USC Trojans in the NFL Draft: Max Tuerk brings rare versatility and athleticism to the next level

Former two time USC Captain Max Tuerk was one of the most versatile Offensive Linemen the Trojans have ever had. He brings a diverse skill set to the NFL Draft, which should go a long way in April. Let's take a look at his Football career.

Tuerk played at multiple positions on the Offensive Line during his career with the Trojans. Tuerk was the first True Freshmen to ever start for USC at Left Tackle and first freshman to start at either Tackle positions since Winston Justice in 2002, which is a huge milestone to say the least. He earned Freshman First Team All-American honors as well as All-Pac-12 honorable Mention as a true Freshman.

As a Sophomore in 2013, Tuerk moved to Guard where he started for 13 games and started one game at Right Tackle. Earning another All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention award. In his Junior campaign in 2014, Tuerk moved to Center, further showing his versatility and earning First Team All-Pac-12 honors and USC's Offensive Linemen of the year award.

After being pegged as a candidate for Rimington Trophy (The Nations Best Center) and All-American Honors prior to his Senior season in 2015, Tuerk started 5 games before tearing his ACL against Washington. He was named USC's most inspirational player following the 2015 Season despite only playing in 5 games.

His versatility goes deeper than just at his time at USC however. That brings us to the NFL Combine.

Day 1 of the NFL Scouting Combine, allowed us to see Max Tuerk in action for the first time since he suffered a knee injury in early October. However, due to his injury, we only saw Tuerk in limited action at the combine; participating in the interviews, measurements, and Bench Press.

Besides his Knee, some scouts were worried about his size heading into the NFL. At USC, he was listed at 6'6'' and 285 lbs, which is slightly undersized for an average NFL Offensive Linemen, and is taller/lankier than the average NFL Center.

So let's see what he did at the combine:

Measurements: 6'5''-298 lbs-32 ½'' arms-10 ¾'' hands
Bench Press: 22 reps

Tuerk's weight is the most important part of the story. He has worked hard to pack on some more mass, to get close to 3 bills, which is where most teams would like to see him. His height is down an inch but he still looks 6'6'' to me. His 22 reps on the Bench Press was right about average, which is not a bad thing.

Combine Interviews:

Tuerk is very excited to be apart of the NFL Combine, and is in very good spirits since the injury:

"I've been dreaming about this since I was a kid." "It's awesome to be here."

Via Gary Klein of LA Times

Tuerk understands that his knowledge of multiple positions is important:

"It was absolutely a positive. It shows that I'm versatile and able to play anywhere on the line."

Via Gary Klein of LA Times.

When asked about his strengths, Tuerk gave another good answer:

"I think my biggest strength is that I'm good in space. I pull around well. I'm a smart football player. I can make the line calls and point out the direction of where the offensive line is going, call out the runs and call out where the defense is, where the Mike is, things like that."

Via UPI.com

Tuerk said all the right things during his Combine Interviews, weighed in better than expected in the measurement portion, and had a solid day on the Bench press. Tuerk is great at the point of attack, has great feet, can get up to the next level with ease, has a high Football IQ, and can play anywhere on the line.

Any NFL team would be stoked to have him, but in the right system, a system that knows how to use Offensive Linemen in unique ways, (we're looking at you Patriots) he can be a Pro Bowl regular in the NFL and have a long and incredibly successful NFL Career.