Troy Nolan SELECTED BY: Texans Round 7 (14)

SI Grade 3.24 GRADING SYSTEM

BIOGRAPHY: Junior-college transfer who started at Arizona State the past two seasons, winning all-Conference honors after each campaign. Senior totals included 64/4/6 after 64/6/7 as a junior.

POSITIVES: Hard-hitting safety with good size best facing the action. Strong at the point, squares into ball carriers and wraps up tackling. Displays a good burst to the play, physical, and works hard to defend passes. Aggressive in all aspects of the game, and shows himself to be a good open-field tackler. Opportunistic and makes plays on the ball when they're thrown in his vicinity.

NEGATIVES: Inefficient and gets caught out of position. Struggles making plays with his back to the ball. Lacks top sideline-to-sideline range, displaying poor speed to the flanks.

ANALYSIS: Nolan is a nice-sized athlete who could be used as a traditional strong safety or in a zone system facing the action. He has athletic limitations, yet he does show potential as a special teams player.

PROJECTION: Free Agent