The Florida Gators had one of the better defenses in the Nation this past season. One of the reason's they did, is that they benefited from a great front seven. Four out of the seven will be entering the 2010 NFL Draft in April. One of those players happens to be Carlos Dunlap. Dunlap led his team on the defensive line with 9 Sacks; his career total is 19 Sacks in less than three full seasons. One of big areas of concern that some have addressed in regards to Dunlap, is that his motor shuts down on certain plays. NFL Scouts are well aware of this problem, and if he doesn't get his stamina up on every single play, he may not last long in the NFL.
The Junior Defensive End also had off-field issues on December 1st, 2009 as the season was still in progress and was pulled over for drunk driving. On January 29th, 2009 Dunlap pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 1 year probation. The Florida star received a fine of $1000 and community service. This will certainly be a red flag for coaches when evaluating Dunlap's character off the field. NFL Team Owners, General Manager's, and Coaches are becoming less tolerant to behavior like this. It is entirely possible that this action taken by Dunlap could have very well hurt his draft stock. A combination of this incident and him "taking plays off" on certain occasions will definitely be looked at long and hard.
When Dunlap is going full speed, he is by and far one of the best prospects coming out this year. It will be up to Dunlap to turn everything around in order to have a successful NFL career.
Below, we'll take a look at some of Dunlap's highlights, his stats, honors and awards, and projections...
This video illustrates what Dunlap is capable of when he is playing hard. He is very athletic and pushes and weaves his way to the ball with the best of them. He also demonstrates his strength as he bull rushes the linemen a few times in here. He is relatively fast for a defensive end as well.
AWARDS AND HONORS:
- 2008 Second Team All-SEC
- 2009 First Team All-SEC
CAREER STATS:
| Stats Overview | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||
| YEAR | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| 2007 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 36 | 19 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | 34 | 25 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Regular Season Game Log | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
| DATE | OPP | RESULT | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| 9/5 | Charleston Southern | W 62-3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/12 | Troy | W 56-6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9/19 | Tennessee | W 23-13 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/26 | @Kentucky | W 41-7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10/10 | @LSU | W 13-3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/17 | Arkansas | W 23-20 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/24 | @Mississippi State | W 29-19 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/31 | Georgia | W 41-17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/7 | Vanderbilt | W 27-3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11/14 | @South Carolina | W 24-14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11/21 | FIU | W 62-3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11/28 | Florida State | W 37-10 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12/5 | @Alabama | L 32-13 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 2009 Postseason Game Log | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
| BOWL | OPP | RESULT | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL | Cincinnati | W 51-24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SUMMARY AND PROJECTIONS:
With everything considered, no matter where Dunlap is drafted, he has an opportunity to evolve in to one of the better defensive ends in a long time. It will be up to him (and the coaches that draft him), to prove to everyone that he can change. He is still probably a 1st round pick, but there is a small chance because of these things that he may drop in to the 2nd round... particularly if he doesn't do well at the combine.
Possibilities -- Mid-First Round to Mid-Second Round.