2012 NFL Draft Prospect Watch: Vontaze Burflict, LB, Arizona State

Vontaze Burfict is a scary man. Known for his propensity to get yellow hankies thrown in his direction, the middle linebacker for the Arizona St. Sun Devils is on the fast track to the league.

Now a junior, Burfict was regarded as the top linebacker in the class of 2009 coming out of Centennial High School in Corona, California.

His mean streak was well known in his younger years, as he was racking up tackles, sacks and pressuring the quarterback from a young age. He is now leading the Sun Devils defence, and when he is not having personal fouls called against him for unnecessary roughness, he is striking fear into the heart of his opponents. 

However, his enthusiasm has come back to hurt his team on several occasions, with untimely penalties forcing the team to play with their backs up against the wall. He was even benched early in his sophomore season for taking an excessive amount of penalties.

>> @edsbs: Whatever, man. You hire a demo man like Vontaze, sometimes he blows up the wrong building.

This past weekend Burfict once again shot his team in the foot when he took a penalty for hitting Oregon’s David Paulson after he was already out of bounds. It was a chance for the Sun Devils to pull off a big upset in Eugene, and he did everything he could to prevent his team from capturing the victory.

He doesn’t go out of his way to make friends either, as he took offense to USC’s Matt Barkley referring to him as a dirty player in the lead up to this years ASU-USC game. The two have a dislike for each other that traces back to their prep days, and Burfict got into Barkley’s head on this occasion, as the Sun Devils walked to a 43-22 victory, including a pick six by Vontaze.

>> @EvilVontaze7: Apologies. I was busy bathing in the tears of Lane Kiffin. Off to fall asleep to the sobs of Matt Barkley

Burfict originally committed to play for USC, but a change of heart brought him to Arizona St. on National Signing Day. After managing to qualify academically, he stepped right into the starting lineup and starting making an impact with 69 tackles and a pair of sacks in his freshman season.

Vontaze has the perfect build for a middle linebacker at the next level, coming in at 6-foot-3 and 250-pounds, he has all of the physical tools needed to have a lengthy career in the NFL. If he is able to channel his intensity in a productive manner, and refrain from doing damage to his team with useless penalties, then he could be the next Ray Lewis or Patrick Willis.

The top linebacker in the class of 2012, along with Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o, Burfict will likely blow scouts away with his physical tools at the combine. Teams want a certain sense of madness from their inside backers, and this man brings just that to the table. He could find himself in the top ten if all goes according to plan, and if he refrains from attacking any front office personnel while visiting prospective teams.

>> 49er16: Chuck Norris searches under his bed for Vontaze Burflict.

At this pace, it would be hard to blame Chuck. Or any of the league’s quarterbacks in 2012.

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