Defensive Tackle
Marcus Tubbs
College: Texas
Year: Senior
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 310
Birthday: May 16, 1981
Strengths: Marcus Tubbs produces pressure. For a defensive tackle, that not a given. Some of the best are doing their job by taking on six hundred pounds worth of a double team. Tubbs is athletic enough to be able to do that and make the plays that show up on a stat sheet.
He started racking up stats in limited time during his redshirt freshman season. Backing and filling in for an injured Shaun Rogers, a second round pick of the Detroit Lions, Tubbs started just three games, but he notched 5.5 sacks, 7 quarterback pressures, and 10 tackles for a loss. In 2001, he added 50 tackles and another 18 pressures. All told, Tubbs has had 29 tackles for a loss thus far at Texas, including a career-high of four of them against Oklahoma last year.
Tubbs has used his ability to create pressure on special teams, too. After he blocked a kick against Tulane in 2002 that was returned for a score, he knocked down a potential game-tying field goal against Kansas State to preserve a victory with only seven seconds to play. Tubbs knows how to penetrate and get his hands up. He’s got size, and power, but what makes him a special talent are his nimble feet and quickness. He is 4.9 fast with range and capable of handling a two-gap assignment.
Areas for Concern: Nagging injuries have been the biggest bugaboo for Tubbs. Converting from a high school tight end, he gained a lot weight (over fifty pounds) in a single year. He then added some more bulk the next offseason, so maybe his body is still trying to cope with the extra weight while allowing him the same type of athleticism he enjoyed in a smaller body. In 2002, Tubbs missed all or significant parts of five games. None of his injuries (concussion, calf muscle, etc.) have been career threatening, but they will limit his draft value if he can’t shake them.
The 2003 season will only be his seventh. Tubbs, a former standout basketball player averaging a double-double in points and rebounds in high school, didn’t start playing until late, and when he did, it was on offense. He never played a down on defense until becoming a Longhorn, and while he has raw ability, he’s is still just that… raw. Tubbs will need to show more consistency and condition himself to stay low to gain better leverage throughout an entire game.
How Does He Look in Steel Blue? The Texans have proven that they are not afraid to draft players considered by many to be raw or inexperienced. In Tubbs’ favor is that he is a smart player and honor roll student, so he should be willing and able to absorb anything head coach Dom Capers throws at him. Tubbs is from the state, and he’s got Pro Bowl genes like his cousin, Winfred Tubbs, had as a linebacker for the 49ers. A soft-spoken leader, Tubbs is the type with coaching aspirations.
Tubbs also willing seeks advice from another former Longhorn now playing in a 3-4 scheme in the NFL, Casey Hampton. Hampton doesn’t go easy on him, but know that Texas coach Mack Brown has said that Tubbs is playing as well as both Hampton and Rogers ever did as Longhorns.
(profile written by Keith Weiland
)
Marcus Tubbs’ 2002 Stats G TCK TFL SKS FF FR 9 43 7 2.5 1 0
Marcus Tubbs 
Return to The War Room 
Click on a player’s name to preview other top DL prospects:
>> Tommie Harris
>> DeMarco McNeil
>> Randy Starks
>> Marcus Tubbs
>> Vince Wilfork
