Professional scouts gush about the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers at Louisville, but Gary Barnidge is worthy of a little attention.

In his last two seasons as the full-time starter at tight end, Barnidge showed consistent skills as a receiver. His blocking needs work, but he accounted for 84 of his 98 career receptions and 11 of the 17 touchdown catches as a junior and senior.

Barnidge followed in the footsteps of former Middleburg High School product and Louisville tight end Richard Owens, who played four years with the Cardinals. Barnidge played both tight end and defensive end, recorded 17 receptions and five touchdowns and was named to the Florida-Times Union Top 24 as a senior.

Barnidge registered 65 tackles, 10 for a loss, three sacks, three caused fumbles, six fumble recoveries, eight quarterback pressures and one blocked kick that he returned for a touchdown that season. He also lettered in basketball, averaging 18.0 points per game.

In 2004, Barnidge enrolled at Louisville as a 215-pound tight end, turning down scholarship offers from South Florida, Louisiana-Lafayette, Mississippi and Florida. He started two of 12 games, and caught four touchdowns among his seven catches for 85 yards (12.1-yard average).

As a sophomore, Barnidge started five of 11 contests. He ranked seventh on the team with 17 catches for 240 yards (14.1-yard average), scoring twice. In 2006, Barnidge started all but the Middle Tennessee State game. He finished third on the team with 31 grabs for 511 yards (16.5 avg) and four touchdowns. He also performed well on the punt-coverage team making four solo tackles and causing one fumble.

Barnidge was named All-Big East Conference first-team after a senior campaign that saw him generate 655 yards and rank second on the team with 53 receptions, including seven grabs for touchdowns. He again performed capably on special teams, causing a fumble while delivering six tackles (five solo), including two stops while playing briefly on defense.

In 47 games, Barnidge started 29 times. He caught 98 passes for 1,491 yards (15.2-yard average) and 17 touchdowns. He recovered an onside kickoff for a two-yard loss and recorded 10 tackles (nine solo) while causing two fumbles.

Positives: Has a lean frame that needs more bulk and strength, but he can fill out to 255 pounds with no loss in quickness … Lean but has good upper-body tone and while his lower body is undefined, he has room to add thickness … Plays faster than his timed speed indicates, evident in his short-area route running (drifts and gets too tall running long routes, but sinks his pads well working through a crowd) … Has large, natural hands and good extension along with leaping ability when attempting to high point a pass … Has good initial quickness with a smooth release and has the moves to free himself vs. smaller defenders (must add strength, as linebackers have success rerouting him) … Runs just adequate routes, but he is adept settling underneath when he finds the soft areas in coverage … In the short area he runs better routes, can grab away from his body and take a shot while holding onto the ball … Has good, solid hands to snatch high away from his frame and does not use his body as a crutch … In a crowd, he can make the tough grab in the middle of the field and does a good job of blocking out distractions … As a deep receiver, he will make the open grab, but runs too tall to gain separation after the catch … Has good reaction to the ball in flight and can adjust to make the catch along the boundary … As an in-line blocker he is willing and has good hand placement, but lacks power to shock the defender, nor does he have the "sand in his pants" to generate a strong anchor … Hard worker in the weight room and takes well to hard coaching … Has very good field vision and is quick to pick up the blitz … Has the ability and intelligence to align at multiple positions … Does a nice job of catching the ball in stride without having to throttle down … Uses his body well to shield the ball from defenders and is conscious of ball security after the catch … Efficient cut blocker with a good concept for taking angles to stalk second level defenders … Capable deep snapper and has shown good wrap-up tackling skills on coverage units … Hits with arms extended and can jar the ball loose from returners.

Negatives: Increased his weight by more than 10 pounds as a senior, but still struggles to maintain his weight and will need to add about another 20 pounds of bulk to his frame to withstand punishment at the next level … Has a high metabolism and adequate nutritional habits that have caused him to struggle keeping weight on his frame (will get beefed up on campus, but loses weight in the offseason) … Marginal blocker who gets pushed around when working in-line, but should improve with added strength and bulk, as he shows good hand placement, but lacks the power to impact as a blocker … Needs to play at lower pad level and gets too tall in his stance, negating his explosion off the snap … Looks stiff turning and coming back for the ball and is best on controlled routes, as he does not show the agility to come out of his breaks with enough acceleration to get behind the defender … Has minimal hip wiggle and lacks the savvy and quickness to separate after the catch … Has good hand technique, but a poor anchor when asked to take on bull rushers, as his narrow base allows the defender to walk him back into the pocket … Marginal in-line blocker who will compensate for a lack of strength by over-extending … Does not have the long arms or upper-body strength to defeat the press and can get caught up in battles at the line of scrimmage for too long, making him late getting into his patterns … Takes too many soft-angle cuts and does not have the explosion needed to work back to the ball when the pocket is pressured.

Compares To: BRYAN FLETCHER-Indianapolis … Like Fletcher, Barnidge has weight and strength issues that limit his ability as a blocker. He is very effective getting to most passes thrown to him, but even with his adequate timed speed, he is best on controlled routes, as he tends to drift too much on long patterns and lacks savvy double moves and the necessary hip snap to separate after the catch. Will need added bulk and strength to play on a regular basis in the NFL. Late in the draft, he offers a decent pass catcher for a team already fixed with a physical blocker at the position. Until his body is developed, he is an efficient third-down receiving option who can also perform capably on special teams.

2005: Sat out the Florida Atlantic game (10/01) and saw just brief action vs. North Carolina (10/08) due to a right ankle sprain and sore foot.

Campus: 4.76 in the 40-yard dash … 325-pound bench press … Bench pressed 225 pounds 16 times …

420-pound back squat … 296-pound hang clean … 31-inch vertical jump … 32-inch arm length … 9 5/8-inch hands.

Combine: 4.65 in the 40-yard dash … 1.53 10-yard dash … 2.62 20-yard dash … 4.23 20-yard shuttle … 11.29 60-yard shuttle … 6.92 three-cone drill … 31-inch vertical jump … 9'9" broad jump … Bench pressed 225 pounds 22 times.

Attended Middleburg (Fla.) High School, playing football for head coach Alan Powers … Played both tight end and defensive end, as he recorded 17 receptions and five touch-downs and was named to the Florida-Times Union Top 24 as a senior … Registered 65 tackles, 10 for a loss, three sacks, three caused fumbles, six fumble recoveries, eight quarterback pressures and one blocked kick that he returned for a touchdown that season … Also lettered in basketball, averaging about 18.0 points per game.

Sports Administration major … Son of Tena and Brian Barnidge … Born 9/22/85 … Resides in Middleburg, Florida.