NFL scouts think they know him, but they're wrong.....
Mkristo Bruce, Defensive End, Washington State
WHAT NFL SCOUTS ARE SAYING
SI.COM: Positives: Hard-working leader of the Washington State defense with marginal upside for the next level. Quick off the snap, plays with good lean and exploits immobile blockers. Works his hands to get off blocks, quickly alters his angle of attack and makes plays.
Negatives: Possesses only a short-area burst of speed, which he cannot sustain. Easily knocked from his angle of attack, cannot get off blocks and controlled at the point by opponents.
Analysis: Productive collegiate player, Bruce has potential as a two-gap defensive lineman once he physically matures. Practice-squad material with the attitude necessary to make it.
NFL.COM: Overview: Washington State's aggressive scheme has produced several statistical monsters over the past decade. Bruce looks the part physically and racks up plenty of production, but is a bit of a product of the system and will be drafted considerably lower than his size or statistics would seem to warrant. He led the Cougars with 11.0 sacks and 16 tackles for loss in 2006. At the East-West Shrine Game in Houston, he displayed a good burst off the edge in practice, but wasn't able to turn that into an impressive performance in the game itself.
Positives: Productive collegiate defensive end who has improved throughout his career ... Has rare size for the position ... Better pass rusher than he is a natural football player ... Gets an advantage on the offensive tackle and can capitalize with good short-area quickness and strength in his tackling.
Negatives: Lacks quickness off the snap and acceleration around the offensive tackle ... Isn't explosive and makes too many plays down the field ... Despite size, Bruce isn't a particularly physical defender and can be knocked off the line of scrimmage.
PROBABLY GETTING DRAFTED
A second-day pick, if at all.
GUY WHO WATCHED HIM FOUR YEARS SAYS
Removing all semblance of blind homer-ism, it's hard to fully detail how valuable Mkristo Bruce was to WSU. He was more than just the nearly 30 career sacks, good for third all-time in school history, or the All-Conference honors. His numbers fell off over the second half of 2006, as he suffered a severely bruised knee that limited his quickness, but also, the WSU defensive line was decimated by injuries at an unprecedented rate, to the extent that the defense switched to a 3-4 scheme, allowing teams to double-team Bruce almost exclusively. However, we was the definition of team first, a true team leader in every sense. And most of all, the thing he brings to the table that is more than just his 40-time or vertical leap or whatever else, is a high-revving motor that just never, ever quits.
Two plays will always stand out in my mind about Bruce. The first one was when he was a redshirt frosh, and he was a backup defensive end for the whole season. In the 2003 Holiday Bowl, the Cougars were starting to take control vs. Texas in the second half, and had the Longhorns backed up against their own end zone. WSU put Bruce in the game, and he made an immediate impact, harassing QB Chance Mock into a wild throw that was nearly picked off but was dropped by WSU safety Erik Coleman. But the next play I'll never forget. Bruce came off the line so hard and beat the Texas tackle so badly with an inside move, that all the lineman could do was reach out and grab him with one arm. But it wasn't enough, as the offensive guard also did the same thing, just reaching out to grab him. Bruce was actually held by two Texas offensive lineman at the same time, drawing a double-holding penalty in the end zone, and by rule a safety. But if that wasn't enough, Bruce still kept fighting on the play and actually flushed Mock out of the pocket again, breaking out of the double-hold, and forcing an incompletion up the sideline. Just an amazing display of big-play ability.
The other play was 2006 vs. UCLA. It was still a tight game in the 3rd quarter, when Bruce had UCLA QB Patrick Cowan all but sacked, but somehow Cowan got away and hit RB Chris Markey in the flat. Markey then proceeded to spin and juke his way down the sideline, and for a moment it looked like he could take it all the way. But thirty yards down the field, out of nowhere comes #94 flying into the screen to make the tackle. The guy missed on the sack, but instead of hanging his head and giving up, what does he do? He never, ever quits on the play and ends up making a big tackle. If he hadn't arrived on the scene, maybe Markey takes it to the house and UCLA could have pulled that game out. Instead, the Cougars put away the Bruins late, but without Bruce, it could have been a completely different story.
While he may be a day-two pick, or he may even be an undrafted free-agent, I really believe that whoever lands Bruce will get themselves a high-character, never say die player that all teams would love to have.
