Sunday, July 22, 2012

Rookie free agent profile: T-Bob Hebert, OL, LSU


T-Bob Hebert 6'3" 300
OL, LSU

Rankings:
NFLDraftScout: 63rd-ranked guard, free agent grade.

Pro Football Weekly: not listed.


Biography/honors:
2011: Played in 12 games, with 4 starts at left guard, 3 at center and one at right guard. Credited with 80 knockdown blocks.
2010: Played in all 13 games, starting 7 at right guard. Credited with 76 knockdown blocks. Also played center. 

Arrested for DWI in May 2010 after a minor accident on campus.

2009: Made 11 starts at center. Credited with 42 knockdown blocks.
2008: Made SEC Academic Honor Roll. Played in 6 games with no starts. Backed up guard and center and played on special teams and at fullback in short-yardage formations.
2007:
Redshirted.

Father Bobby quarterbacked the Saints and Falcons for 11 seasons and played in one Pro Bowl. He led the Saints to their first winning season and playoff appearance and also led the Michigan Panthers to the first USFL championship.


Major: general studies.

Injuries:
2011: missed one game due to a leg injury. Recurring knee problems the last four games of the season, including the “national championship”.
2010:
unspecified injury in spring practice helped cost him his starting job, along with his DWI arrest.
2009:
missed one game due to an ankle injury and missed LSU's bowl game due to ankle and knee problems.
2008:
suffered season-ending knee injury covering a punt against South Carolina, missing the next six games.

Pro day stats: (NFL Combine averages for guards in parentheses)
5.49 40 (5.36)
1.83 10-yard split (1.80)
26.5” vertical jump (28”)
8'5" broad jump (8'2.5")
7.87 3-cone drill (7.85)
4.75 20-yard shuttle (4.75)
29 bench press (26)


Positives: Versatile, intelligent (graduated early) lineman who knows all the line positions and has little difficulty switching from one to another in a pinch. Shows ability as a power blocker and does a good job getting to the second level. Plays with good technique. Was hard to move, especially at center. Throws a nasty cut block. Gritty, tough, intense team leader and leader on the field. Plays hurt. Has been on two teams that played in “national championship” games, and his father played in the NFL, so he shouldn't be afraid of the big stage.

Negatives: Undersized. Has to play hurt because he's almost always injured. Got pushed around a lot. Is borderline dirty with the cut blocks and leaves his feet too often. Does not appear to have ever won a starting job at LSU, was more of a complementary bench player who stepped up when starters got injured.

Compares to: Brett Romberg.

Fun Facts: T-Bob is a self-professed video game geek who just got engaged. And as you likely already know, the “T” in his name is a Cajun way of calling him “Little” (actually “Petit”) Bob. Okay, he may be undersized, but 6'3” 300 is not petite, OK?

RamView: For RamView, at least, Hebert is one of the tougher calls to make among this year's rookie free agents. Arguably, he wasn't even really a starter at LSU. His ability to play all over the line, and especially center, gives him a big advantage, though. And, like with Michael Hay, it's hard to look at Hebert without thinking he's a Jeff Fisher/Paul Boudreau type of offensive lineman. On one hand, I wonder how he can even make the team, on the other, I can see him as a multipurpose lineman, and especially a backup center, who the Rams can stash on the practice squad. Far from the biggest stretch the Rams will take this preseason.

Chance of making roster: 40%.

Sources: NFLDraftScout, LSU athletics, Pro Football Reference, New Orleans Times-Picayune, YouTube, Walter Football, ESPN

Photo: USA Today

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