Clint Boling

College: Georgia

Age: 21 Years Old

Experience: Senior (4 years)

Starts at LG: 2 games

Starts at RG: 17 games

Starts at LT: 19 games

Starts at RT: 9 games

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Height: 6 feet 4 inches

Weight: 308 lbs.

Arm Length: 33.50 inches

Hand Width: 9.25 inches

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Projection: Offensive Guard/Tackle

Projected Round: 3rd Round

Combine Results (Pro Day Results)

40 Yard Dash: 5.30 seconds

3-Cone Drill: 7.66 seconds

20-Yard Shuttle: 4.64 seconds

Bench Press: 28 reps

Vertical Jump: 31.0 inches

Broad Jump: 102 inches

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Speed: Clint Boling has relatively good speed. He isn’t amazingly fast, but his 5.3 second forty time is in the top half for all lineman. In addition to having good straight line speed, Boling is considered to have good initial reactions. He is one of the first guys to react to the snap and initiates contact with the defender, which helps him succeed.

Agility: Boling put up respectable results in the agility drills. His 3-cone and 20-yard short shuttle are in the top results for offensive linemen. Considering that Boling has experience all over the offensive line, good results in his agility drills was very important. Scouting reports indicate that his quickness is “good but not great.” That said, compared to other players who are considered to be solid tackle prospects, Boling has the lateral agility necessary to play offensive tackle, and the cut back speed to play guard.

Experience: Boling is one of the most experienced linemen in the draft — not so much in terms of number of games played, although 47 career starts isn’t anything to sneeze at, but more due to the fact he has multiple starts at both tackle and guard positions. This diversity of experience is an asset for interested teams who can considering using him where their roster is weak, instead of conforming to his comfort limitations. While Georgia is not a recent national championship contender, Boling has been exposed to some of the top college football talent in the SEC. “Good, but not great,” has been used in scouting reports to describe his play. In particular, scouting reports say he was harassed by Nick Fairley.  But, since Fairley could be the first pick overall in this years draft, that isn’t nearly so damning a statement.

Size/Build: Boling sits at a rather sweet spot for the role he plays. Think Charlie Johnson when you think of Boling. Like Johnson, Boling is probably better suited to play guard, but has the skill set to play tackle and not be horrible. He is over 6 feet 4 inches tall, putting him above the ‘minimum’ height coaches would like to have for OTs, while still short enough to be effective on the interior of the line. At 308 lbs Boling is set up perfectly between a tackle who needs bulk but not at the expense of agility and a guard who needs to anchor against bigger defensive tackles. He had very good strength measurements, putting in top scores for bench press (arm strength), and the vertical and broad jumps (leg strength).

Pass Blocking: At both guard and tackle positions, Boling showed an ability to pass block well. He is not perfect in his technique, nor is he elite at either position. Boling shows a good natural ability to stay light on his feet at tackle and move laterally to stay ahead of defenders while using his wingspan to help coral edge rushers. On the interior, he shows a good base, and solid technique to play against larger defensive tackles. That said, Boling has shown a few areas of concern that have scouting reports questioning his upside. He tends to bend at the waist which leads him to become overbalanced. Likewise outside there are questions as to whether he has the athleticism to succeed as a pro-tackle, and whether he has the strength and anchor technique to withstand bull rushes from the more powerful ends in the NFL.

Run Blocking: Boling shows numerous areas of very solid and technically sound play at both guard and tackle. Outside, he exhibits strong hands and great technique in using his arms to control the faster edge rushers who can cause havoc in the backfield. Inside, Boling has the lateral agility and quickness off the snap to trap and pull on the line as well as the ability to knock a defender off the line. Again, though, scouting reports question how effective he will be at either position, given his hybrid makeup and his few areas of technical difficulty. As for downfield blocking, Boling shows good speed getting to the second level, and more than enough agility and awareness to be a successful lead blocker.

Health: Boling is considered exceptionally durable and moved around during games to fill in for more ‘in need’ positions when teammates would get injured. He has not missed a game due to injury in his collegiate career, and has not had a significant injury noted in scouting reports. Boling fully participated in the Senior Bowl as well as the 2011 NFL Combine.

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OVERVIEW: Boling is a very intriguing prospect. In a number of ways, his profile reads almost exactly like what Charlie Johnson already does for the Colts. While this versatility is greatly valued by the Colts, it does not mean that they will be willing to target him. One Charlie Johnson may be enough for their liking, especially if they get more pure linemen in the first and second rounds. That said, having a tackle/guard hybrid would allow the Colts to have one backup player in place of two more traditional players like OG Jaimie Thomas and OT John Reitz. With the way injuries have played out the past couple of years, roster spots have been even more at a premium, and so it is definitely not out of the realm of possibility to see the Colts take Boling for just that reason. If he falls into the 4th round, he will become excellent value and could be a no-brainer pick when the Colts are up. Still, given the need to find a good 1-tech DT as well as safety depth, it is very possible that the Colts pass on Boling just because they need another position more. Still, fans should not be surprised if the Colts take Boling in the 3rd or 4th over some more vogue choices like DT Ian Williams, SS Tyler Sash, OT James Carpenter, or DT Sione Fua.