Perhaps a dozen different NFL scouts have made the long trek to Rantoul, Ill. this week, and the majority of their focus was directed at one man in particular: senior strong side defensive end Jihad Ward, who will now spend the first two weeks of the 2015 season on the bench due to an undisclosed injury (rumors are that it's a knee issue) and subsequent surgery.
Ward is a six-foot-six, nearly 300 pound monster on the line, who really came into his own towards the tail end of the 2014 season (his first in the Big Ten after transferring from a junior college).