Nick Reed, DE

The heart and soul of the Ducks' defense, Reed epitomized as a player with a constant motor who refused to be outworked by the opposition and exhibited a great passion for the game. Not only did he perform at a high level on the gridiron, he also excelled in academics. He became only the second football player at Oregon to ever earn first-team All-American honors on the field (Walter Camp Foundation) and in the classroom (ESPN the Magazine), joining Steve Barnett (offensive lineman) from 1962.

Reed set the school career record with 29.5 sacks, a number that ranks fourth in Pac-10 Conference history and 10th in the NCAA major college ranks. His 51.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage also set an Oregon all-time record and placed fourth in conference annals while ranking 14th in college football history. He registered at least one sack or tackle for loss 23 of his final 26 contests.

At Trabuco Canyon High School, Reed earned All-Orange County Region honors from the Los Angeles Times and Defensive Player of the Year accolades by the Orange County Register. He garnered first-team All-CIF Southern Section, CIF Southern Section Division II co-Defensive Player of the Year and South Coast League Defensive MVP recognition.

Reed also received votes on the Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West balloting. He was credited with 65 tackles, 10 sacks (third in the league) and two fumble recoveries as a senior.

As a true freshman, Reed appeared in 11 games as a reserve left defensive end. He collected five solo tackles with a sack and three stops behind the line of scrimmage. He also excelled on special teams, blocking a punt vs. Arizona State that he advanced 27 yards to set up an Oregon scoring drive.

In 2006, injuries on the defensive front wall thrust Reed into the starting lineup at right defensive end for the team's final 10 contests. He ranked fourth on the team with 30 tackles (15 solos), adding 3.5 sacks and six stops behind the line of scrimmage. He also blocked an extra point vs. Washington State. At the conclusion of the season, he was named to the Academic All-Pac 10 Conference team.

Reed was the major reason Oregon led the nation in tackles for loss in 2007. The All-American second-team and All-Pac 10 Conference first-team choice also added Academic All-American honors. He started all 13 games at left end, leading the conference in both sacks and tackles for loss. His 12 sacks ranked ninth nationally while his 22.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage ranked fifth in the NCAA. He recorded 60 tackles (30 solos) and recovered a fumble.

After establishing himself as one of the elite pass rushers in the country in 2007, Reed proved in 2008 that his junior season was no fluke. He was named All-American and Academic All-American and was a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award (nation's top defensive end) for the second consecutive year. The All-Pac 10 Conference first-team pick again led the league and ranked fourth nationally with 13 sacks. His 20.0 stops for loss placed him tied for eighth in the NCAA, as he also led the country with five fumble recoveries. He posted 53 tackles (35 solos) and caused two fumbles.

Positives: Strong up top with adequate lower-body strength. … Draws chips and double teams regularly due to his high motor. … Uses his stout build to play with leverage at the point, although he does not hold his ground against helping guards. … Effective spin move inside or outside when man-up. … Uses his hands well at the point, able to punch or rip off his man or avoid running back blocks when he has the space to do it. … Varies his attack inside and outside so blockers don't zero in on one move. … Hustles toward the quarterback, downfield and chases down the line. … Lines up on both sides of the line. … Plays on coverage units.

Negatives: Short for an edge rusher, and has little muscle definition. … Lacks the explosiveness off the snap of other undersized NFL ends. … Gets engulfed by larger offensive tackles. … Can not recover from a wide rush, allowing the quarterback to step up in the pocket. … Sacks often come against lesser tackles and when quarterback holds the ball too long. … Wears down in the fourth quarter against stronger linemen. … May be moved to linebacker, but does not have to the flexibility and change of direction agility to handle coverage responsibilities. … Gets in position to make plays in space, but lacks the quickness to finish against NFL-type backs and receivers.

