By Brad BiggsMOBILE, Ala. -- When Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon considered leaving school a year early, one person he turned to for advice was Lance Briggs.
The prospect struck up a friendship with Briggs early in school and has looked up to the Bears' five-time Pro Bowl linebacker. Turns out, Weatherspoon might have been best served leaving last year. His senior season didn't measure up to what he did as a junior, but he's here with the North team trying to prove that he's still a solid first-round draft pick.
"My favorite NFL linebacker is Lance Briggs," Weatherspoon said. "I got a chance to meet him my freshman year. He came down to Mizzou. He had a friend. I was in study hall one day and I got a chance to sit down and pick his brain and ever since then we've had a pretty good relationship.
Photo: Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon sacks Baylor's Nick Florence. (L.G. Patterson/AP)
"Last year when I thought about coming out early he was one of the guys
I consulted with," Weatherspoon said. "He's been a good friend, kind of like a big brother
to me."
Weatherspoon wound up putting on weight for his senior season and was playing at 6-1, 252 pounds. He was slower and less explosive, and he didn't make as many plays. Scouts have come seeking answers and he believes he's provided the biggest by showing up here at 241 pounds, the size he was at as a junior. His build reminds you of Briggs, and he projects as an outside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme.
"Word is my senior season wasn't as good as my junior season," said Weatherspoon, who also has experience playing inside. "I'm out here to impress scouts and show them I'm a respectable guy and a guy who really cares about football. I feel like If I go out there and do that, things will work out for me. It's a lesson. There were plays I should have made. I'm back to that weight where I played a lot better, moved a little quicker.
"I'm learning how to be more physical. In the NFL, it's all about being downhill. They want you downhill, making plays through the block, not around the block. That's the big thing right now."
Weatherspoon wound up putting on weight for his senior season and was playing at 6-1, 252 pounds. He was slower and less explosive, and he didn't make as many plays. Scouts have come seeking answers and he believes he's provided the biggest by showing up here at 241 pounds, the size he was at as a junior. His build reminds you of Briggs, and he projects as an outside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme.
"Word is my senior season wasn't as good as my junior season," said Weatherspoon, who also has experience playing inside. "I'm out here to impress scouts and show them I'm a respectable guy and a guy who really cares about football. I feel like If I go out there and do that, things will work out for me. It's a lesson. There were plays I should have made. I'm back to that weight where I played a lot better, moved a little quicker.
"I'm learning how to be more physical. In the NFL, it's all about being downhill. They want you downhill, making plays through the block, not around the block. That's the big thing right now."
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Would love to see 'Spoon on the Bears. He's a great linebacker.