Big Board ranking: #86
Positional ranking: #6
Overview
Position: LB
College: Kentucky
Class: Junior
Age: 21
Measurables
Height: 6’1 1/8”
Weight: 237 lbs.
Arm length: 32 5/8”
Hand size: 9 1/8”
Athletic testing
40-yard dash: 4.51 sec.
10-yard split: 1.62 sec.
Vertical jump: 37.5”
Broad jump: 127.0”
Bench press: N/A
3-cone drill: N/A
Short shuttle: N/A
Strengths
Extremely fast and twitchy. Aggressive overall player. Outstanding feet and quickness. Tackles with extreme aggression. Strikes with speed and force. Strafes to the ball and stays under control while reading things out. Handles inside run fits before pursuing ball-carriers to the edge. Works through traffic on run blitzes to reach the ball-carrier. Wraps to make head-on tackles in the hole. Shows strength using his hands as the aggressor versus blockers. Very strong hands in general to bring ball-carriers down with diving/lunging tackles. Great overall pursuit. Hunts down the ball when in his sights/range. Tremendous burst to close. Can get in the backfield in a flash. Fast and effective getting to the quarterback as a blitzer. Very comfortable in space. Extremely quick shuffling in coverage. Smooth backpedal and fluid turning his hips. Shows good ability to stick with opponents in man coverage. Quality ball skills. Has flashed playmaking instincts. Vocal leader for Kentucky.
Weaknesses
Inconsistent play recognition. Still developing and lacks general consistency/reliability versus the run. Needs to be better taking on blockers that reach him on the second level. Gets absorbed when unable to attack. Will get pushed back and knocked around by offensive linemen. Would like to see him fly past/around blockers to make tackles more. Doesn’t quite play up to his size.
NFL comparison
Devin Bush
Conclusion
Overall, Wallace is an extremely twitchy linebacker with ideal aggressiveness and efficiency as a tackler. The key will be getting him in a defensive scheme that allows him to be kept clean and attack to pay dividends as a Day 2 selection.