Compares To: PARYS HARALSON, San Francisco -- It took a few years for Haralson to acclimate to playing linebacker before emerging last season, and Reed brings the same qualities to the table. At worst, he will be an efficient edge rusher and special teams coverage defender early in his NFL career, but there is just something about him that says he has "it" to put together a pretty decent pro career, whether in the middle (his ability to react to the play and recognize blocking schemes) or at the strong-side (to take advantage of his pass rushing skills). The trick is getting him experience in pass coverage before a team can trust him as an every-down player, but he is the type of guy that can grow with a patient team, later in the draft.

GENERAL REPORT: GRADE-6.12

Body Structure: Reed lacks the frame you look for in a defensive end, but for a possible move to linebacker he has a short, compact frame with adequate musculature definition. His biggest physical drawback is his size. As a linebacker, he shows long arms, tight waist and good lower body thickness, but is by far not a physical specimen.

Athletic Ability: Reed is an athletic mover with good speed for a rush end, showing adequate agility and change of direction skills. He has good balance and body control working down the line and manages to play on his feet, even when knocked around by the bigger offensive linemen. GRADE: 5.7

Football Sense: Reed is a smart, heady player who learns football well and plays with valid instincts. He will bust on occasion, but is a minimal reps type that will have no problem dealing with the mental aspect of the game. GRADE: 6.4

Character: Reed is a good program player, clean off the field and active within the community. He comes from a split, but very supportive family. He is mature for his age and football is very important to him. He takes a strong business-like approach to everything that he does. GRADE: 6.3

Competitiveness: Reed plays with steady effort and good intensity from the snap until the whistle on every play. He improved his stamina during the 2008 offseason, but there are still times when he will run out of gas late in games. He is the type that if he is headed in the right direction, he will generally close on the pocket. He plays with a high motor and has a nice array of moves (especially the spin) to slip and avoid blocks on the move. He really hustles to the ball and his ability to explode off the edge will see him stunt from both ends of the line. GRADE: 6.0

Work Habits: Reed is not a rah-rah type of player, but is a responsible team leader who will not hesitate to get vocal in the huddle, if needed. He prefers to lead by example and to that end he will usually be the first guy in to any team function or meeting. He shows good focus in the training room, in practices and in games. GRADE: 6.2

ATHLETIC REPORT: GRADE: 6.11

Key and Diagnostic Skills: Reed is an active, intuitive player with good field instincts in finding the ball, especially on running plays. He is a quick reactor who might blow an assignment, but will work hard to get back into the play. He shows good ability to read hats when working down the line and while he will get tied up if an offensive lineman latches on, he knows how to vary his speed and moves so a blocker doesn't fell confident they can contain him. GRADE: 6.4

Playing Strength and Explosion: Reed has good upper body strength and a strong hand punch, but lacks the lower body power to split double teams or anchor well vs. the bigger blockers. He will get engulfed when trying to work the inside gaps, but when he keeps his hands active he can stuff and shed playing the rush lanes. He is good at slipping and avoiding blocks, but if tagged by the lineman the battle is over. He is effective taking on the lead block to stuff the hole, making him a possible better fit as an inside linebacker in a 3-4 alignment. He just needs to avoid bigger blockers, as they usually tie him up at the Xs. GRADE: 5.9

Lateral Pursuit/Range: Reed shows a very quick spin move that he uses regularly to gain penetration. He slides behind the line efficiently working through trash, but when he gets pushed out taking a wide rush he lacks the speed to recover. He generally plays with good leverage and does a pretty decent job of scraping downhill for a player his size. He just knows how to play to the flow of the ball and that is why he was used often on stunts and games. When he stays low in his pads, he has good success getting through traffic to make the play. GRADE: 6.2

Use of Hands: Reed does not use his hands well in rare times he had to cover a tight end. He can adequately use them to ward off smaller blockers, but his punch is not going to put an offensive lineman on the ground. He has the reach to separate, but if a lineman gets a piece of his jersey, he struggles to shed. He has better upper body strength than in his lower frame and when he gets a hand on the ball carrier, he does an effective job to wrap and secure. GRADE: 5.5

