The acclaim just keeps coming in for UCLA star linebacker Anthony Barr.
Hot 100 seniors
In his midseason update of the top 100 seniors in college football, Gil Brandt has UCLA LB Anthony Barr No. 1 and a previously unranked player in his top 5. **More ...**
On a day when NFL.com draft analyst Gil Brandt moved him to No. 1 on his updated Hot 100 senior prospects list, Barr (6-foot-4, 240 pounds) received more high praise Tuesday from the coach of a conference rival. Stanford coach David Shaw, whose Cardinal face Barr and the No. 9 Bruins on Saturday, compared Barr to Jevon Kearse, a three-time Pro Bowler who once was one of the most feared pass rushers in the NFL.
"He presents the same problems that Jevon Kearse brought," Shaw said at Tuesday's news conference. "He's so quick, he's so explosive, but he's got power.
"A lot of those really fast guys, they just pass rush around the edge," he said. "This guy can come back inside. He can bull rush the tackle and knock him back to a quarterback. And you get him out on pass coverage, and he can cover guys.
"He's the best defensive player we've probably seen in this conference the last few years. I don't think it's close."
Barr began the season as Brandt's No. 3-rated senior prospect. A former running back who converted to outside linebacker last year, he led the Pac-12 with 13.5 sacks in the 2012 season.
Kearse, who was an All-American at Florida, set the NFL rookie record with 14.5 sacks in 1999, when he was named Defensive Rookie of the Year with the Tennessee Titans. He retired in 2009 with 74 sacks.
