James Laurinaitis Earns Starting Position

According to many, James Laurinaitis was drafted to be the starting middle linebacker of the St. Louis Rams this season. Today is their first preseason game and he is fulfilling that prophecy by starting the game in the Mike spot.
Congrats to James! He will continue to work hard, and Rams fans will not be [...]

Some Draft Notes & Quotes

Scoured the net a little to find out a little more about James’ draft day and thoughts. Found some interesting stuff!
The Rams were trying to trade up to get James. They were convinced that Detroit was going to take him with the 33rd overall pick. They didn’t, and the rest is history!
Also, the Rams were [...]

James Laurinaitis is a Ram

With the 3rd (35th overall) pick in the Second round, the St. Louis Rams selected James Laurinaitis.
He was the 3rd Buckeye drafted (following Malcolm Jenkins, 14 and Beanie Wells, 31) in today’s draft. And immediately after James, the Cleveland Browns made a pick and chose Brian Robiskie. Great day for the Buckeyes!
I spent my college [...]

James Has Upcoming NFL Workouts

As is customary in the weeks/months leading up to the draft, James is lining up workouts with various NFL teams.
According to The Morning Journal, he’s keeping quiet on the majority of his suitors, but has already mentioned that the Cleveland Browns have called and would like to work him out.
Laurinaitis said he has been invited [...]

James Improves 40 Time at Pro Day

At the NFL Combine last month, James posted 40 yd Dash times of 4.80 and 4.81. Wanting to improve upon those times, James reportedly ran in the 4.6 – 4.7 range today at Ohio State’s Pro Day, which was attended by numerous NFL scouts.
ETA: Watch a video of James talking about his performance today (Official [...]

Monday Combine Update

Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that James posted unofficial 40 yd dash times of 4.80 and 4.81.
His 3-cone Drill time was 6.93, which was the 3rd best of the linebackers. And in the 20 yd Shuttle, he finished in 4.24.
Fellow Buckeye Marcus Freeman is also posting very impressive numbers. Check out the NFL Network’s [...]

Quick Combine Update

The linebackers did the bench press today and James completed 22 reps (video). Good friend, and fellow Buckeye, Marcus Freeman, tied for second overall with 30.
Linebackers take center stage tomorrow.

James Speaks with Media at NFL Combine

James met with the media today at the combine. Here are some snippets from his time at the podium:
On where he projects at the next level:
“I feel like I can play in both systems. I think I can handle all three positions in the 4-3 and both inside positions in the 3-4.”
On his preference for [...]

More Pre-Combine Draft Projections

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a short article up on where James projects in the draft as of today. Will be interested to see how/if this changes after the combine.
In brief:
Pro Football Weekly – No. 14 to New Orleans
NFL.com – No. 17 to New York Jets
Scout.com – No. 20 to Detroit
National Football Post – [...]

Scout.com 2009 Mock Draft

Scout.com has posted its 2009 Mock Draft, written by analyst Chris Steuber.
In it, he predicts that the Detroit Lions will select James with the 20th pick of the ’09 draft (acquired from Dallas).