NFL teams are already going beyond the game film in their evaluations of Alabama senior Reggie Ragland.
Ragland is one of the top linebacker prospects in college football, and his coach from Madison (Ala.) Bob Jones High, Kevin Rose, says he has received letters from the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs inquiring about his former player's time as a prep athlete.
"I got one from the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs today," Rose told WHNT News in Huntsville, Ala. "They are looking back on his character and work ethic in high school which is a great message for our kids. Don't think that what you do when you are 16-17 and 18 years old is unimportant, it's going to follow you for the rest of your life."
Ragland received a second-round grade from the NFL Draft Advisory Board last winter as a junior. He opted instead to return to UA for his senior year.
"In Reggie's case I'm able to get on there and say very positive things about him because he was a great role model when he was here," Rose said.
Only UCLA's Myles Jack, Arizona's Scooby Wright III and Notre Dame's Jaylon Smith rank ahead of Ragland on NFL Media analyst Lance Zierlein's preseason look at the top linebacker prospects in the nation. Zierlein wrote a more detailed review of Ragland's play for CFB 24/7 on Thursday.
At 250 pounds and with a salty reputation as a run stopper, Ragland is an inside linebacker prospect entering his second year as a starter for the Crimson Tide. He made 95 tackles last season, second on the team behind New York Giants 2015 second-round pick Landon Collins, with 10.5 tackles for loss.
The Chiefs and Raiders certainly aren't the only NFL clubs doing some early research on the top prospects for the 2016 draft. Earlier this week, the high school coach of Michigan State's Connor Cook, one of the top quarterback prospects of the 2016 draft class, said he was visited by the Cleveland Browns, who inquired about Cook's high school career.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
