Biggest risers from the 2022 college all-star events:

Montana State linebacker Troy Andersen

LB Troy Andersen, Montana State

This is probably the most interesting career of the bunch. As the Big Sky Freshman of the Year, starting games at both running back and linebacker, Andersen was a key figure for the Bobcats right away and was even more in the spotlight when he became the program’s only first-team all-conference quarterback, which he repeated in 2019 – only this time on defense. As a senior, he finally became a unanimous All-American and FCS Defensive Player of the Year, thanks to 147 tackles, 14 of those for loss, seven PBUs, a couple of sacks and picks each.

The NFL is always looking for athletic linebackers that can play in space, and we seem to get, at least, one of those guys, who begins his rise in scouting circles with a strong showing in Mobile. Andersen is that guy, who despite being put in an unfavorable position, having to defend a 53-yard wide field man-to-man basically, flashed on multiple occasions. In particular, he had a few great reps in one-on-ones in the red-zone of day three, sticking with backs, who had a two-way go on him, and once breaking up a goal-line fade by Wisconsin tight-end Jake Ferguson, where he initially allowed some separation, but got back into the picture and swiped through the extended hands. He already did something similar the day prior, ripping the ball out of Colorado State’s Trey McBride on a corner route.

I also really liked what I saw from him moving back - and forward in coverage, to toggle between patterns and set the tackle for minimal yardage, when the ball was in front of him. And when he sees the quarterback take off, he gets downhill in a HURRY. He did so when shutting down a scramble from Nevada’s Carson Strong on day three in the red-zone for just a couple of yards, when it looked like he had a nice lane in front of him initially. In the run game, I like his ability to shuffle along from the backside and be ready for cutbacks; plus, then he can open up and really run, which mads him a nice projection for WILL backer. With his play speed and those slightly above 32-inch arms, I like what he presents in terms of maneuvering around blocks and pursuing the ball. He even showed some pass-rush upside against tight-ends, who will have a tough time blocking him, as he once beat Iowa State’s Charlie Kolar cleanly around the edge on a nice chop-rip maneuver.

Evaluators around the league could fall in love with Andersen’s reactive athleticism overall, which is also something coaches will be excited to work with, even though he did play a lot of positions and roles, he will have to refine himself at one spot. Oklahoma’s Brian Asomoah was voted LB of the week for the National team, as an undersized run-and-chase backer, but I’m most intrigued by what I saw from Andersen.