Ali Highsmith was a bit on the small side linebacker anyway, and then showed up at the Combine and ran the forty at approximately 5.0 seconds, i.e. slower than a lot of offensive linemen and the slowest of any linebacker at the combine. There were a lot of rumblings that he was hurt, which is almost certainly true, but still it was an absolutely idiotic thing for him to run in that case. Plenty of guys every year don't run, he should have been one of them. Smaller linebackers -- particularly one that needs to get a lot stronger too -- have to show a lot of speed, and Highsmith didn't do that.
Woodyard was a small linebacker too, and not overly disciplined. He was always flying around, but never really a method for the madness. In the running game, he was often swallowed up at the point of attack. Most people expected him to be drafted, but I could see why teams passed him up. You'll never find many 210 pound linebackers in the NFL, and that hurt him bad.
As for Mayo... I hate the Vols, but he is a great prospect. He's got pretty good size -- 6'2 and 230 -- and really has very good mobility for his size. He went to Indy for the Combine and ran a 4.50, which was highly impressive. Beyond that, he's a smart kid who understands the game well -- always a major plus for a Belichick defender -- and he has the versatility to play both inside and outside. Beyond that, he was about the only good defender the Vols had last year, and led the league with 140 tackles. He's a dang good player, and had the Pats not selected him, another team in the mid-first round would have.
