Sep 19, 2015; University Park, PA, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights quarterback Chris Laviano (5) is pressured by Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Carl Nassib (95) in the second quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Carl Nassib does everything the old-fashioned way—he earns it.
been dominating college football. He’s been doing so since the beginning of the season and he’s just starting to get notice. The 6’6″, 270-pounder wasn’t highly recruited out of high school and walked on at the Penn State to earn a scholarship. And from there, he would have to earn his playing time as it wasn’t given to him right away.
After not playing his first two years, Nassib played in 10 games as a red-shirt sophomore, recording 12 tackles and a sack. As a junior he appeared in all 13 games and had seven tackles and one sack. He became a starter for the first time this year and reaching 10 sacks in only six games to start the year didn’t get him any love from the scouting media.
The most of the draft boards still had him in the 5-6 round range for the 2016 NFL Draft. So Nassib kept keeping on and his one sack on Saturday in a 39-0 win over Illinois gave him 14.5 for the year. Now, he’s just a half sack shy of tying the Penn State single season sack mark of 15 held by Larry Kubin and Michael Haynes, and one away from breaking it.
And of course, that’s the kind of production that’s putting the scouting world on notice. It’s not all about stats when evaluating talent in the NFL world but the type of traits you have that give them reason to predict a great future in the NFL for you. Nassib has that too with his size, especially his long arms, his get-off on the snap, power and tremendous closing speed.
He’s even athletic enough to drop into coverage when needed but of course, getting after the quarterback is what he does. He also plays the run well, using his arm length not to let offensive lineman into his chest. Supposed No. 1 prospect Joey Bosa is a little more powerful than Nassib but Nassib is more athletic and showing that he’s a better pass-rusher.
And looking at all the draft boards out there, you can see that he is earning their attention.