand usage to get a better shed and stack, but he plays with leverage, stays square and has the leg drive and base to prevent blockers from positioning him when he keeps his pad level down. GRADE: 6.1
Use of Hands: Irvin has just adequate hand usage. He shows strength to shock and jolt, but does not use them to his advantage. He exposes his body coming off the snap and does not extend well to maintain separation, but will use his strength to throw and jerk the offensive linemen. He has the power behind his punch to stun, but appears to try to coast around blocks rather than power through them. GRADE: 5.5
Lateral Pursuit/Effort: Irvin has marginal lateral quickness and really struggles with his change of direction. He has a decent short-area burst, but fails to keep his feet on the move (gets narrow in his base) and is not the type to make plays sideline to sideline. GRADE: 5.0
Tackling Ability: Irvin is an adequate tackler with good strength to wrap up and hold on. He is not going to stone people on every play, but will face up and strike well when combating in tight areas. Working in-line, he stays up on his feet well with good balance, although he will get cut down when he does not use his hands to avoid low blocks. Against plays directed right in front of him, he can deliver enough explosiveness behind his hits to punish and drive ball carriers back. GRADE: 5.5
Run Defense: When he maintains a wide base and keeps his pads down, Irvin plays with leverage and strength. He is better as a sit-&-read type than one who plays on the move. He just seems to have problems clearing his feet when moving laterally, for even with his long arms he is susceptible to the low blocks. He needs to roll his hips better working down the line, but flashes decent two-gap tools - however, only when he keeps his feet moving and tries to muscle through blocks rather than take a wide loop to avoid. GRADE: 6.0
Pass Rush: Irvin is able to push and power his way upfield and penetrate through gaps, but his feet seem to die when he has to give long pursuit. He is the type that prefers to draw double-team attention, as this frees up a teammate to make the play. He is tough to handle one-on-one, showing decent rip, hump, club and counter moves, but does not have the acceleration needed to flush out the quarterback. If he hunkers down in his pads, he can push the pocket and create a good surge through the inside gaps. GRADE: 5.8
Closing on the QB: Irvin does not use it often, but he has enough straight-line short-area burst to close. He just needs to show more aggression and use his strength better to power through blocks to create pocket pressure. The school drastically padded his pressure totals the last two years (claimed he had 31, but the NCAA office verified it at eight). He seems to fade away when chasing down the ball carrier on the edge. He is more of a stay at home type than one that can pressure of close the deal on the quarterback. GRADE: 5.3
Instincts/Recognition: Irvin has a good feel for block pressure, but needs to protect his legs and chest better. He seems to know where blockers are coming from and reacts well to fight off pressure, but you'd just wish he had more speed to find the ball and more aggression shooting his hands. He is good at getting gap control, but does not quickly cross face or react to what develops on his side. GRADE: 5.8
Compares To: ROCKY BERNARD, New York Giants -- Irvin has good athleticism and a great wingspan, but he has limited production at both levels of college competition. He can create problems coming off a single block, but he lacks great lateral agility to chase down plays in space. He is more of a bull rusher than one who can get an edge off a tackle. He uses his hands with force, but is not a quick engage-and-shed type. He needs to show more aggression in his play, but might not be anything more than a rotation player than a starter.
OVERALL GRADE: 5.64
--Report by Dave-Te' Thomas
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