Update from the Miami Herald on who Miami interviewed at the combine and some other news.

"We are reporting here the Dolphins interviewed Florida ILB Brandon Spikes, nose tackle Cam Thomas, outside linebacker Ricky Sapp, ILB Micah Johnson, and Georgia Tech DE Derrick Morgan since we last reported interviews on Saturday."

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins ... mbine.html

All defense, all big needs .. this FO certainly knows what we need and looks to be covering all their bases in this upcoming draft. I keep saying it - this is year 3 of the project, I'm expecting big things.

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I don't like Spikes at all, although I fear Parcells will fall in love with his nastiness.

Morgan won't be able to translate to 34 OLB, so I wouldn't waste too much time interviewing and working him out. He just isn't quick enough.

Micah Johnson is my boy.......benched 31 reps today.....31!! just 5 less than Jake Long. The guy is the truth.

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I haven't seen much on Micah Johnson but i hear he will be a sleeper due to his knee injury. Do you know how many years he started at ILB? What type of Defense was he in at Kentucky? I like his measurables but I really don't know more than that.

He was the starting MLB at Kentucky throughout his career there, but started to hit his stride in his junior season.

Kentucky runs the 43 D, from what I know. But he has the body type to play 34 ILB. He's Rolando McClain from a body standpoint, but he has more speed and athleticism. McClain and Micah would be an unbelievable combination as you would have the run stuffer, and the playmaker.

I didn't watch a ton of Kentucky football either, and I don't know nearly as much about him as try to lead on;p. But I do know enough to know that he is a 1st round talent, and if we could get in late Day 2, or Day 3.....Wow.

This year's Jasper Brinkley except better.

Whoopidee doo... Gholston had an amazing combine... how'd that turn out??

Gettin excited over reps is pointless.

One thing that you do need to play 34 ILB, more so than 34 OLB, is the ability to shed guards and center's blocks, or at least hold that gap.

34 reps* tells me that he can just that, and that is huge considering he played in a 43 D in college, meaning he us not used to playing in a more condensed space.

Benching 34 reps does not mean you can shed blockers...

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It's a pretty good indicator that with the right technique, you should be able to hold that gap.

Kentucky played a 4-3 scheme with Micah Johnson being the ILB. He had 285 career tackles in 49 games, 23.5 tackles for loss, 9 PBU, 3.5 sacks and 2 interceptions.

Apparently his knee was well enough to run at the combine, but he ran a 4.99, so hopefully with a little more time for his knee to get better, his time will be better, but that definitely probably keeps him in the mid to lower rounds.

He is most definitely a legitimate ILB thumper fully capable of taking on isolations and inside run plays. He is probably more of a 2 down player.

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I disagree Tony. I think he can be a 3 down LB. That 4.99 is not indicitive of how fast he is. There's no way Bruce Campbell or Trent Williams could beat him in a race. Lol.

But I think he has the coverage skills to play on 3rd down as well.

His Pro Day will be what either makes or breaks his draft stock. I don't think he is 100% right now.

So bench pressing tells you that a guy definitely can shed blockers, while running a race (which measures nothing but speed) is not indicative of how fast someone is?
You, sir, are quite the trip.

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I've seen Micah up close enough here at UK to shake his hand. The dude is huge. Not mammoth huge. But thick huge. The dude is a wall. And he can hit.

I'd like to have him. His 40 time was pretty slow, but he has an injury from his bowl game. We'll see if he can do better at his pro day. I wonder if it's open to the public.

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A good RB is nice, a good QB even better, but it's best to be able to stop someone first.

You're close. Micah shared starting time in his freshman year. He generally came in during the second half. It wasn't as much RB/RW kind of sharing time as it was Kurt Warner/Matt Leinart kind of sharing time (when they ran it a few years ago). The guy he shared time with during his freshman year moved to OLB the next season.

UK runs a 4-3, but that doesn't mean anything.

I don't know about the more speed and athleticism than McClain. He definitely has both, especially for a huge ILB, and I agree that he could easily fit the 3-4 defense. He can hit, and he can move.

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A good RB is nice, a good QB even better, but it's best to be able to stop someone first.

E:leaf....how are his coverage skills?

From what I've seen, he shows good instincts and good ability to read the QB's eyes when covering out in the middle of the field.

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Not sure about his coverage skills. But, from everything I've seen of him in the run game. Shedding blocks is absolutely NO problem for Johnson. The guy is super athletic. When that knee gets better, he should be on par with the rest of the upper echelon ILB's of this class.

And as for him being build like McClain.. McClain is a beast and all.. but he is a bit taller and lankier.. then Micah Johnson who is just fricken shredded and thick.

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Well it seems everybody is in agreement.

Get Micah!! Like I said, the guy is the truth.