College Football Recruiting 2013: How Robert Nkemdiche Compares to Past DEs

Robert Nkemdiche may be the most physically college-ready prospect to come out since DJ Williams of De La Salle in 2000. 6'5" and nearly 270 pounds, Nkemdiche is a man amongst boys at the high school level and will be a stud in college.

As a long-time recruiting fan, I keep comparing Nkemdiche to past studs we've seen at the DE position over the past few years. So to keep it recent and in short perspective, I want to put Nkemdiche against three elite DE prospects we've seen in the last couple of recruiting cycles: Jadeveon Clowney, Mario Edwards and Noah Spence.

The question is: How does Nkemdiche compare to these three recent elite DE prospects?

Nkemdiche vs. Noah Spence

When you look at these two, the first thing you notice is the contrast in frames. Nkemdiche is a thickly built guy in the 270 range, while Spence is more toward 240.

Spence tops out in the 6'4" range while Nkemdiche is nearly 6'5", so he's bigger and more imposing. Spence may get the edge in snap quickness and length to stay clean, as his arms allow him to stay free when rushing.

Nkemdiche gets the nod in strength and power. Both guys are also capable of standing up as OLB/rush end types in a 3-4, but I think Spence is a tad more fluid in space if asked to drop in coverage.

On a same team, I'd put Spence as my RDE (weak) and Nkemdiche as my LDE (strong side).

Nkemdiche vs. Mario Edwards

Edwards is the one out of the opposing prospects on this list who could match up with Nkemdiche pound for pound, as he is 6'4" and 297 pounds.

However, I still think Nkemdiche has more functional play strength than Edwards does. Edwards is not a weakling by any means, but Nkemdiche may still be more powerful.

Edwards probably would be the better interior pass-rusher, as his size allows him to deal with guards, while still using good quickness and athleticism to maneuver around them. This is actually a tougher call to make than originally thought.

On the same team I'd actually move Edwards inside to the 3-technique spot and have him line up opposite sides with Nkemdiche, who would be at DE.  

Nkemdiche vs. Jadeveon Clowney

Clowney was the No. 1 overall prospect in the country in 2011 and graded out extremely high for me when I looked at him. He's 6'6", weighed over 250 pounds and is an excellent athlete.

I think the advantage Nkemdiche has on Clowney (the prep prospect in 2011, not so much the Clowney now at South Carolina) is strength. Nkemdiche has the power and anchor ability to dig, stop and stack vs. the run and the ability to toss blockers aside to shed/escape and make tackles.

Clowney is longer, leaner and a bit more agile than Nkemdiche. Think of Clowney as more of an athletic DE, while Nkemdiche is the guy with the more power and strength.

Don't get me wrong, Nkemdiche is an outstanding athlete, but Clowney may have the edge in change of direction and agility. 

Conclusion

All are tough calls, but I think Nkemdiche is the most complete player out of the bunch. It's a bit of a surprise for me, but he is.

He's stronger than Spence and Clowney were at this point and is just a hair more athletic than Edwards is. While Edwards can play DE and DT, Spence is strictly an edge defender.

Clowney can stand up as a 3-4 OLB type and play DT in sub packages, but he's at his best on the edge going forward. Nkemdiche can do it all, full time.

Whether you see him as a traditional DE, growing into a DT inside or standing up as an OLB in a 30-front, he can do it full time, not in pinches. Robert Nkemdiche is the most complete DE prospect to come out in memory.