Jaguars High on Linebacker

The Jaguars have been targeting this former Defensive Player of the Year ever since the Senior Bowl, and now he appears to be rising up draft boards. Find out about this undersized stud.

Scout.com’s Ed Thompson is reporting that Jaguars linebackers coach Mark Duffner was involved in a very upbeat conversation with former University of Colorado linebacker, Jordon Dizon.

Dizon is an active, undersized linebacker that stands just shy of 6'0" tall, and weighs just 225 pounds. The speedy Dizon has been clocked as low as a 4.6 in the 40 yard dash, and has one of those "motors" that make defensive players special. Scout.com has the former Hawaiian native rated as the eighth best linebacker, and former NFL scout Tom Marino has Dizon's physical abilities rating as a second to third round level.

The former Colorado Buffalo won the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2007, and was a two-time All-Big 12 selection. Dizon was an ultra-productive player despite his lack of size at Colorado, and he compares favorably to another undersized former Big 12 linebacker, Zach Thomas.

Dizon's head coach Dan Hawkins had complimentary things to say about Jordan-

"The guy has a relentless motor. We always talk about playing hard, playing smart and having fun and he does that. It is always one of those intangibles, and it is kind of hard to figure out exactly why some guys are going to work harder, whether you are a writer or a football player. Generally at the end of the day, the guys who can grind and grind hard every day are usually pretty successful."

Hawkins went on about Dizon--

"He should be the Butkus (Award) guy as well. Just his production, you look at what he has done and the schedule we have played. Again, it's easy to say we all like our own guys, but we've had a lot of (scouts) who have seen every football player in America come through here and it is pretty much a unanimous call by them that he is the best linebacker in the country."

With young linebackers Daryl Smith, Clint Ingram, and Justin Durant currently on the Jaguars roster, as well as veteran Mike Peterson, the Jaguars aren't expected to be in the market for a linebacker early in the draft. But if they stick to a true best player available philosophy, Dizon could be a steal in round three.