Tackling Ability: Reed has good rip moves to play off blocks and chase down ball carriers along the edge. He scrapes hard to the hole on inside runs and plays with leverage on the lead blocker, but will get "out-bigged" by a down lineman, lacking the anchor to prevent from being put on his rump. He is not much of an explosive striker, but will wrap and secure if he is able to get position first. He will miss in space when he fails to come to balance. He can make plays by taking a chance, but runs more of a risk of getting cut off or coming up short, as he does not do a great job of protecting his legs from low blocks. GRADE: 5.8

Run Defense: Reed needs to be on the move to be effective here. He can scrape to the hole and clog up the lead blocker, but bigger men toss him around. He generally has good balance working outside the box, taking proper angles with a decent short-area burst to get to the ball. He seems to have a good sense for where the ball is going, but because of his size he runs under blocks with mixed results. He shows marginal hand usage to shed blockers in the trenches, limiting him to making plays vs. the run from the outside more effective. Even there, he does not always come under control to wrap and take down. GRADE: 5.5

Pass Defense: This is still an area that should be considered a work in progress, as it is rare to see him handle pass coverage assignments, except for a few plays here and there on short-area routes by the ball carrier and tight end. He gives up some height to the bigger tight ends and does not show great leaping ability or timing to high point the ball (just two pass breakups in 50 games). He does show some awareness and moving skills to disrupt the passing lanes and discourage throws, though. He has enough speed to cover backs out of the backfield, but he does appear a little tight in his turning motion when coming out of his breaks. GRADE: 5.6

Pass Rush and Blitz: Reed is quick and aggressive coming off the edge. He has a good array of rush moves and knows how to vary his speed to get the offensive lineman off balance. He stunts quite a bit and has had decent success slipping under blocks when attacking through the inside gaps. He shows good timing and burst to close on the pocket and is active with his feet to avoid and spin away from blockers on the move. He will hit or bounce the QB with leverage, keeping balance to finish the play. What separates him from most is the way he can easily anticipate the snap, compensating for having just good speed by getting off the line just a fraction of a second before the blocker can position. When he finds the rush lane, he has the burst to flush out and pressure the quarterback and a move to middle linebacker could be beneficial, as he can bring the heat on the blitz. GRADE: 8.0

Compares To: PARYS HARALSON, San Francisco -- It took a few years for Haralson to acclimate to playing linebacker before emerging last season, and Reed brings the same qualities to the table. At worst, he will be an efficient edge rusher and special teams coverage defender early in his NFL career, but there is just something about him that says he has "it" to put together a pretty decent pro career, whether in the middle (his ability to react to the play and recognize blocking schemes) or at the strong-side (to take advantage of his pass rushing skills). The trick is getting him experience in pass coverage before a team can trust him as an every-down player, but he is the type of guy that can grow with a patient team, later in the draft.

OVERALL GRADE: 6.11

--Report by Dave-Te' Thomas

Reed started 36 of 50 games at Oregon, recording 148 tackles (85 solos) with 17 quarterback pressures, six fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and two pass breakups … Blocked a punt that he advanced 27 yards and also blocked an extra-point attempt … Registered 29.5 sacks for minus 210 yards, breaking the old school career record of 29.0 sacks by Ernest Jones (1990-93) … Those 29.5 sacks placed him fifth in the Pac-10 Conference ranks behind Tedy Bruschi of Arizona (52.0, 1991-95), Terrell Suggs of Arizona State (44.0, 2000-02), Dave Ball of UCLA (30.5, 2000-03) and Lawrence Jackson of Southern California (30.5, 2004-07) … That total also placed him 10th on the NCAA career record list … Registered a school career record 51.5 stops for losses totaling 263 yards, topping the old Oregon mark of 48.0 stops by Devan Long (2002-05) … That total was surpassed only by Suggs (65.5), Kenechi Udeze of Southern California (53.0, 2001-03) and Jackson (52.0) on the conference all-time record chart and also rank tied for 14th in NCAA annals … His 12.0 sacks in 2007 rank third and his 13.0 sacks in 2008 tied the school single-season record that was first set by Ernest Jones in 1993 … His 22.5 stops for loss in 2007 rank second and his 20.0 tackles behind the line of scrimmage rank fourth on the school single-season record chart behind Kevin Mitchell (23.0 in 2001) … Registered at least a sack or tackle for loss in 23 of his final 26 games.

