SB Nation - Mike Pouncey

PHOTO: Lockout Forces Pouncey To Plank Pouncey

Jason Kirk — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:00:43 -0000

Former Florida Gators Maurkice Pouncey and Mike Pouncey:

NFL Draft 2011: Florida's Mike Pouncey To Attend Draft

Steve Slowinski — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:29:08 -0000

The NFL Draft isn't just a draft: it's a five-ring circus. It's dragged out over the course of three days (Thursday through Saturday), and there is a huge list of scheduled media events the entire time. It takes place in the ritzy Radio City Music Hall, and it's covered by news outlets like the sports equivalent of the British Royal Wedding. That might be a bit of a hyperbolic comparison, but not by much.

So yes, with this article we're only helping to feed the mass media frenzy surrounding the draft. But while most local coverage has been focused on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their first-round selection, there's another local Florida story that's been largely neglected: Mike Pouncey.

Pouncey is a local player who went to high school in Lakeland and college at the University of Florida. He played this past season as Florida's center, but he has past experience at guard and he's worked this off season to show teams he can play both positions. He's currently the best football prospect in Florida, and he's widely considered one of the best center/guard prospects in the upcoming draft. He'll probably be a late first round selection, with mock drafts placing him as high as 15th and as low as 27th.

Mike Pouncey will attend the first round in person on Thursday night, and here's hoping he goes high and gets a nice signing bonus. As a local player, it's tough to root against him.

Mike Pouncey's Xtreem Snapping For Science

Jason Kirk — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 16:00:49 -0000

Florida Gators OL Mike Pouncey starred in one of those SportScience spots by ESPN, which is sadly bereft of snap-botch humor. Remember when the Atlanta Falcons were widely mock-drafted both this Pouncey and the previous Pouncey before everybody decided the team should pick every defensive end and Sean Weatherspoon, respectively?

2011 NFL Mock Draft: Steelers Could Target Cornerbacks, Offensive Linemen

Charlie Wilmoth — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:00:37 -0000

SB Nation's Steelers blog, Behind The Steel Curtain, has an absolutely epic mock draft for you to check out - here are the first three rounds, and here are rounds four through seven. They've got the Steelers taking Temple DT Muhammad Wilkerson but suggest that the Steelers could pick from a whole range of targets:

So just to recap, the top targets for the Steelers in the first round of the 2011 draft will be (in no particular order) Wisconsin OT Gabe Carimi, Florida OG Mike Pouncey, OSU DE Cameron Heyward, Miami CB Brandon Harris, Colorado CB Jimmy Smith, and Baylor NT Phil Taylor. And of course I'm not counting those players who the Steelers have no chance of getting such as Patrick Peterson, Prince Amukamara, and Cameron Jordan.

After that, they have the Steelers taking cornerbacks in rounds two and four and an offensive lineman in round three. Interestingly, they have the Steelers taking Pitt running back Dion Lewis in the fifth round, which would be kind of cool:

While at first glance the Steelers appear to be set at RB with Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac "Red zone" Redman they still lack a dependable pass-catching option on third down. Mewelde Moore used to fill that void but he's a 29 year old free agent and didn't look at that good last year. Dion Lewis is compact yet powerful with soft hands and enough strength to be an effective pass-blocker.

In case you're curious, BTSC has Blaine Gabbert, Marcell Dareus and Cam Newton going with the first three overall picks.

NFL Mock Draft 2011: Could Steelers Pick Ben Ijalana?

Charlie Wilmoth — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:21:32 -0000

SBNation.com's latest NFL Mock Draft has the Steelers taking Villanova tackle Ben Ijalana with the 31st overall pick:

A post-season injury has prevented Ijalana from working out, allowing him to stay squarely under the radar. He has the look of a potentially dominant guard, with the athleticism to play tackle - and the Steelers need line depth badly.

The offensive linemen SB Nation has going off the board before that are Tyron Smith (No. 13), Anthony Castonzo (No. 19), Nate Solder (No. 23), Gabe Carimi (No. 26), Mike Pouncey (No. 27) and Derek Sherrod (No. 29). That's most of the big names. Who the Steelers end up taking might depend on who's available at what positions when they pick. Cornerback looks like it might be a more pressing need; the corners SB Nation has going in the first round are Patrick Peterson (No. 3), Prince Amukamara (No. 7) and Jimmy Smith (No. 25).

Quarterback Cam Newton is the top overall pick. Pitt receiver Jon Baldwin, who a month or two ago appeared in many first-round mock drafts, is nowhere to be found here.

NFL Mock Draft: Ben Ijalana To The Steelers?

Charlie Wilmoth — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 20:56:35 -0000

FanHouse had the fun idea of doing an NFL mock draft and then bringing in Jon Dove of Mocking The Draft to grade it. There are a lot of familiar names at the top (Auburn's Nick Fairley is at No. 1, and there seems to be increasing consensus that he'll be the top pick). Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller, who has been racing up draft boards recently, goes to the Bills at No. 3, but Dove prefers to see Buffalo pick Alabama's Marcell Dareus there. Cam Newton goes to the Redskins at No. 10.

