Christopher Horton profile

[MTK]

NFL Events: Draft Player Profiles - Chris Horton



Chris Horton (FS)
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 212
College: UCLA
Conference: Pac 10
Hometown: New Orleans, LA
High School: De La Salle
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Overview Chris Horton will be remembered as one of the biggest hitters in the Pac-10. He teamed with Dennis Keyes to give the Bruins a sensational 1-2 punch at safety.

Physicality helps define both Horton and Keyes as prospects. Few college receivers dared to cruise the middle of the field or battle for a jump ball with either player. When the receivers did brave the middle of the field, one of UCLA's two safeties was breaking up the pass or delivering a punishing hit. In his last two seasons, Horton sent seven opponents to the sideline for medical attention.

Horton showed similar traits playing three years playing for him at De La Salle High School. He earned Super Prep All-Southwest/Louisiana, Prep Star All-Region, Max Emfinger's Louisiana Super Team and All-Metro honors. The District MVP was also a two-time All-District selection.

Horton recorded 117 tackles (86 solo), 21 stops for losses, including four sacks, in 10 games during his senior season. He also caused 12 fumbles, recovered four fumbles and blocked seven kicks. As a junior, he made 105 tackles and two interceptions. He was credited with 97 tackles as a sophomore. He also lettered two seasons for track coach James Tony.

Horton redshirted during the 2003 season at UCLA. In 2004, he appeared in nine games, missing three contests after spraining his right foot vs. Arizona State. He posted 27 tackles with two pass deflections and an interception (wore #1). A career-threatening right wrist dislocation limited the safety to six games in 2005, having suffered the injury in fall camp that required immediate surgery. He returned to play in six late season games, totaling 26 tackles (16 solo) and a pass breakup.

As a junior, Horton took over strong safety duties, switching to jersey #14. He led the Bruins with a career-high 95 tackles (64 solo) and had five stops for losses in thirteen contests. He caused two fumbles, recovered another, intercepted three passes and broke up four other throws.

Despite suffering a concussion vs. Oregon, Horton started every game as a senior, earning All-American and All-Pac-10 Conference first-team honors. He ranked second on the squad with 90 tackles (64 solo), inducing three sacks and seven stops for losses. He recovered and caused a fumble while also deflecting four passes. He was the recipient of the team's Paul I. Wellman Memorial Award, given for All-Around Excellence.

Career Notes Horton started 28-of-41 games at UCLA, recording 238 tackles (160 solo) with three sacks for minus-20 yards and 13 stops for losses of 43 yards...Caused three fumbles and had a pair of fumble recoveries...Deflected 11 passes and intercepted four others for nine yards in returns...Also gained 19 yards after blocking two punts.

High School Attended De La Salle (New Orleans, La.) High School, playing football for head coach Richard Walker...Lettered three years on the gridiron, earning Super Prep All-Southwest/ Louisiana, Prep Star All-Region, Max Emfinger's Louisiana Super Team and All-Metro honors. The District MVP was also a two-time All-District selection...Recorded 117 tackles (86 solo), 21 stops for losses, including four sacks, in 10 games during his senior year... Also caused 12 fumbles, recovered four fumbles and blocked seven kicks...As a junior, he made 105 tackles and two interceptions...Credited with 97 tackles as a sophomore...Also lettered two seasons for track coach James Tony.

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[MTK]

Analysis

Positives: Has adequate overall muscle tone and a frame that can carry at least another 10 pounds of bulk...Aggressive tackler who puts good power behind his hits...Shows quickness and agility and is aggressive to the ball...Has football intelligence and is able to learn and adjust on the field with ease...Makes the calls in the secondary and plays with good awareness, reacting quickly...Shows toughness and competitiveness on the field, going hard and making a few big plays...Delivers big hits and brings good, physical power when making initial contact...Works hard and shows competitive speed on the field...Shows a lot of pride in his work and training habits and is a team player...Works hard and is a coachable player who has been described as an "overachiever"...Alert and shows awareness to routes and receivers and is aggressive vs. the run...Plays with good field vision in zone coverage, adjusting on the move to routes and receivers, and he shows the ability to anticipate and get a jump on the ball...Though he lacks a burst and has questionable timed speed, he takes good angles and shows competitive speed while covering the deep outside...Shows aggressiveness and plays with a lot of desire...Has awareness and the ability to adjust to and make a play on the ball...Has the ability to extend and catch balls in his hands with ease...Shows good concentration while catching balls in traffic...Reacts quickly to and shows aggressiveness in run support...Has the ability to step up on the goal line and deliver a solid hit...His ability to read keys will generally put him in position to make plays on the ball...Uses his hands well to jam and reroute short-area receivers and is very physical using the press...Does a good job of squaring his shoulders, sinking his pads and driving through the ball carrier to impact the outside running game...Adds to his resume as a top-flight special teams player, showing good urgency getting down the field to cover on kicks.

