Kevin Reddick: 5 Things You Need to Know About the North Carolina ILB

North Carolina has had a knack for creating NFL talent on the defensive side of the ball, and Kevin Reddick looks like he's next in line. Reddick had a solid career for the North Carolina Tar Heels, which culminated with an outstanding senior season.

There are some questions surrounding Reddick's desire and intensity, but if he can prove he loves the game of football, he has the tools to be an extremely talented NFL player. Here's a look at five things you need to know about Reddick. 

Background

Full Name: Kevin Reddick

Birthday: December 28, 1989

Hometown: New Bern, N.C.

High School: New Bern (NC) High School/Hargrave Military Academy

Major: Exercise and Sports Science

Year: Senior

Reddick played both offense and defense during high school. In fact, he was a better fullback than linebacker early in his high school career.

However, his senior season saw him win the Coastal Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He had college offers from North Carolina State, Virginia and Clemson, but ultimately chose to play football at North Carolina.

Statistics

Reddick was as consistent as they come throughout his four-year career for North Carolina. He started seven games during his freshman season and never slowed down from there.

His overall play improved in each of his four seasons to where he had one of the most productive seasons as a linebacker in the country as a senior.

Year	Solo Tackles	Total Tackles	Tackles for Loss	Sacks	Interceptions	Forced Fumbles
2009	27	45	5.5	0	0	0
2010	48	74	6.0	1.0	2	0
2011	39	71	6.0	1.0	0	0
2012	49	85	18.5	6.5	0	2

All statistics courtesy of sports-reference.com.

Draft Process

Measurables

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 243 lbs

Arm Length: 32.25"

Hand Size: 9.75"

Combine Results

40-yard dash: 4.72 seconds

Bench press: 23 reps

Broad jump: 113"

Pro Day results

Vertical jump: 30.5"

Reddick has great size and strength for a middle linebacker. While his speed isn't elite, he has good quickness and athleticism to make plays all over the field for an NFL team.

All combine results courtesy of NFL.com.

All pro day results courtesy of WalterFootball.com.

Interesting Facts

We briefly touched in a previous slide how Reddick played both offense and defense while in high school. However, we didn't tell you just how dominant he was at both positions while in high school.

During his junior season, Reddick had a simply phenomenal season for New Bern High School. On offense, he had 163 yards and six touchdowns as a fullback.

However, on the defense side of the ball is where he really dominated. As a junior, Reddick recorded 189 tackles, eight sacks, six forced fumbles and four blocked punts.

Observations

There is little doubt that Reddick has the overall skill set to be a playmaker in the NFL, but there are some questions about his intensity. Mike O'Conner over at nyjetsdraft.com summed up Reddick about as best as you could with only 140 characters when he said:

"

@cianaf Kevin Reddick.He's your classic playmaker as an inside 'backer, but just lacks intensity at times.

— Mike O'C (@OConnor_Jets) April 15, 2013"

ESPN's draft guru Mel Kiper, Jr. considers Reddick one of the best middle linebackers available in the 2013 NFL draft (h/t Kevin Seifert):

"

Kiper's top 5 MLBs in draft: Manti Te'o (ND), Alec Ogletree (GA), Kevin Minter (LSU), Jonathan Bostic (Fla.) Kevin Reddick (UNC). #Bears

— Kevin Seifert (@espn_nfcnblog) March 21, 2013"