DeAndre Square named top NFL Draft sleeper prospect by ESPN

Almost all of the NFL Draft talk for Kentucky this season surrounds Will Levis, but a different Wildcat is getting some well-deserved attention today. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg included DeAndre Square on his list of the top 12 NFL Draft sleeper prospects. The senior linebacker has 53 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups, and 2 quarterback hurries this season and needs only four more tackles to make Kentucky’s 300-tackle club. In the win over Mississippi State, Square had 11 tackles and the game-sealing interception, a performance that won him SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week.

Square was the No. 170 prospect in Scouts Inc.’s early NFL Draft rankings, but Rittenberg thinks he deserves more buzz. Rittenberg projects Square to go on Day 3 of the draft and spoke to Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White about his pro potential. White likened him to former Colts and Bears linebacker Jerrell Freeman, who was undersized per NFL linebacker standards but fast and incredibly versatile (Square is 6’1″, 221 lbs).

“If you’re looking for a big 240-pound inside backer, that’s not him,” White told ESPN. “He’s going to be that 220, 225 pounds, he can run, he’s savvy, he can sort blocks, he’s shown he can be violent in finishing tackles. He’s going to have to fit somebody as a Will backer.”

“He’s got great instincts and feel,” White said. “With as much Cover 3 as we play, and all the over routes, he’s able to hunt them and roll them, and that is not an easy task at any level. That’s a huge upside for him. His ability to understand and manipulate through a defense, when he gets into a system, he’s going to understand that playbook. He’s already been exposed to a variety of coverages and techniques.

“He’ll be able to execute that with confidence, where a lot of rookies and young players in [the NFL], they just came from just a Cover 3 system or only a [Cover 4] system.”

ESPN

Huge DeAndre Square fan here, so please keep bringing me these articles. We’re really going to miss him when he’s gone.