Further down, Florida offensive lineman Mike Pouncey goes to the Seahawks at No. 25, while Pitt's Jon Baldwin goes to the Patriots at No. 28. FanHouse has the Steelers picking a new name, Villanova tackle Ben Ijalana:

The Steelers need help at several spots along the offensive line, and Ijalana is versatile enough to fit at tackle or guard.

Here's a scouting report. Ijalana might be a bit of a reach at the end of the first round, but that could change this week, as we'll learn more about him at the NFL Scouting Combine. He doesn't come from a big-time program, so whoever drafts him will have to trust their scouting evaluation.

2011 NFL Mock Draft: Little Agreement At The Top

Charlie Wilmoth — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:35:15 -0000

Today's NFL mock drafts by SB Nation and by Rob Rang and Chad Reuter at CBS Sports show that while there isn't much agreement at the top, there is some agreement about what the Steelers will do. SB Nation has Auburn's Nick Fairley at the top, followed by LSU's Patrick Peterson and Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert; Rang has Peterson at the top, followed by Fairley and Alabama's Marcell Dareus; and Reuter has Auburn's Cam Newton going to the Carolina Panthers first overall, followed by Clemson's Da'Quan Bowers, and then Peterson. Newton hasn't usually been at the first pick in mock drafts, but he might start appearing there more often as the draft approaches.

The three mock drafters have the Steelers picking different players, but they're all names we've heard connected to the Steelers before. One is Florida offensive lineman Mike Pouncey, brother of Maurkice Pouncey. Another is Mississippi State offensive lineman Derek Sherrod. The third is Texas cornerback Aaron Williams. Any of the three would be good values at the Steelers' draft position, and all would address needs. The SB Nation draft has both Pouncey and Williams available when the Steelers pick, and if turns out that the Steelers do get their choice of either of them, it will be interesting to see which direction they go.

2011 NFL Draft: Penn State's Evan Royster, Stefen Wisniewski To Attend Scouting Combine

Charlie Wilmoth — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:05:52 -0000

Penn State running back Evan Royster and offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski will participate in the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis later this month.

Wisniewski occasionally crops up as a potential first-rounder in NFL mock drafts, but less often than several other offensive linemen, such as Derek Sherrod, Nate Solder, Anthony Castonzo, Tyron Smith, Mike Pouncey and a couple others. If he's drafted in the first round, it'll probably be near the end, but the second round is probably more likely.

What will happen to Royster is a little less clear, despite his status as Penn State's all-time leading rusher. He's coming off two seasons that were somewhat disappointing compared to his breakout sophomore year. NFL Draft Scout projects he'll be a fifth-rounder. Mocking The Draft ranks him the 25th-best running back prospect in the draft. It wouldn't be a shock to see Royster go anywhere from the fourth round to not being drafted at all. A good combine could help him, however.

2011 NFL Mock Draft: Steelers Connected To Mike Pouncey

Charlie Wilmoth — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 18:09:12 -0000

SBNation.com's latest mock draft has the Steelers taking Florida offensive lineman Mike Pouncey, the brother of current Steelers offensive lineman Maurkice Pouncey. This isn't the first time someone has thought to connect the Steelers to another Pouncey, and for good reason: the Steelers need offensive line help badly, and their current issues there would be a lot worse if not for the addition of Mike Pouncey's twin brother. The mock suggests that Mike would be the third offensive lineman selected in the draft, behind Mississippi State's Derek Sherrod at No. 23 and Boston College's Anthony Castonzo at No. 27, which sounds about right.

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck goes No. 1 overall in the mock draft, as is expected. The mock also has Pitt wide receiver Jon Baldwin going at No. 22 overall, to the Kansas City Chiefs:

Dwayne Bowe has been several kinds of awesome this season, but he'll be a free agent following the 2011 season, and he's the only receiver opponents need to pay attention to. Baldwin has excellent natural talent.

2011 NFL Mock Draft: Should Steelers Take An Offensive Lineman?

Charlie Wilmoth — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 22:01:55 -0000

Two new mock drafts at CBS Sports suggest two potential paths for the Steelers. Pittsburgh needs as many fat guys as possible, as my brother Sam just put it - as much talent as possible on the offensive and defensive lines. (Cornerbacks and safeties are also concerns.) Rob Rang's mock has the Steelers taking USC tackle Tyron Smith with the 27th overall pick. With all the struggles the offensive line has had this year, the Steelers will certainly be thinking about an offensive lineman, and other offensive line possibilities include Mississippi State's Derek Sherrod, Wisconsin's Gabe Carimi, Boston College's Anthony Castonzo, Arkansas' DeMarcus Love, and Maurkice Pouncey's brother Mike Pouncey.

Another possibility would be for the Steelers to grab a defensive end to go with Ziggy Hood, since Brett Keisel and Aaron Smith are older and injury-prone. Chad Reuter's mock has the Steelers taking Ohio State's Cameron Heyward. The same mock has the Ravens taking Penn State center Stefen Wisniewski with the 29th overall pick.