All-American first-team selection by the Walter Camp Foundation, adding second-team honors from The NFL Draft Report and third-team accolades from the Associated Press …

Academic All-American first-team pick by ESPN, becoming just the second player in school history to receive first-team All-American honors on the field and classroom in the same season, joining offensive lineman Steve Barnett (1962) … All-Pac 10 Conference first-team choice and Academic All-Pac 10 selection … The two-time first-team Academic All-American and Draddy Award semifinalist led the country in fumble recoveries, ranked fourth (tie) nationally (first in the Pac-10) in quarterback sacks, and tied for eighth in tackles for loss … The team's ninth-leading tackler not only was awarded the Morris Trophy as the Pac-10's top defensive lineman, he was voted by his teammates as the Ducks' Most Outstanding Player … One of eight semifinalists for the Lott Trophy (nation's defensive impact player of the year) and one of six finalists for the Ted Hendricks Award (college football's top defensive end) … Started all thirteen games at right defensive end, recording 53 tackles (35 solos) with thirteen sacks for minus 83 yards, 20.0 stops for losses of 104 yards and twelve quarterback pressures … Recovered five fumbles, caused two others and deflected a pair of passes … Had at least one sack or tackle for loss in twelve games (all but the Arizona State clash).

Washington … Reed opened the season with a pair of pressures, assisting on a stop behind the line of scrimmage while delivering nine tackles (6 solos) … Head to Head Competition: OT#79-Ben Ossai (6:06-300).

Utah State … The senior pass rusher followed with just two tackles, but both were behind the line of scrimmage, including an 8-yard sack of QB Sean Setzer … Head to Head Competition: OT#52-Spencer Johnson (6:05-283).

Purdue … Reed took down QB Curtis Painter for a pair of sacks that totaled 10 yards among his three solo tackles … Head to Head Competition: OT#74-Sean Sester (6:07-325).

Boise State … The senior defensive end was credited with three pressures, three tackles and two stops behind the line of scrimmage that included a 3-yard sack of QB Kellen Moore … 72-Matt Slater (6:07-263).

Washington State … Reed followed with two more stops for losses of 17 yards and a pair of pressures, as he also sacked QB Marshall Lobbesteal for minus 11 yards … Head to Head Competition: OT#66-Reed Lesuma (6;03-302).

Southern California … Reed had only two tackles, but one was good for an 8-yard sack of QB Mark Sanchez … Head to Head Competition: OT#71-Charles Brown (6:06-290).

UCLA … Reed delivered two of the team's six sacks of QB Kevin Craft, totaling losses of 8 yards while also making eight tackles … Head to Head Competition: OT#73-Micah Kia (6:06-298).

California … The Oregon defender posted five tackles with a pressure and sacked QB Nate Longshore for a 5-yard loss, causing one of three fumbles he registered in the game on that sack … Head to Head Competition: OT#79-Mike Tepper (6:07-321).

Stanford … Reed delivered 1.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage among his eight tackles (6 solos) … Head to Head Competition: OT#67-Allen Smith (6:04-292).

Arizona … Reed's 7-yard sack of QB Willie Tuitama caused a fumble, as he also had five tackles (4 solos) with a pair of pressures … Head to Head Competition: OT#77-Eben Britton (6:06-310).

Oregon State … Reed simply wreaked havoc in the OSU backfield to propel the Ducks to a 65-38 victory … All three of his tackles resulted in sacks for losses of 23 yards on QB Jeremiah Masoli, causing a fumble on one of those drops … Head to Head Competition:

OT#66-Andy Levitre (6:03-324).

