Tag: Calen Bullock

2024 NFL mock draft: Updated first-round projections after the Senior Bowl

We’re looking at updated 2024 NFL mock draft roundups and the Philadelphia Eagles are projected to land Chop Robinson

Even with Nick Sirianni’s team clinching a playoff berth for the third straight year, there were question marks centered around the personnel and coaching staff following a historic collapse that saw Philadelphia lose 6 of their final seven games.

It’s never too early to look ahead at the NFL draft, and with so many holes on defense, Howie Roseman has the assets to retool the roster.

Philadelphia has never drafted an off-the-ball linebacker in the first round, and they won’t this spring either, but Howie Roseman will reload in the trenches and could get a familiar name at cornerback.

2024 NFL mock draft roundup: Eagles reload at CB, offensive line

The Philadelphia Eagles load up on cornerbacks and offensive tackles in this 2024 NFL mock draft roundup ahead of Championship Sunday

Even with Nick Sirianni’s team clinching a playoff berth for the third straight year, there are question marks centered around the personnel and coaching staff following a historic collapse that saw Philadelphia lose 6 of their final seven games.

It’s never too early to look ahead at the NFL draft, and with so many holes on defense, Howie Roseman has the assets to retool the roster.

Philadelphia has never drafted an off-the-ball linebacker in the first round, and they won’t this spring either, but Howie Roseman will reload in the trenches and could get a familiar name in the second round.

4-round mock draft 1.0 as we kick off the Eagles 2024 NFL offseason

Full 7-round mock draft 1.0 as we kick off the Philadelphia Eagles 2024 NFL offseason

The Eagles are looking for a reset after exiting the playoffs following a stunning 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers in the Wild Card round of the NFC playoffs.

Even with Nick Sirianni’s team clinching a playoff berth for the third straight year, there are question marks centered around the personnel and coaching staff following a historic collapse that saw Philadelphia lose 6 of their final seven games.

It’s never too early to look ahead at the NFL draft, and with so many holes on defense, Howie Roseman has the assets to retool the roster.

Philadelphia has never drafted an off-the-ball linebacker in the first round, and they won’t this spring either, but Howie Roseman will reload in the trenches and could get a familiar name in the second round.

We’re looking ahead and releasing our first Eagles Wire mock draft of the offseason via the PFF simulator, with the Birds restocking in the trenches and the secondary.

USC safety Calen Bullock will enter the 2024 NFL draft, trying to be a Day 2 selection

Calen Bullock will try to be a Day 2 pick, but regardless, he will get his shot to make it in the NFL.

USC safety Calen Bullock will not be coming back to the Trojans in 2024. He wants to pursue his professional career and get that paycheck, which is a special opportunity for anyone in position to chase that dream.

Bullock announced that he would indeed be entering the 2024 NFL draft. One of USC’s few high-profile defensive prospects will now prepare to make himself a top pro and impress NFL scouts in the coming months.

You might remember that Mekhi Blackmon surprised everyone by becoming a Day 2 pick in the 2023 draft, going to the Minnesota Vikings. Bullock would love to be in that same position. That would be a tremendous result for him, all things considered. Nothing is guaranteed or likely, so Bullock has some work to do to put himself in a spot where Day 2 is a realistic possibility. If not, Bullock should still get drafted for sure. Any team that might take him on Day 3 could get considerable value.

We wish Calen Bullock the best as he embarks on his pro career.

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Calen Bullock, USC defense still couldn’t make the grade on Saturday vs Cal

It just isn’t adding up for the USC defense.

Caleb Bullock, a junior, just earned placement on the Associated Press Midseason All-America Second Team.  This season, the safety has recorded multiple interceptions and several pass break-ups. His pick-six against Utah was impressive. Yet, the full body of work just isn’t emerging for the defense as a whole.

Last season, Bullock started all 14 games at safety for USC, making 48 tackles in 2022. He also intercepted a team-high five passes, which included one returned for a touchdown. The Utah game gave him yet another score in his Trojan career.

Bullock has had two productive seasons with the Trojans, but he was unable to lead the defense to an impressive performance marked by real improvement and evolution against the Golden Bears.

With Jaydn Ott in the Golden Bear backfield, I expected Cal to run the ball with ease, and that’s definitely what happened. Cal was also able to throw the ball for third-down conversions on its final drive of the game. USC was fortunate to stop a 2-point play for the 50-49 win.

One good thing this defense did: The Trojans created turnovers to make sure the offense had plenty of oppurtinties to score with great field position. That mattered.

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Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame.

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Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality.

Calen Bullock Named Lott IMPACT Trophy quarterfinalist

Calen Bullock gets some recognition.

Calen Bullock, a junior safety for the USC Trojans, has 24 tackles on the season, second most on the team. He leads the USC defense with four pass breakups. He also has recorded an interception.

The Lott IMPACT Trophy is awarded annually to a football player who follows the example of Ronnie Lott. The all-caps “IMPACT” acronym identifies a player who excels as a model of “Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.”

