41) Zaviar Gooden, junior LB, Missouri
Two Pflugerville alumni in a row leaves one asking what they put in the water just north of Austin. Alex Okafor is a gifted player, sure. But Gooden might be the most physically gifted linebacker in the country.
High praise? Certainly. But he's considered the best pound-for-pound athlete on the Missouri team, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound ball of lightning who has been clocked in the 4.3-second range in the 40-yard dash.
Oh yeah, and the former safety can play a bit. In his first career start, Missouri's rivalry game against Illinois, he notched eight tackles. It was a great start to a season that saw him lead the team with 85 stops, never making fewer than five stops in any game against FBS competition. He added 7.5 tackles for loss including three quarterback sacks.
His versatility was displayed in a game against Texas Tech, where he had seven tackles, including one for loss and broke up three passes, intercepting one of them. His best outing might have been against Nebraska, when he made seven tackles, three for loss and had two sacks.
Gooden's speed allows him to terrorize offenses from his weakside linebacker position, and he should earn some All-Big 12 mention this year, in his second year as a starter.
2010 Stats: 85 tackles, 7.5 for loss, three sacks, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions, one forced fumble
No. 42: Texas DL Alex Okafor
No. 43: Texas A&M DL Tony Jerod-Eddie
No. 44: Kansas RB James Sims
No. 45: Texas Tech S Cody Davis
No. 46: Iowa State CB Leonard Johnson
No. 47: Kansas State S Ty Zimmerman
No. 48: Baylor DE/LB Tevin Elliot
No. 49: Kansas State DE Brandon Harold
No. 50: Kansas DE Toben Opurum