2012 NFL Draft Prospect Profiles: Dont'a Hightower, MLB, Alabama

Who will be the New York Giants middle linebacker in 2012? Right now your guess is as good as mine.

Will it be Chase Blackburn, who came off his couch mid-season in 2011 and played better than anyone thought he could? Will it be Jonathan Goff, the starter before missing all of last season with a knee injury? Will be it be Mark Herzlich? Might Greg Jones get another opportunity?

Or, will it be someone the Giants snag in the 2012 NFL Draft? Like, oh, Dont'a Hightower of Alabama, who is the subject of today's 2012 NFL Draft prospect profile.

Hightower is currently the 16th-ranked prospect on the Big Board of NFP draft expert Wes Bunting. CBS Sports ranks Hightower 29th overall, and the second-best inside linebacker in the draft.

As often as I have heard his name mentioned in connection with the Giants it seems many think he is a 3-4 inside linebacker rather than a 4-3 guy. CBS calls Hightower "a more athletic version of former SEC star linebacker Brandon Spikes."

Football's Future calls Hightower a "solid prospect" who is the "the typical thumper in the middle of the defense" and "will be a great addition to a team needing some help stropping the run."

Thoughts, Giants fans?

Dont'a Hightower Profile

Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 260 pounds
40 time: 4.75 (Pre-Combine)
2011 Stats: 85 tackles, four sacks, one interception, three passes defensed