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Skinny: After receiving a second round grade from the NFL Advisory Committee, Pouncey opted to return for his senior season with intentions of improving his draft grade. He will slide to the center position to replace his brother Maurkice (Steelers) but Mike projects as a guard at the next level. That type of versatility will enhance his stock.

SCOUT'S TAKE

Like his twin brother Maurkice, Mike Pouncey is not only schematically versatile; he can play multiple positions along the offensive line. The interior lineman started all 14 games both as a sophomore and a junior, mostly at the right guard position, and also started on the left side last year. This season he is expected to take over at center, replacing his brother who left early for the NFL. The remaining Gator is skilled to the point that the team even used him at tackle this past spring and some of the coaches at Florida believe he can play center, guard and tackle. That would give new meaning to the term ‘jack-of-all-trades’ when it comes to scouting offensive linemen. During his two-year stint as a starter Pouncey consistently graded out as one of the top offensive linemen in the SEC, earning second team all-conference honors in 2008 (by the coaches) before cracking the first team and making several All-American squads a year ago. Standing at 6’4” and 310 pounds Pouncey is the new age prototype for NFL centers—gigantic, muscular, and athletic. The Gators are very confident that he can make the transition to the center position not just because of his physical ability, but due to his intelligence and leadership skills as well. Pouncey lacks elite athletic ability, the type that can make an interior lineman a first round pick. He may be very strong but if he is going to play guard fulltime at the next level the Lakeland native would have to bulk up as NFL teams usually like their guards to tip the scales in the 325-330-pound range. There are those who are predicting back-to-back drafts with a Pouncey going in round one, but it says here that Mike Pouncey is going to have wait a day to hear his name called and is more likely to go in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

NEWS

09/12/10 - Pete Rose may have solved the Florida Gators’ snapping problems. Seriously. No, not that Rose. Mike Pouncey, an All-SEC lineman last year who shifted to center to take the spot vacated by his twin brother, Maurkice, after he let for the NFL, got a lot of criticism last week after struggling snapping the football when Florida was in shotgun formation. And he got a lot of advice prior to Saturday’s 38-14 win against South Florida. But the person who may have done him the most good actually works in the Florida equipment room. “There’s an equipment guy on our team named Peter Rose,” Pouncey said. “He told me I was too balanced on my stance and I’m not comfortable like that. He told me to put a stagger in my stance. I was like, ‘What am I going to listen to him for.’ But it worked for me.” — Florida Today

04/26/10 - C/G MIKE POUNCEY: After brother Maurkice went No. 18 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, you’ve got to believe brother Mike will have a first-round projection entering next year. Maurkice had a little bit of an edge between the two brothers, partly because of experience at center. Mike is  staying back another year to strengthen his grip on the center position, and with the same build (6-foot-5, 320 pounds) and aggressiveness off the line, the big Gator will be in good shape next April. – Orlando Sentinel

01/11/10 - Florida junior Mike Pouncey plans to stay in school for his senior year. “I’m very excited to come back and wear the orange and blue for the 2010 season,” Mike Pouncey said. “I’m looking forward to being a leader on this team, having the opportunity to play center and continuing to learn from Coach Steve Addazio. It has been an honor to play here, so I can’t wait to run out into The Swamp for another year.”

12/28/09 - Twin brothers Mike and Maurkice Pouncey said they have not heard back from the NFL Draft advisory board yet on where they could get picked. Both UF offensive linemen have said they will likely leave after their junior years for the pros if they are forecast to go in the first two rounds. "It's really close,'' Mike said. "This is a tough decision. . . . If it doesn't say that I'll be guaranteed in the second round, I'm coming back.'' – Fort Meyers News Press