Stephon Tuitt entered the 2013 college football season as one of the most impressive defensive linemen in the nation. He led Notre Dame in tackles for loss with 13 and sacks with 12 in 2012, when ND rode their dominant defense all the way to the BCS title game. Where they got obliterated by the Alabama Crimson Tide in the national title game.
He got off to a rough start this year, because he wasn’t healthy. A preseason All-American, he wasn’t living up to the hype. Then he dominated the USC game. Stephon Tuitt pretty much won the USC game for Notre Dame.
Stephon Tuitt projects as a first round pick in next May’s NFL Draft. A possible top 15, top 20 pick. ESPN NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. sees Tuitt has a great prospect and said that he didn’t like the targeting rule that kept Stephon Tuitt out of the Pitt game, and he mentioned that the absence of Stephon Tuitt pretty much cost Notre Dame the Pitt game.
Kiper believes Tuitt could step in and start right away.
Kiper also said that he’s a huge fan of Notre Dame. So he’s likely a big fan of Stephon Tuitt too.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country; with regular weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS Catch him Tuesdays talking Illini and Northwestern for KOZN 1620 The Zone, Fridays talking Chicago Bears for WAOR 95.7 The Fan