Negatives: Runs with a long stride and shows steady acceleration, but has questionable top-end speed...Foot quickness, flexibility and ability to redirect while on the move are suspect...Has marginal ability to learn and retain information...Reacts quickly and can run with tight ends in man coverage, but lacks good foot quickness and the ability to redirect, as well as a good burst and top-end speed...Not smooth in his backpedal and lacks the foot quickness and body control in his transition to quickly redirect, as well as the necessary burst to close on the ball...Shows ball awareness and will break and go for the ball, but has questionable leaping ability...Though his timing is good, his ability to jump for balls has been inconsistent...Struggles to break down and maintain good body control to tackle while on the move...Flashes a solid hit-and-wrap tackling technique and will make aggressive ankle tackles, but struggles to break down and to get the ballcarrier on the ground...Has questionable jumping ability...Inconsistent when on the move to break down, as he does not exhibit good body control...Struggles at times to break down and bring the runner down...Struggles to recover when a receiver gets behind him, as he tends to be a bit rigid opening his hips in attempts to turn and close on the ball...Needs to be more explosive coming out of his breaks, especially when playing deep in the secondary, as teams have had success attacking him underneath due to the big cushion he allows...Lacks natural hands due to a wrist dislocation in 2005 that took away his range of motion...Has had other injuries that could lead to durability concerns.

Compares To: ERIC SMITH-New York Jets...Smith's physical style of play saw him push Erik Coleman off the Jets' roster in 2008 and Horton has the same physical approach in his game. He is a very tough player who has a nice combination of size and the ability to play in the box. He has valid field instincts, is rarely caught out of position and tackles well in the open field. He does struggle in man coverage and tends to get a bit cautious by allowing a big cushion, but he plays with a good motor. He's not really a great playmaker and because of his reckless, hard-hitting style, durability might be a concern, as he's been nicked up in recent seasons.

Injury Report

2004: Suffered a right foot sprain vs. Arizona State (10/23), missing the next three games vs. Stanford, Washington State and Oregon.

2006: Suffered a right wrist dislocation in practice on Aug. 17 and underwent surgery the following day. He had the pins removed from the wrist on Oct. 12 and sat out the first six games of the season.

2007: Left the Oregon game (11/24) in the first quarter after suffering a concussion.

Copyright NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange.

[MTK]

Growing up, who was your favorite NFL player and why?
Ronnie Lott, Steve Atwater. The way they played the game, they loved to hit and put fear in opponents.

In college, what player hit you the hardest? Who was the recipient of your best hit?
UCLA DE Dave Ball; WSU RB Dwight Tardy.

What TV-show marathon will keep you on the couch all day?
Dexter.

What are the five most-played songs in your iPod? What's the one song you hope nobody ever finds out is in your iPod?
Kanye West - good life; Playaz circle - Duffle bag boy; Rob one and Wodie - Hit man; Rob one and Wodie - Real life; Hope nobody finds -- Right Said Fred - I'm too Sexy.

What are the five most-played songs in your iPod? What's the one song you hope nobody ever finds out is in your iPod?
Kanye West - good life; Playaz circle - Duffle bag boy; Rob one and Wodie - Hit man; Rob one and Wodie - Real life; Hope nobody finds --

What celebrity would play you in the movie version of your life and why?
Denzel Washington. He just does a great job acting and he is serious about what he does.

What is one thing your teammates don't know about you?
All the struggles I've been through in life, and never let if affect my goals.

What reality TV show would you like to be on and why?
Grey's Anatomy.

What's your proudest moment in football? Proudest moment off the field?
Beating USC when they were ranked No. 2 in the country. Off the field, graduating from college.

When you play Madden, what team do you use? Do you put yourself on the team?
Redskins. I put myself on the Bills.

Who has been the biggest influence on your football career and how?
George Falley, my late great grandfather and Kim James, my mom. They just always told me if I want something to go get it, never to let someone tell me I can't do something.

[Soup's Uncle]

So basically he's stupid.

[EXoffender]

Me first, me first!

[SmootSmack]

I like this pick, especially for a 7th rounder, but...

Right Said Fred??

He thinks Grey's Anatomy is a reality show??

He plays the Bills against the Redskins in Madden??

[jsarno]

Hey, Zach Thomas is an idiot, but was a GREAT LB. You don't have to be smart to be a good player. Right Pacman?

[Soup's Uncle]

SI.com rated him higher than Tryon with their ratings system.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by Soup's Uncle

SI.com rated him higher than Tryon with their ratings system.

Yeah, but they also had Jackson ahead of Rinehart. SI really messed up their picks.

[EXoffender]

Originally Posted by Soup's Uncle

SI.com rated him higher than Tryon with their ratings system.

And quite possibly because of the schools.

[Soup's Uncle]

NIce...he was supposedly supposed to go in the 5th...and he injures dudes. Maybe this is a good pick...
YouTube - Chris Horton Hit vs. Notre Dame

[RMSkins]

I really like Chris Horton a lot the kid is a HUGE hitter! I am glad that we addressed the safety position in this draft. I know a lot of people thought safety wasn't a need position, but to me it was one of the need postions. As I have stated many times before I am not sold on Reed Doughty as a starter and I am glad we brought in two quality safeties in Kareem Moore and Chris Horton to give Doughty competition and add much needed depth.

[artyK75]

I hope Horton wins the starting job