OVERVIEW

A bright, enthusiastic player who comes from a sports oriented family. His brother, Travis, was an All-American offensive lineman for former UNLV head coach John Robinson at Southern California and spent the last four years with the Atlanta Falcons after being selected in the second round of the 2000 NFL Draft. Ryan also spent his collegiate career under the guidance of Robinson at Nevada-Las Vegas, where he starred in both football and tennis.

"Ryan Claridge is an explosive athlete to go along with his great natural ability and now formidable experience. That combination gave him a chance to be a pass-rushing force for us. I have no doubt that he will go on to a productive NFL career," Robinson said.

Claridge was a four-sport star at Almont (Mich.) High School, where he earned all-state honors in tennis and football. He rushed for 1,300 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior, and also lettered in basketball and track. In his senior year, he was also selected the Blue Water Athlete of the Year.

In 2000, Claridge started seven of the final eight games at middle linebacker for Nevada-Las Vegas, ranking fourth on the team with 56 tackles (30 solos) with two sacks. The following year, he earned All-Mountain West Conference second-team honors, as he set school and MWC season records with six forced fumbles (his 10 career forced fumbles also set UNLV and MWC career records). Claridge ranked second on the team with 71 tackles (38 solos), including two sacks and eight stops for losses that year while starting every game in the middle.

He missed the entire 2002 season with what was first thought to be an abdominal injury, but was later diagnosed as a sports hernia. He returned to action in 2003 at middle linebacker and was chosen All-MWC honorable mention. He finished his junior campaign with 76 tackles (36 solos), 5½ sacks, 10 stops behind the line of scrimmage, three forced fumbles and two interceptions.

Claridge was having a banner senior campaign, but suffered ligament damage in his right shoulder in the season's eighth game vs. Utah. He continued to play in the next two games vs. Wyoming and Colorado State, but missed the season finale vs. San Diego State to undergo surgery on Nov. 17. He totaled nine sacks, 15 stops for losses and a career-high 87 tackles (39 solos) en route to earning All-MWC second-team honors.

In 45 games with the Rebels, Claridge earned 39 starting assignments. He recorded 290 tackles (143 solos) with 18½ sacks for minus-142 yards, 36 stops for losses of 170 yards, two fumble recoveries, 10 forced fumbles, two interceptions and 10 pass deflections. His 290 tackles are topped only by Randy Black (294, 1997-200) and Adam Seward (433, 2001-04) on the school's career-record list.

ANALYSIS

Claridge is a natural leader who acted as the go-between for the players and coaches at UNLV. He has coaching aspirations once his playing days end, and is a volunteer coach during the summer for the tennis and football teams at his high school alma mater. He has decent upper body development, but a skinny torso with a thin lower-body frame. He lacks ideal strength to face up and will generally get stymied in attempts to disengage from blockers working in-line. However, he is the type that is capable of playing on his feet and gets a good jump on the ball because of his field awareness and instincts.

Claridge has experience at all three linebacker positions and even can play the Rover slot. He is best when making plays on the move, as he has the lateral agility and foot speed to pursue plays along the sidelines. His quickness and edge rushing ability makes him better suited to play on the outside in a 4-3 defense or at weak-side in a 3-4 alignment. He has decent quickness to take on outside running plays, doing a good job of attacking the ball and forcing fumbles because of his ability to play at a low pad level. He is not the type that will collide with impact when meeting ball carriers, but is effective extending his arms to wrap and secure.

Claridge is the type of player who will not hesitate to throw himself into the fray, even though he knows his strength deficiency will get him knocked around a bit. He pursues well and when not impeeded by a bigger blocker, can sift through trash and make plays in the backfield. Claridge has good range and stays low on contact when stepping up. He needs to improve his lower-body strength, as he does not have the "sand in his pants" to hold ground firmly at the point of attack. He keeps his hands too close to his body, rather than extending to defeat reach blocks. This results in him catching too many blocks and getting widened by the tight ends.

He is also not a leverage player near the line of scrimmage, as he sometimes engages blockers needlessly or will overrun and miss the play on the cutback. He shows good effort working in space and can cover ground quickly working in the short area. While he is a reliable tackler, he does not use his size to his best ability as he does not square up against blockers often.

Claridge is also very capable in pass coverage. He is light on his feet and shows urgency getting to the ball. He does a good job of staying on the receiver's hip through routes and shows the ability to handle the switch-off working in the zone. When he opens his hips, he is quickly able to get depth in his pass drops. He has a good feel for routes and gets a good jump on the ball, maintaining body control while moving in man coverage.

Even with his strength issues, he attacks the ball and has good awareness to strip the ball, holding the school and conference records with 10 forced fumbles during his career. As a blitzer, he is better coming off the edge as he has that initial burst to slip past blockers before a lineman can get out of his stance.

One concern teams might have is his durability, but he showed in 2004 that he is capable of playing with pain. He could be a solid three-down player at the next level. His ability to play on all coverage teams is an added bonus, making him a nice early second-day draft find.

INJURY REPORT

2000 -- Missed most of the New Mexico game after suffering a shoulder contusion the previous week vs. Utah.

2002 -- Granted a medical redshirt for what was thought to be an abdominal injury, but was later diagnosed as a sports hernia.

2004 -- Sat out the season finale vs. San Diego State and underwent surgery on Nov. 17 to repair ligament damage in his right shoulder. He originally got hurt in the waning moments of the Utah game (Oct. 23), but played in the Wyoming and Colorado State game before being shut down.

AGILITY

4.73 in the 40-yard dash … 360-pound bench press … 500-pound squat … 320-pound power clean … 31-inch vertical jump … 32 1/8-inch arm length … 9 3/8-inch hands.

HIGH SCHOOL

Attended Almont (Mich.) High School … Was a multi-sport star for the Raiders, as he lettered three times each in tennis and football and also competed in basketball and track … Named the Blue Water Athlete of the Year after earning first team all-state honors in both football and tennis … Rushed for more than 1,300 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior … Named first team all-conference and league MVP.

PERSONAL

Education major … Younger brother of former standout Southern California offensive lineman Travis Claridge, who was recruited to USC by John Robinson and was a 2000 second-round draft choice by the NFL's Atlanta Falcons … Son of Bill Claridge and Denise Kopp … Born Ryan Quinlan Claridge on Apr. 12, 1981 in Rochester, Mich. … Resides in Almont, Mich.

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