Russell Wilson is run out of bounds by Michigan State's Max Bullough in 2011. Credit: Journal Sentinel files

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Green Bay — Now this is a football family. Three generations of Bulloughs came through Michigan State.

To recap, Max Bullough’s Dad, Shane, was a captain in 1986. His Dad’s Dad was a Spartan in the mid-1950’s. He had another grandfather play halfback at Notre Dame. And there’s also the three uncles — Chuck Bullough (Michigan State), Bobby Morse (Michigan State) and Jim Morse (Notre Dame) — who all played college football.

None lasted too long in the NFL. Bullough hopes to change that.

“That’s the plan,” Bullough said this week. “I want to be in the NFL for a while.”

If the Packers go inside linebacker in the middle rounds, Bullough is an option. They’ve been interested in the Michigan State linebacker for a while with general manager Ted Thompson speaking to him multiple times. The three-year starter put together seasons of 89 (seven for loss), 111 and 76 tackles in college. His production dipped last season, and there’s also that strange Rose Bowl suspension he won't discuss, but Green Bay is a fan of Bullough.

The instincts, the football IQ that could separate Bullough are rooted in the pedigree. Bullough has always been around the game.

“I love the X’s and O’s of it," Bullough said. "I love the chess match of it. And that’s something that has not only helped myself but Michigan State and our defense the last three years.”

One NFL general manager through this pre-draft process told Bullough he could step in and coach his defense.

Hard to argue with the results. With Bullough lodged in the middle, Michigan State's defense ranked sixth, fourth and second nationally. He made all the calls and was the one diagnosing plays quickly.

“We had a lot of guys in our defense who were three-year starters, or at least two-year starters,” Bullough said. “We all played together. And having the ability — to have a comfort with the guys and know what they’re going to do — it allows us to play faster. And of course me knowing everything, we could make a lot of adjustments that other defenses couldn’t is what brought us to that next level.

“I think that’s an important part of the game that’s overlooked a lot.”

The 6-foot-3, 249-pound Bullough took Michigan State to the Rose Bowl, but didn’t play in that win over Stanford. He wouldn’t get into the details at the NFL scouting combine, saying NFL teams know what happened.

On the field, Bullough “definitely” puts himself in the same class as C.J. Mosley, Ryan Shazier and Chris Borland, the three inside linebackers who’ll likely be selected ahead of him.

The reason, he says, is the defense as a whole. Six opponents were held to single-digits. In one of those wins — a 14-0 win over Purdue — Bullough’s sack/fumble led to a touchdown.

“I just ran around that corner, the line went the other way and he didn’t even see me,” he said.

At the combine and his pro day, Bullough knew he was fighting the perception that he's only a two-down linebacker. Initially weighinf in at the East-West Shrine Game at 265 pounds, he has since gotten his weight back down to the 245-250 range. And at his pro day, Bullough ran a 4.69 in the 40-yard dash. His 30 reps at 225 pounds ranked first amongst linebackers at the combine.

The question Green Bay will be asking itself is whether Linebacker "A" can stop Problem "B" — Colin Kaepernick.

San Francisco’s quarterback has become a one-man Packers slayer with 1,203 total yards and eight touchdowns in three straight wins. Whichever linebacker the Packers bring in next will need to slow this player down.

Maybe Jamari Lattimore and/or Sam Barrington do play a larger role in 2014.

Bullough vows he is agile enough to contain Kaepernick.

“I’m a guy who played in the Big Ten. I’m a guy who played athletic quarterbacks,” he said. “If you go back and look at it, they’re all over the place. Braxton Miller. Denard Robinson. Devin Gardner. All of these guys are able to move.”

Last year, Miller ran for 142 yards on 21 attempts in the Big Ten title game against Michigan State but completed only eight passes. In holding Michigan to six points, Michigan State sacked Gardner four times in the first quarter.

So the Packers must figure out Bullough’s role in it all. He was the vocal, fist-pumping, two-time captain central the success. In containing dual-threat quarterbacks, Bullough says the key is all 11 players “trusting each other.”

“If everybody does their job, there’s only so many gaps you can run through,” he said. “And then if there’s a mistake, if he makes a guy miss, it’s about guys running to the ball so a 50-yard touchdown against whoever would be a 12-yard gain against us. That’s what’s important against those guys who can move.”

It’s always been competitive in the Bullough household. Hundreds of prospects vow to “love” the game, to have a “passion” for it. Bullough insists it’s sincere, and then some, growing up in this family.

Through those talks with Thompson and Green Bay scouts, he sees the Packers as an ideal fit.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I love watching their defense.”

Previous draft profiles below and all NFL Draft coverage here...



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(Journal Sentinel photo by John Klein)