Illini’s Liuget talented DT
Even though offensive line is a greater need, the Bears would have to think long and hard about passing on Illini defensive tackle Corey Liuget if he’s still on the board when their No. 29 pick rolls around on April 28. He would be a logical replacement for Tommie Harris at the 3-technique tackle.
But most draft analysts predict Liuget will be claimed by then, leaving the Bears with the option of taking the best offensive lineman available or the next best defensive tackle after Liuget. There are several very good 3-technique types who could be available and probably would help the Bears’ D-line immediately, including Iowa’s Christian Ballard, Oregon State’s Stephen Paea and North Carolina’s Marvin Austin.
Here’s the problem: Those three would all be a bit of a reach at No. 29, but they likely will all be gone by the time the Bears get to pick again at No. 62.
Trading down a few spots from No. 29 and moving up several spots from No. 62 might enable them to get a starting-caliber offensive lineman and a replacement for Harris. But that’s easier said than done.
Paea didn’t play football until his senior year of high school after emigrating from Tonga, an archipelago in the South Pacific. Until then he had dreamed of becoming a professional rugby player, like many of the top Australian and New Zealand stars who also hail from Tonga, where it is the No. 1 sport.
“But once I went to the United State,” Paea said, “I wanted to change that and have the same mindset toward football.”
Despite his late start, the 6-foot-1½, 303-pound Paea (pronounced pie-uh) shared the Morris Trophy in 2009, which goes to the top defensive lineman in the Pac-10 conference. Last season he was the Pac-10 defensive MVP.
But, what really put Paea on the radar was his bench-press performance at the Scouting Combine in late February. He cranked out 49 reps at 225 pounds, shattering the all-time record of 45.
But Paea is not just a weight-lifter playing football. He’s a football who happens to be freakishly strong.
He is, “Sudden, athletic and powerful,” according to Nolan Nawrocki in Pro Football Weekly’s Draft Preview. “Flashes hand strength and quickness to stack defenders and win one-on-one battles. … Has excellent speed and movement skills for a 300-pounder.”
All of that translates into an effective 3-technique tackle in the Bears’ defense, a player who can do some of the disruptive things Tommie Harris did in his prime.
There is a long list of players who have put up impressive bench-press numbers at the Combine and fizzled in the NFL, but to Paea, his weight lifting prowess translates to his stamina on the field.
“When you’re tired in the fourth quarter, and you’re punching your hands into the tackle in the trenches, (stamina) is very important,” he said. “My mindset is past 30 (reps), then you’re ready for the fourth quarter.”
Paea believes his background in rugby, with its lengthy scrums, constant motion, and requisite strength and endurance, has helped make him the football player he has become.
“I’m able to stay low, and you need a lot of energy for rugby,” he said. “You’re running at a specific way and a specific time. You could also say the same in football. If you’re in the middle (of a 16-man scrum), you’re getting crushed from all the force behind you. You’ve got to be strong in there. Rugby is a game in the trenches.”