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NFL scouts envision Georgia ends at linebacker

INDIANAPOLIS — Quentin Moses is drawing interest at the NFL's scouting combine — as a linebacker.

Moses was considered one of the nation's top defensive end prospects as a junior at Georgia. After a sub-par senior season in which he had only four sacks, however, he has to be open to requests from those in the NFL who think he is athletic enough to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense.

"It's just something that you have to do," Moses said. "We are all trying to go out and get hired. This is a big job interview. You are interviewing for 32 companies at the same time."

The potential switch did not surprise Moses, who occasionally dropped into coverage at Georgia. Before the combine he was working out and receiving linebacking tips from Georgia Tech's KaMichael Hall and Wake Forest's Jon Abbate.

Moses is not alone in the possible position change. The Dallas Cowboys told Georgia's Charles Johnson, also a defensive end, that they wanted to see him at linebacker, too.

"There is a group of defensive ends that all kind of fit the same [category] that they are going to take after the linebackers do their drills and run us through a series of linebacker drills," Moses said. "A series of them, but not all of them."

Johnson is entering April's NFL draft after his junior season.

"Moving from a defensive end, putting your hand down, to standing up in a two-point stance is really not that different, but it's a lot different playing it in the NFL," Johnson said.

Moses wants to play defensive end but is going along with the linebacker testing.

"If coaches who have been in the game 20 or 30 years feel like I should play linebacker, then I will play linebacker," Moses said. "I feel like they know a little bit more about the game than I do."

Strength will be an issue for Moses, who briefly played basketball at Georgia and is listed as 6 feet 5, 261 pounds. In the combine's bench press, he lifted 225 pounds only 17 times, the second lowest of the two defensive lineman groups that worked out Monday. Only Florida's Jarvis Moss (16 reps) was lower.

The top lifter was N.C. State tackle Tank Tyler with 42. Johnson lifted the weight 33 times.

Moses is more of an edge rusher with good speed. In the 3-4 scheme, the outside linebackers must be versatile enough to blitz off the edge or drop into coverage.

"I feel like I've got some pretty good counter moves and a good speed rush," Moses said. "I just need to get stronger as a player, get stronger in the weight room and take that strength to the field."

Moses is not surprised that Johnson is drawing raves. The Sporting News has Johnson rated as the third-best defensive end in the draft behind Clemson's Gaines Adams and Arkansas' Jamaal Anderson. Moses was rated 13th.

Johnson bulked up to 285 pounds and had a breakout junior season, leading the Bulldogs with 7.5 sacks. He also had 27 quarterback hurries and 16 tackles for loss. After a fine showing in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, he decided to enter the draft.

"Charles was the strongest guy on the football team," Moses said. "He's definitely a strong player. He'll run straight through you or run over you."

Moses is one of Johnson's biggest boosters.

"Well, you know, in the offseason a lot of people gave me a lot of praise and a lot of credit," Moses said. "But I was telling people all the time that Charles Johnson is maybe, if not better, is definitely just as good a defensive end as I am, up and down the board."

Last season Johnson benefited from all of the attention teams showed Moses. That left Johnson in one-on-one situations.

"I feel like we both got a lot of attention as the season went on, but definitely at the beginning I got more attention just because of all of the publicity and hype," Moses said.

Moses is trying to turn his sub-par senior season into a positive.

"I think it was good for me to face some adversity early on before I got to this next level," Moses said. "It was definitely a humbling and grounding experience."

Now he just has to figure out whether he's a defensive end or a linebacker.

D. Orlando Ledbetter writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.