Draft Preview: Ndamukong Suh

We are taking a look at some of the key players of the upcoming NFL Draft and one of the more compelling men whose name will be called in the first round is name that many people might not know how to pronounce.

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (pronounced En-dom-ah-ken Soo) became one of the Big 12’s most dominant defensive players during his junior season.  And with his senior season at the University of Nebraska he became an absolute terror to quarterbacks like Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford.

Ndamukong’s mother hails from Jamaica and his father from Cameroon. They lived in Portland, Oregon, when Ndamukong was born and his name in the Ngema tribe in Cameroon means “House of Spears.”

Suh looks to be one of the top defensive players drafted next month in the NFL and some speculate he could be the top pick overall for the Rams.  ESPN’s draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. even went so far as to describe Suh as “maybe the most dominating defensive tackle I’ve seen in 32 years.”

Wherever the talented player lands he will no doubt make an immediate impact.  After four years of playing for the University of Nebraska Suh was able to tally up a number of impressive awards including the Lombardi Award, the Outland Trophy Award, and the Bronko Nagurski Award. He also finished fourth in the 2009 Heisman voting.

Suh attended Grant High School in Portland, Oregon, where he earned Parade All-America honors and was voted the 2004 Portland Interscholastic League Defensive Player of the Year and the state Class 4A Defensive Player of the Year.

As a freshman at Nebraska in 2005, Suh played 2 games before injuring his knee and received a medical redshirt. His 2006 year was a strong comeback as Suh played 14 games as a backup defensive lineman and earned freshman all-conference honors from The Sporting News. Suh’s sophomore year in 2007 saw him take the field for the Cornhuskers for 11 starts, producing four games with four or more tackles.

It was his junior year that Suh broke into the spotlight and was the first Nebraska defensive lineman to lead the team in tackles since 1973, and his 76 total tackles were the most by a Husker lineman since 1992. He also tallied 7.5 sacks.

He exploded for a career game against Kansas, finishing with 12 total tackles, including five solo stops. He had 2.5 sacks for 18 yards in losses and four tackles for loss totaling 19 yards. His 12 tackles were the most by a defensive lineman in three seasons while the 2.5 sacks were the most by any Husker since 2003 and the four tackles for loss were the most by an NU defender in 38 games

Suh made five tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack at Kansas State, then capped the regular season with three tackles and the crucial touchdown against Colorado. He closed his season in style in the Gator Bowl victory over Clemson. Suh made eight total tackles, including six solo stops. He tied his career high with four tackles for loss and had two sacks for 19 yards.

Suh also blocked a second-quarter Tiger field-goal attempt, his second blocked kick of 2008. [via]

Suh overall has the combination of size, skills and competitiveness to make NFL scouts drool. He is big man who is tough enough to hold down the middle yet has the quickness to move over to defensive end if he winds up in a 3-4 system.