Brian Price is a defensive tackle for the UCLA Bruins. He is undoubtedly one of the premier defensive tackles in the nation entering the draft this year. When you look at the top five 43Defensive Tackles; Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, Brian Price, Jared Odrick, and Tyson Alualu, You almost have to put Price as number three. He is explosive off the line and uses his hands extremely well. There's a lot to like about Brian Price if you're running a 4-3 Defense.
As a freshman in 2007, Price was an instant impact to the Bruins defense. He played in the last ten games and started the last five just to illustrate how effective he was at that stage in his collegiate career. The coaching staff just could not let talent like that sit on the bench.
In 2008, Price would play in every single game. The Bruin Tackle wreaked havoc on opposing offenses and morphed in to a quarterback wrecking ball. He led the team with 14 tackles for loss and sacked the quarterback 5 times. Not bad for a sophomore, eh?
In Prices Junior year, which would be his final year as a Bruin, he had the best year statistically and had developed in to quite a force in the middle of that defensive line. Price has all the makings to be successful as a pro, but it's always a tricky thing to gauge. Every year we see guys who have mounds of potential only to fall flat on their faces while others with little hope blossom in to great players. Price will be one to keep an eye on once he is officially a pro.
Below, I will provide highlights, stats, and a projection. Follow after the jump for more.
This video will showcase Price's power in the middle. He is short and gains leverage immediately following the snap in most cases. He uses his hands exceptionally to shed blockers and penetrate in to the back field to disrupt the play. This is a long video, but it gives you an idea of just what Price is going to bring in to the NFL.
AWARDS AND HONORS:
- 2007 Pac-10 All-Freshman Team
- 2008 First Team Sophomore All-American
- 2008 First Team All-Pac 10
- 2009 First Team All-Pac 10
- 2009 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year
CAREER STATS:
| Stats Overview | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||
| YEAR | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| 2007 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 35 | 25 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | 43 | 36 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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 | San Diego State | W 33-14 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/12 | @Tennessee | W 19-15 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/19 | Kansas State | W 23-9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/3 | @Stanford | L 24-16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/10 | Oregon | L 24-10 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/17 | California | L 45-26 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/24 | @Arizona | L 27-13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/31 | @Oregon State | L 26-19 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/7 | Washington | W 24-23 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/14 | @Washington State | W 43-7 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 11/21 | Arizona State | W 23-13 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11/28 | @USC | L 28-7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Postseason Game Log | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
| BOWL | OPP | RESULT | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| EagleBank BOWL | @Temple | W 30-21 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SUMMARY AND PROJECTION:
I believe that Price will find himself going in the latter half of the first round. There is a possibility that he could fall to the beginning of the second round, but it's looking more and more like he'll be hearing his name on day one, Thursday, April 22nd. If not, he will more than likely wake up the next day, have a cup of coffee, turn the television on to find out he has already been selected. Some of the likely places we could see him going is The Vikings, Saints, and Colts in the first round... and The Rams, Detroit, or the Bucs in the second. Of course he could go to a completely different team than these, but I just see those as the most likely. Price measured in at 6'1" and some change, and 303 LBS at the combine.
Possibilities -- 1st Round: Picks 20-32, 2nd Round: Picks 33-45.
For more on 100 in 100, follow the link below: