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Does anyone have any info on Abdul Hodge from Iowa? I saw him mentioned on several sites a couple of months ago, but now he seems to have fallen off most lists. I watched him play in the bowl game and he seemed to really bring it with kind of a squat build (reminded me a little of the Hammer). Could he be a late round sleeper to fill the middle?

Note, I also like Boomer Grigsby(any thoughts?) but there is tons written about him. Crowder would be a nice pick but hardly a sleeper.

Unless I'm mistaken, Hodge is a junior, and decided to stay in school for one more year. If I'm wrong though, I think most people see Hodge as a 3rd/4th round prospect. From the little I've seen of Hodge, he looks tough and strong, and has pretty good speed. Tuggle comparisons seem about right on.

Grigsby is looking at the 4th/5th round from what I'm seeing. Of course this will change if he runs well. I don't know much about him, other than the fact that he's a middle round talent.

I think it will be intersting to see what type of MLB of the future we go after. In Green Bay, Donatell had Nick Barnett his final year. Barnett is more a natural WLB, that has good speed and is probably better in pass coverage than as a pure run stopper. I think Barnett is miscast for the middle, and it showed a lot more this year with the injuries that the Packers sustained at DT, thus weakening the position and allowing blockers to more easily get to him.

But in San Fran, Mora had Derek Smith for so many years. Smith is a classic run stuffer type MLB, that is really only a 2-down guy. He fills holes, but isn't an active presence from sidelline to sideline like a Barnett-type player is.

If this team wants a rangy, Barnett-like MLB, then I think there best bet is to move Demorrio Williams to the middle, since he's already on the roster and has a year under his belly. If not, and the team is looking for a more "classic" type middle man that is a run stopper first, then they are best off addressing it in the draft.

I think it will also be interesting to see what player the team goes after in free agency, since I suspect they will let Duncan walk and try to replace him with some veteran player. I suspect the team will be looking for a guy that is a solid contributor on special teams, which is why I think guys like Don Davis or Keith Burns might be options because they have connections to McKay & Donatell, respectively.

After looking around, I think you are right about Hodge not declaring.

Thanks for the info.