Oklahoma State (Holiday Bowl) … Assisted in a stop behind the line of scrimmage, as he closed out his career with three tackles … Head to Head Competition: OT#76-Russell Okung (6:05-300).

All-American second-team selection by Sports Illustrated … Finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award … All-Pacific-10 Conference first-team choice and Walter Camp Football Foundation national player of the week (vs. Washington State) … Named to ESPN's Academic All-American team … Started all thirteen games at left defensive end, leading the team's down linemen with 60 tackles (30 solos), in addition to pacing the league in tackles for loss (third nationally) with 22.5 for losses of 115 yards and quarterback sacks (ninth in the nation), registering twelve sacks for minus 101 yards … Had three quarterback pressures and a fumble recovery … Produced at least one sack or tackle for loss in eleven contests.

Opened the season with an 11-yard sack of QB Case Keenum vs. Houston and stopped tailback Mike Hart twice behind the line of scrimmage while coming up with five tackles in a 39-7 upset win over Michigan … Sacked QB Tom Brandstater for minus 5 yards vs. Fresno State and collected a 4-yard sack of QB Tavita Pritchard in the Stanford clash … Was in on a season-high eleven tackles (6 solos), as he recorded 1.5 sacks for minus 44 yards and five stops behind the line of scrimmage vs. Washington State … Added 3.5 sacks for minus 25 yards and matched his season-high with eleven tackles (5 solos) in a 35-23 defeat of Arizona State … Registered two more sacks among his three stops for minus 10 yards and six tackles (4 solos) vs. UCLA … Tallied nine tackles (5 solos) with a stop for a loss and two pressures vs. Oregon State.

Academic All-Pac 10 Conference second-team choice … Reed opened the season as a reserve, taking over right defensive end duties for the final ten games … Recorded 30 tackles (15 solos) with 3.5 sacks for minus 18 yards, six stops for losses of 31 yards and two pressures … Also blocked an extra point attempt.

Posted five stops in the regular-season finale at Oregon State in addition to contributing four in the Las Vegas Bowl vs. Brigham Young … Scored tackles for loss vs. Stanford, UCLA, Portland State, Arizona, Oregon State and BYU, which included sacks vs. Stanford, Portland State and Brigham Young … Also blocked a PAT at Washington State in addition to receiving the team's top weekly defensive accolades following his final two regular season games of the year vs. Arizona and Oregon State.

Reed saw action in 11 games, playing behind Devan Long at left defensive end … Made five solo tackles, including an 8-yard sack vs. Stanford … Blocked a punt vs. Arizona State that he advanced 27 yards to set up an Oregon scoring drive … Made two tackles with a stop behind the line of scrimmage vs. Montana … Had another stop for loss in the Oregon contest.

No major injuries reported.

Campus: 4.71 in the 40-yard dash … 1.59 10-yard dash … 2.72 20-yard dash … 4.28 20-yard shuttle … 12.02 60-yard shuttle … 6.96 three-cone drill … 31.5-inch vertical jump … 9'0" broad jump … Bench pressed 225 pounds 24 times … 32-inch arm length … 9 1/8-inch hands.

Combine: Did not receive an invitation.

Attended Trabuco Canyon (Mission Viejo, Cal.) High School, playing football for head coach Bob Johnson … Earned All-Orange County Region honors from the Los Angeles Times and Defensive Player of the Year accolades by the Orange County Register … First-team All-CIF Southern Section, CIF Southern Section Division II co-Defensive Player of the Year and South Coast League Defensive MVP … Also received votes on the Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West balloting … Credited with 65 tackles, 10 sacks (third in the league) and two fumble recoveries as a senior.

Graduated in December, 2008 with a degree in History … Son of Kathy Reed (stepfather, Pat McLoughlin) and Bill Reed (stepmother, Theresa Reed) … Born Nicholas Matthew Reed on 9/01/87 in Oakland, California … Resides in Trabuco Canyon, California.