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Coming out of high school, Neblett was one of the best players in the state of New Jersey earning All-Country accolades in all four of his years at Rahway high school. Why then would such a high profile player end up choosing a program in Temple that had just come off of a winless season in 2005 and had fired their head coach? Neblett was a very poor student in high school and received very few offers from top collegiate football programs. Just three years later he was proud to finish a semester with a 3.5 GPA, a testament to the work ethic and maturity of Neblett. But off the field is not the only place where Andre Neblett impresses.
"He has an incredible work ethic and he's really been a leader. Over the course of these four years, he has epitomized what we want players to grow and develop into. He went from being somebody who needed a lot of support and direction to self-reliant and empowered. I can't say enough about him."
- Temple head coach Al Golden speaking of Andre Neblett
On the field, Neblett became the only player in Temple's history to be named to the All-MAC team in three consecutive seasons. For 3 years, Andre Neblett acted as Terrance Knighton's counterpart on a defensive line that was the highlight of a team that struggled to find victories.
Unfortunately for Neblett he will automatically be compared to Knighton and it is clear that he's not the player that Knighton is. He's about 3 inches shorter and 30 pounds lighter. He's just as fast as Knighton, but isn't as strong. Neblett averaged 40 tackles a year in his final years, while Knighton averaged 55. With all of these factors, Neblett may have the body closer resembling a 3-4 nose tackle than a 4-3 tackle.
The knock on both players coming out is that their competition in the MAC is weak, but with the successes of Knighton in his rookie year those doubts might be erased in the eyes of NFL scouts. Many might feel that the success that Neblett found in his years as an Owl could be due to the success of Knighton next to him, but Neblett played just as well as always and earned defensive MVP honors despite having sophomore DT Muhammad Wilkerson beside him.
Similar to Knighton, Neblett has seen his draft stock rise as a result of a strong showing at the Texas vs. The Nation game. Here is what NFL.com draft guru, Mike Mayock had to say about Neblett:
DT Andre Neblett (6-foot, 295) caught my eye at the Texas vs. The Nation game college football all-star game. He is very quick with a good motor, and ran a 5.0-second 40 with a 30-inch vertical jump.
Andre Neblett: By the Numbers
| Andre Neblett | |||||
|
Position 1: Defensive Tackle |
Height: 6'0 | ||||
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Position 2: N/A |
Weight: 295 | ||||
| Class: Senior | Age: 21 | ||||
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Projected Round: 6th-UDFA |
40time: 5.00 |
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1st Team All-MAC 2009
2nd Team All-MAC 2007, 2008
Stats Overview
Tackles
Misc
Interceptions
YEAR
TOT
SOLO
AST
SACK
STF
STFY
FF
BK
INT
YDS
AVG
LNG
TD
PD
2006
18
4
14
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
2007
42
18
24
4
0
0
2
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
2008
36
17
19
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
2009
41
25
16
1
0
0
1
0
1
14
14.0
14
0
0
According to the Experts
Pros
Durable, hard-worker who is among the most experienced nose guards in the draft. Occupies alot of space and able to keep linemen off his linebackers. A solid run-stopper with decent strength and ability to get upfield (5.5 TFLs in 2009) and get tackles in the backfield.
Cons
No sacks in 2009 suggesting his mobility and speed are not at the elite level needed in the NFL. Sometimes does not use leverage properly and keep shoulders low.
Neblett displays above-average flexibility and initial quickness off the snap. He does a nice job keeping his shoulder down when shooting gaps inside and then fighting his way through blocks when working into the backfield.... (follow the link above for the rest of the report)