At 6-foot-1, 235 pounds, Tulsa University standout Nick Bunting isn't exactly
your prototypical NFL prospect at the linebacker position. Luckily for Bunting,
he's heard it all before - and proved everyone wrong.
Bunting graduated from a small private high school, Tulsa Holland Hall, and
was given little chance to play Division I football in an area flooded with big
time Texas players.
Born and raised in Tulsa, Bunting got the call from his hometown college and
the rest is history.
"People doubted me, but I went in and proved myself from day one,"
he said. "I knew coming in people wouldn't think of me as a big time
player. I knew I was going to have to prove a lot of people wrong."
He immediately caught the coaching staff's eye and once two-a-days started,
Bunting quickly found himself bumped up to the first team.
"I just started hitting guys and knocking some people down," he
said. "I never thought about the guys being bigger than me. I played at 205
pounds as a middle linebacker my freshman year."
As a true freshman, Bunting was named to the Scripps/FWAA Freshman
All-American Team, the Freshman All-American second-team by
CollegeFootballNews.com and was selected as the WAC Freshman of the Year.
He racked up 79 tackles in his debut season despite missing two games due
to an injury.
Undoubtedly, one thing that pro scouts will notice about Bunting as they review
his performance and resume is that those two missed games were the only ones of
his entire collegiate career. Bunting started in 47 consecutive games through
his final game as a senior.
"The only way I'm not going to play is if something really bad happens
to my legs and I can't run," he said. "If it's a shoulder or something
like that, I'm going to play through it. There's a difference between being
injured and hurt."
Much like he started it, Bunting ended his career at Tulsa with a bang, as he
was named 2006 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year. He finished with 317
tackles, the eighth most in school history. And he earned All-Conference honors
for the fourth time in as many years.
Unbelievably, earning the conference's defensive player of the year award
wasn't enough of an attention getter for Bunting to receive an invitation to the
Combine in Indianapolis. So now Bunting must again prove his doubters wrong. He
must prove that he's big enough to play linebacker in the NFL. Fortunately for
him, other NFL players have started to pave the road for linebackers of his
size. One example is Colts starting middle linebacker Gary Brackett who weighs
the same as Bunting and is actually two inches shorter. Brackett faced some of
the same obstacles coming out of Rutgers as an undrafted free agent, but proved
his ability on the field in training camp, starting out as a top-notch special
teams player.
To his advantage, Bunting played significant time at all three linebacker
positions during his time at Tulsa which should make him even more attractive to
NFL clubs.
"The last part of the season, I probably played all three positions
equal time," he said.
Realizing he may have to work his way into a linebacker spot at the NFL level
just as Brackett did, Bunting also has good experience on special teams. He
played left tackle on the punt team and said his side of the line didn't give up
a single blocked punt during his career.
"I enjoyed special teams just as much as I did defense and I know that's
something I'll have to do in the NFL and I'd love to be on special teams,"
Bunting said. "I just want to be a part of something and if that's what
they call me to do, that's what I'm going to do and I'm going to do it with
passion and a lot of pride."
Bunting will participate in Tulsa's upcoming Pro Day on March 19th and will
fight for a chance to make an NFL roster this fall. Regardless of what happens,
he's determined to stay active on the gridiron.
"I'm going to take the same approach as I did coming into college to the
NFL," he said. "I just know that I am not done playing football right
now."
Check back on Monday for our Draft Q&A with Nick Bunting, an exclusive for Scout.com subscribers!