Moon: Bears will land DT, Austin in the spotlight

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Posted: 10:17 a.m.
By John Mullin
CSNChicago.com

Draft noodling on final approach.

JMarcus Webbs thoughts after being honored as the 41st Brian Piccolo Award winner were the stuff of character, which is ultimately a big part of why teammates vote for the particular honorees. A respect for what came before him, a sense of what it means to be an inspiration to othersthose came through eloquently from the rookie tackle who wasnt drafted until the seventh round, yet emerged as a starter on the offensive line, one of the more difficult jobs to secure as a rookie.

JMarcus also was candid, in a quality sort of way, telling me about his hope that hell get a good shot at playing left tackle. He wasnt exactly lobbying, just being refreshingly honest about a position preference, something players sometimes are reluctant to do out of deference to the fact that its always the coaches decision ultimately.

But left tackle was the position he played primarily at West Texas A&M and I feel really comfortable there, he said, so well see.

The reality is that the Bears will draft an offensive lineman, more than likely with the skill set and physical traits of a tackle. If the Bears end up with, say, Nate Solder of Colorado, whos a left-tackle body (6-8-12 and a former hoopster), or Derek Sherrod from Mississippi State (6-5 and a college career LT), Webbs future likely lies on the right side.

If the draft breaks such that the Bears add Baylor strongman Danny Watkins, a right-tackle type who can play guard, Webbs plane to the left side will be boarding.

Consider it a draft stunner if the Bears do not land a defensive tackle with one of their first two picks. Some measure of spotlight continues to fall on Marvin Austin, who had some success at North Carolina but was suspended for all of the 2010 season.

It is still difficult to get a grip on the idea that the Bears, a touchdown from reaching a Super Bowl, would invest a No. 1 or even a No. 2 pick on a player with any questions, particularly given the Tank Johnson episode and how mercurial Tommie Harris became in the closing years here.

But Austin is nothing if not intriguing, and he doesnt shrink from issues. The fact that he said at the Combine that he didnt regret anything was a bit of a jaw-dropper. But Austin will weigh in pretty articulately on matters like whether the NCAA, which suspended him for taking things like free trips, should in fact be giving players a stipend of some sort.

Thats an extremely hard question to answer, because you do get a scholarship, you do get certain privileges that some other non athletes get, Austin says. But at the same time its extremely hard, for me, being a 300-pound guy, to eat lunch and its only 10. That doesnt go very far with inflation and its still the same since like 1997.

So I think theres ways it can be improved and I think that some of the things that the NCAA is doing are good. Just like I said, going through the situation and seeing how some of these situations happened, the NCAA, they have a decent handle on it but there can be room for reform.

John "Moon" Mullin is CSNChicago.com's Bears Insider, and appears regularly on Bears Postgame Live and Chicago Tribune Live. Follow Moon on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Bears information.

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