By Dan Arkush
INDIANAPOLIS Right off the bat, it was hard to get a good read on Dontay Moch.
Widely projected as an outside linebacker he's ranked seventh at the position in the Pro Football Weekly 2011 Draft Media Guide the Nevada product stood on the podium in his Combine interview early Saturday afternoon with the national media wearing a "DL" jersey.
It seems like a real stretch to imagine Moch as a potential defensive end at the pro level. But he did line up as a defensive end much of the time at Nevada and said the NFL teams that have talked to him think he could possibly play off the edge up front provided he gains enough weight.
But outside linebacker figures to be a much more likely position at the pro level for Moch, who possesses one quality that he hopes will open lots of eyes in his Combine workouts Monday: his rare speed.
Moch has cranked out consistent 40-times in the range of 4.3-4.4 seconds and was an accomplished track star in high school in Arizona.
Moch, who weighed only 204 pounds his freshman year, tipped the scales at 245 pounds in his Combine weigh-in and acknowledged the obvious questions that have popped up regarding his poundage.
"Gaining weight will not affect my speed at all," Moch said confidently. "It will just give me more power. My speed isn't just straight-line, although that's what primarily allows me to get to the passer. l can also change direction real well."
Moch averaged eight-plus sacks his last three years at Nevada. "I consider myself a hybrid Terrell Suggs," he said. "I've been mimicking his game since high school."
Moch also estimates that he covered opposing wide receivers probably 20-30 percent of the time at Nevada. When asked to provide an example of his coverage ability, he quickly brought up one game against Boise State, when he deftly broke up a pass intended for highly regarded WR Titus Young.
"I was lined up in a 4-3 and dropped back on a flat route," Moch said. "Titus came right around the corner, and I was there to break up the pass."
Moch was asked why the word "raw" has been used so frequently to describe him a legitimate query considering that he displayed lots of flashes at Nevada but never totally dominated relatively inferior competition.
"I do a lot of things that seem impossible, and I guess a lot of people just see me as raw because of that," Moch said. "I just want people to see all the things I can do out there on the field, no matter what the situation, and how I can just go full force."
On a lighter note (no pun intended), Moch was asked if he was faster than teammate Colin Kaepernick, one of the higher-rated quarterbacks in this year's draft.
"You can check that out in the next couple of days," Moch said with a big smile. "He (Kaepernick) is a great runner. I'm not going to say anything bad about my boy."
http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/02/26/moch-hopes-his-rare-speed-raises-eyebrows-at-combi
