2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Anthony Koclanakis, LB, Murray State University
When you turn on Murray State football film, you will see a kid wearing a #47 jersey on defense. It is impossible to miss Anthony Koclanakis, because he is everywhere. He does a great job at tracking the ball and getting after the ball carrier. I was blown away by his ability to take great angles and his heart. You can tell the kid has a passion for the game by his play.
I had to dig into Anthony’s background because I wanted to know how he ended up at Murray State and not a Power 5 school. He stands at 6010 and weighs 226 pounds. He is from Anaheim, California, but somehow ended up in Kentucky. So I went back to look at film from Santa Ana College, and I found a Mike backer with great closing speed, and a backer with the ability to shoot a gap and stuff a ball carrier. I was blown away by his abilities at Santa Ana. Murray State obviously did a great job recruiting him because since coming to the FCS he has been a standout backer for them as well.
Koclanakis would finish his season at Santa Ana with 82 tackles and the Racers would come calling, after he received an All-Conference selection.
In 2018, Anthony began suiting up for the Racers and making a difference right away. He finished the season with 66 total tackles and had 4 tackles for loss. What was impressive though was his ability to cover. He finished with two interceptions in 2018.
Last year, Koclanakis tore up the OVC. He finished with 124 tackles including 9.5 tackles for loss. He racked up another interception to go along with his three quarterback sacks. He was a high motored linebacker last year dominated from whistle to whistle.
NFL Draft Diamonds Scouting Notes:
I had to go back and figure out how this kid was overlooked from JuCo. I was blown away by his film, because of his instincts. That is something you cannot teach. Anthony Koclanakis reads the quarterback like a book and was able to make solid adjustments last season to prove his worth. He is on NFL radars right now, and if you want to find a player to compare him too, look no further than Kiko Alonso. Both players are wreckless and are not afraid to throw their bodies around. This kid is special. – Damond Talbot, Owner, NFL Draft Diamonds
NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com