Bullock, a 2022 First Team All-American, started all 14 games last season and led USC in interceptions with 5 (ranked 11th in the nation). He also tallied 48 tackles (sixth on the team) and 5 pass breakups (tied for second on the team). He was named to the All-Pac-12 Second Team and the AP All-Pac-12 First Team.

In his three-year career, Bullock has 111 tackles, 8 interceptions (running one back for a TD) and 12 pass breakups, appearing in 31 games with 19 career starts.

The four finalists will be invited to attend the annual Lott IMPACT Trophy Award Show on December 10, 2023, in Newport Beach, California. Joel Klatt from Fox Sports will emcee the event.

Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame after the Irish beat USC.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football after the loss to Washington.

Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs against Utah and into November.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality against Utah.

USC statistical leaders through six games

You probably can name one of these guys offhand.

USC nearly lost its perfect season against Arizona but survived. Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff chances ended with a loss at Louisville. Neither team is coming into their annual meeting with the best momentum. That means talent could be the game’s determining factor.

This is a perfect opportunity for the Trojans to make a statement. They’re catching the Irish when they’re fatigued and struggling. The only thing that could slow them down is the wet conditions forecast for the game, but they’re preparing for that by using water in rather interesting ways in practice. While there’s no way to tell if that will affect anything, it shows they’re not leaving anything up to chance.

As you’re about to see, there are several players responsible for the Trojans’ offense being the country’s highest scoring, not the least of whom is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback. Here he is among the top Trojans players on both sides of the ball:

Rams bolster defensive line, secondary in 2-round 2024 mock draft

In the latest 2-round mock draft for 2024, the Rams bolster their defensive line and secondary in the first 47 picks

It’s hard to know what the Rams’ biggest needs are going to be in the 2024 NFL draft, with edge rusher, cornerback and the defensive line potentially being atop their wish list. The good news is they actually have a first-round pick next year and if they don’t trade it away, it’ll be the first time they make a selection in the top 32 picks since 2016.

Curt Popejoy of Draft Wire released a new mock draft for 2024 and in the first two rounds, he has the Rams selecting two defenders: Miami defensive tackle Leonard Taylor III in the first round at No. 15 overall and USC safety Calen Bullock in the second round at No. 47 overall.

Here’s what Popejoy wrote about the selection of Taylor in the first round.

Leonard Taylor is a massive interior defender with an amazing first step and impressive power.

Taylor is 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, so he has good size on the interior. He has just four tackles and one sack in the first four games this season, but he had five sacks in the two seasons prior and 45 total tackles.

Bullock also brings good size to the position, standing 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds. After picking off five passes last year, he has one interception this season and 19 tackles with four passes defensed, starting the year strong.

The Rams could use cornerback and edge-rusher help more right now, but the additions of Taylor and Bullock would definitely help in 2024.

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USC defensive backs need injured 2022 players to shine in 2023

#Pac12 analysts will tell you: Previously injured #USC players need to make a big impact this year if everything is to come together.

One of the key storylines of the 2023 offseason at USC football has been the progress of players who were injured last season and couldn’t play extensively. Domani Jackson and Zion Branch were unable to become regular contributors for the Trojans due to injuries. Now that USC has them back healthy, the Trojans currently have more depth, but that depth needs to show up during the season. USC needs its defense to stay healthy so that the Men of Troy can walk into their bigger games (Notre Dame, Utah, Oregon, Washington) with a full complement of players.

When assessing the USC defensive back room for 2023, analysts are noting the need for the injured 2022 players to become more of a factor in 2023. In addition to Ceyair Wright and Christian Roland-Wallace (CRW), those two injured notables — Jackson and Branch — become critical pieces to the puzzle.

Per Jack Follman of SuperWest Sports:

“USC has started to get stacked with young talent,” Follman wrote. “Bullock is the star and Arizona transfer CRW is a nice transfer pickup, but it’s all about the potential of Wright, Jackson, and Branch.”

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Calen Bullock should be a stabilizing presence in the USC secondary

Other position battles are more fluid, but Bullock is a known — and proven — quantity at safety. That matters.

One of the notable stories in USC football’s preseason camp is how many open battles there are for starting spots on the depth chart. Lincoln Riley has noted how many unresolved battles there are at position groups throughout the roster. In light of this reality, it’s good to know that Calen Bullock will anchor the USC secondary at one of the two safety spots.

There is no debate about Bullock’s starting status at safety. The cornerback and nickel spots are and have been more fluid, but Bullock is a known quantity and, moreover, a good player. He was the only USC defensive player to be included on a list of the top 100 players in college football for 2023.

Jack Follman of SuperWest Sports ranked the best defensive backs in the Pac-12. Calen Bullock was second, just one spot behind Oregon State star Kitan Oladapo.

“Bullock is definitely in the discussion for the best DB in the conference,” Follman wrote. “There’s a good chance he leads the conference in interceptions this year after grabbing five last year.”

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