A vastly underrated talent with excellent speed, Black found a home at New Mexico playing linebacker after beginning his career as a defensive end at Harper College. He wreaked havoc on the opposition's passing game while playing the safety/linebacker hybrid Lobo position which was made famous at UNM by All-American Brian Urlacher in 1998 and '99.

Black earned All-Public League honors as a senior at Kenwood High School. He added All-Conference honors as a sophomore and junior. He recorded 224 tackles and 17 sacks in his career. He collected 89 tackles with nine sacks as a senior and produced 87 tackles and six sacks during his junior year. He was also a three-year letterman on the basketball court, earning third-team All-Public League honors.

Black enrolled at Harper College in 2002, but did not play football. He started all 11 games at defensive end, earning second-team All-American, All-Region and All-State accolades in 2003. He set the school freshman season record with 16 ½ sacks and 28 ½ stops for losses while producing 88 tackles (47 solos).

A late addition to the New Mexico football team before the 2004 season opener, Black appeared in 12 games as a reserve outside linebacker. He finished his first season with the Lobos by totaling 18 tackles (11 solos) and a forced fumble.

Black started 10 of 11 games in 2005 for the Lobos, coming off the bench against Colorado State after missing most of the week's practices to attend his grandfather's funeral. He ranked third on the team with 63 tackles (29 solos) and was credited with 1 ½ sacks and 3 ½ stops for losses. He also deflected five passes and picked off another that he returned for a touchdown.

The first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection had a banner final season for the Lobos. Black led the team with a career-high 114 tackles (57 solos), adding one stop for a loss and a forced fumble. He batted away four passes and intercepted three others, returning one for a touchdown.

In 36 games at New Mexico, Black started 23 contests. He finished his Lobos career with 195 tackles (97 solos), 1 ½ sacks for minus-16 yards, 4 ½ stops for losses of 25 yards and five quarterback pressures. He caused two fumbles and deflected nine passes. He also gained 169 yards with two touchdowns on four interception returns (42.3 avg).

Positives: Has an athletic, angular build with a thick chest, broad shoulders and good muscle definition in his arms and legs, tight hips and waist and good strength for a possible position switch to safety … Runs with a quick stride, showing good flexibility and knee bend in his pass drops … Has the lateral quickness and range to make plays on the move and does a good job of flipping his hips to turn and come out of his breaks cleanly … Closes on the ball with good urgency, showing decent field awareness to make checks and adjustments … Accelerates quickly to the run alleys, but is better served playing on the edge where he can use his quickness to zero in on the ball (lacks the power to shed blocks when playing vs. the inside run) … Mirrors receivers' moves in the short area and refuses to allow any underneath cushion … Showed good improvement using his hands to reroute the tight ends and backs in man coverage, utilizing his long arms to reach around the receiver to get his hands on the ball … Does a nice job shuffling his feet working down the line and it is rare to see him take false steps when moving to the ball … Settles in nicely dropping off in the zone, handling the switch-off with ease … Springs into his tackles and is very active staying in the receiver's face … Has the range and catch-up speed to quickly recover when beaten on deep routes, doing a good job of scanning the field and keeping eye contact on the quarterback when working in the zone … Adjusts smoothly to the ball in flight, timing his leaps and extending outside the frame to look the ball in … Alert to the receivers in his area and breaks sharply out of his backpedal … Catches with his hands properly extended and has school-record leaping ability (42 inches) competing for the jump ball … Very good blitzer (rarely used though), as few linemen have the feet or retreat agility to mirror his moves once he gets past the line of scrimmage … Has a good feel for taking proper angles to the ball and has the closing speed needed to keep plays in front of him … Can get to the edge to chase down the ball carrier and has the plant-and-drive agility to close down the cutback lanes.

Negatives: Has to get more active in run support (tends to shy away from inside contact, making him a better secondary fit than one who can play inside the box at the next level) … Will get engulfed by the lineman trying to plug the inside rush lanes and lacks good hand punch in attempts to shed blocks … Good at rerouting the receiver, but needs to use his hands with more force in attempts to reroute … His good weight room strength fails to translate to the football field, as he needs to strike with more force and extend his arms better in attempts to free himself when working in trash … Does not take well to hard coaching and needs to be monitored in the training room (does what is asked, nothing more) … Has a good-looking frame, but plays too passive at times, and with his physique he should be blowing people up rather than making arm tackles … Drag-down type of tackler who gets a little reckless in his play and is prone to out-running the action … Must improve his anchor, as teams capitalized when they ran the ball directly at him … More of a blitzer who lacks any type of pass rush moves to be consistent attacking the pocket off the edge.

Compares To: Michael Boley, Atlanta … Teams like Black as a weakside linebacker, but he doesn't show the strength to shed blocks at that position and seems to be better suited playing on the move or in the secondary, where his marginal skills against the run won't be exposed. He has excellent closing speed and the ability to close from the backside, but he fails to use his hands to protect his body and is too slow to disengage. He gets good depth in his pass drops and is able to flip his hips and turn cleanly out of his breaks.

2005: Missed most of the second half of the Nevada-Las Vegas game (Sept. 5) with dehydration.

Campus: 4.7 in the 40-yard dash … 335-pound bench press … 415-pound squat … 352-pound power clean … School-record 42-inch vertical jump … 31 7/8-inch arm length … 10 3/4-inch hands … Right-handed … 20/26 Wonderlic score.

Combine: 4.45 in the 40-yard dash … 1.53 10-yard dash … 2.62 20-yard dash … 41 ½-inch vertical jump … 10-foot-4 broad jump … 4.34 20-yard shuttle … 11.23 60-yard shuttle … 6.86 three-cone drill … Bench pressed 225 pounds 24 times.

Attended Kenwood (Chicago, Ill.) High School, playing football for head coach Kevin Murray … Earned All-Public League honors as a senior … Added All-Conference honors as a sophomore and junior … Recorded 224 tackles and 17 sacks in his career … Collected 89 tackles with nine sacks as a senior and produced 87 tackles and six sacks during his junior year … Three-year letterman on the basketball court, earning third-team All-Public League honors.

Graduated in December 2006 with a degree in University Studies … Born Quincy Booker Black on Feb. 28, 1984 in Chicago.