Linebacker | Michigan | Junior

Height: 5-foot-11 | Weight: 234 pounds

College Stats

2018: Started 12 games as a junior in 2018; totaled 78 tackles (38 solo), 5.0 sacks, 9.0 tackles for loss and six passes broken up; was named a consensus All-American; was a national finalist for the Butkus Award and the Bronko Nagurski Award for top linebacker and top defender, respectively; Big Ten Woodson-Nagurski Defensive Player of the Year; Big Ten Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year

Career: Started 25 of 39 games at Michigan; finished his three-season career with 191 tackles (83 solo), one interception, 10 sacks, 19 tackles for loss and 14 passes broken up; was a two-time Walter Camp All-American (First Team in 2018, Second Team in 2017); two-time Associated Press All-American (Second Team in 2018, Third Team in 2017); two-time Butkus Award finalist; 2018 Associated Press Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year

Profile

Summary: Bush stood out at Charles W. Flanagan High School where he was coached by his father, Devin Bush, Sr., who played in the NFL from 1995-2002. Bush helped guide his high school team to the FHSAA Class 8A State Championship in 2015 and was rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com.

At Michigan, Bush played in all 13 games as a freshman; he contributed primarily on special teams but played in seven games a linebacker. He started all 13 games at linebacker in 2017 while continuing to be a dynamic special teamer, and he racked up a career-high 101 tackles (39 solo) and 9.5 sacks. Following his junior season, Bush declared for other Draft and was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, where he impressed in the 40-yard dash (second among linebackers), vertical jump (first), broad jump (third) and 3-cone drill (fifth).

NFL analyst Lance Zierlein mentioned **among Jones’ strengths** that he has "compact lower body with a filled-out frame," trusts in his field vision, maintains body control through contact and has "good patience with feel for run-blocking development."

"There will be NFL defenses who pass on Bush due to his lack of size, but his ability to play fast and free as an outside linebacker should supersede those concerns," Zierlein said. "He will miss some tackles and get engulfed by blockers at other times, but his play strength and ability to run and cover are extremely valuable in today's game and should not be diminished due to a tape measurement."

Stacking up: Bush was ranked as the second-best linebacker in this year's draft class by The Athletic's Dane Brugler and NFL Media's Bucky Brooks in their pre-combine positional rankings. NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah has ranked Bush 19th in his list of the Top 50 prospects.

Beating to his own drum: Bush told media members during his combine podium session that his father is the "one person I can always lean on," but he also set his own football path at the encouragement of his father.

"He always encouraged me to be the best person I could be. When I was young, he said not to play the game because he played it. I should play because I want to," Bush said. "He always made sure I was playing the game for me and not him. When I made the decision to play football, he always stood by me. He was my biggest critic."

When Bush came out of high school, he opted against playing at Florida State, where his father excelled at defensive back, and chose Michigan instead.