A former standout basketball player, Branden Albert did not wear a football uniform until his junior year in high school. Just a few years later, he left Virginia after starting all 37 games in which he played for the Cavaliers.

With a blend of athletic ability, size and strength at the point of attack, he quickly developed into one of the elite offensive guards in college football.

Albert first starred in basketball at Glen Burnie High School. He averaged 15.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game as a senior, earning second-team All-Metro honors from the Baltimore Sun. He scored nine points for the Baltimore All-Stars at the Marines Charm City Challenge.

As a junior, the football staff convinced him to give football a try. He went on to start as a two-way tackle, picking up first-team All-Metro accolades as an offensive lineman by the Baltimore Sun as a senior, as he also delivered 65 tackles on defense. He also earned first-team All-Anne Arundel County honors by the Baltimore Sun in 2003 and was rated the 38th-best offensive lineman in the country by Scout.com.

Albert enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy to improve his academic standing in 2004. The offensive tackle received a four-star rating from Rivals.com, a service that ranked him 12th among the top 25 prep school players in the nation.

Upon his arrival at Virginia in 2005, Albert was inserted into the starting lineup at left offensive guard. He received Freshman All-American third-team and Freshman All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team recognition from The Sporting News. In just his third college game, he garnered ACC Lineman of the Week honors for his performance vs. Duke. When he answered the opening gun for the Music City Bowl vs. Minnesota, he became the fourth true freshman offensive lineman in school history to start a bowl contest.

Virginia had many offensive struggles in 2006 (ranked 113th in the nation with an average of 257.2 yards per game) and the collective play of the offensive line (ranked 104th in the nation in sacks allowed; 35), but Albert was named All-Atlantic Coast Conference honorable mention. He was an ACC Lineman of the Week pick for his performance vs. North Carolina State and recorded 40 knockdown blocks while allowing just one sack to finish with an 82.9% grade for blocking consistency.

As a junior, Albert earned All-American third-team and All-ACC first-team accolades. He started 11 games at left offensive guard and lined up at left tackle vs. Pittsburgh and Middle Tennessee. He twice earned Lineman of the Week honors (vs. North Carolina and Wake Forest), registering 54 knockdowns with 12 touchdown-resulting blocks, but did give up 5 ½ of the team's 33 sacks allowed.

After the Gator Bowl, Albert announced that he would bypass his senior year to enter the 2008 NFL Draft. He did not submit his paperwork to the NFL advisory committee that predicts where underclassmen might be drafted if they leave school early. "I would rather go off Coach Al Groh than anybody, because he's a great resource," Albert said. "I feel like he cares about me, that he would tell me what I need to know, not what I want to hear. He won't tell me his own selfish reasons to either stay or go."

Positives: Has a solid upper body with long arms, large hands, good chest thickness, flat back, broad shoulders and a strong hand punch, but could use more lower-body development … Has great work habits and is a coachable talent who takes pride in doing the extras necessary to improve … Struggled in the classroom, but has been a good student of the game, taking plays from the chalkboard to the playing field with minimal reps … Has experience at both offensive tackle and on the defensive line to fill in capably there in an emergency, but his trap-blocking skills are more suited to play guard at the next level, despite his tall frame … Has good foot quickness and body positioning to block along the line, but will lose his base and narrow his stance when reaching the second level … Will use his upper-body strength instead of staying sound technique-wise at times, but he does extend his arms with power (needs more consistency doing so, but has improved) … Strength and explosiveness are evident in his hand punch and hip roll … Shows good consistency using his hands to get proper placement and likes to grab on and jerk the defender to the ground … Has that powerful hand jolt to rock the bull rusher back and gets good movement coming off the snap when he keeps his pads down … Can maintain position when he uses his hands to lock on a ride the opponent wide, as he makes proper hand adjustments to sustain blocks … Can gain advantage at the snap with his sudden short burst and flashes good knee bend (feet sometimes get quicker than his body) … Shows very good sudden force coming out of his stance and while he lacks ideal change-of-direction skills, he can lock on and steer … Has good movement skills blocking in space, but will lose balance when he gets too tall in his stance … Effective trap blocker who generates movement coming off the ball and has a strong inside anchor setting up in pass protection to consistently get extension and separation due to proper hand usage … His strength is evident on run blocks and he is quick to get position and wall off … Shows good urgency coming out of his stance when trying to turn and seal the opponent in in-line blocking situations for the ground game … Can turn up and seal inside with good power on initial contact to finish, doing a nice job of kicking out and sealing with effectiveness … Shows impressive knee bend for a player of his stature (most tall blockers struggle to drop their pads and will revert to waist bending) … Can generate good explosion off the ball to ride the defenders out … Has the anchor to slide and mirror, but his adequate change-of-direction causes him to lose position when trying to get back and neutralize edge rushers … Shows good hip-sinking ability when dropping back in pass protection, as he does a good job in standing flat-footed with a solid lower base to effectively neutralize the surge in pass protection … Uses his large, powerful hands well to lock on and ride the defender away from the play, and keeps his head on a swivel, always looking to get a piece of another defender after making the initial block.

Negatives: Looks a little awkward with his feet when trying to adjust to linebackers blocking upfield … Tends to get tall in his stance on the move and must show better angle concept when stalking … Lacks classic knee bend and the hip snap to make downfield adjustments … Has adequate change-of-direction skills and keeps his feet too narrow on the move … Needs to maintain balance on the move, as he tends to overextend in order to stay with his man, resulting in the defender's hand slaps knocking him off stride (bit top-heavy) … Will duck his head before making initial contact … Has good hand placement, but needs to be a bit more deceptive trying to grab and latch on to a defender's jersey, as he is prone to getting costly holding penalties … Has experience playing on the edge at left tackle, but is more suited to play in-line at guard, and sometimes has problems containing quicker pass rushers off the edge and does tire late in games (needs to improve his overall stamina, but showed better playing tempo as a junior, dropping his weight from 340 to 315 pounds) … Will sometimes lunge at defenders rather than wait for the action to come to him … Struggles to maintain body control coming off the snap, as his feet tend to get ahead of him, allowing defenders to slip past and pressure the pocket … When he gets too tall in his pads, he loses his adequate lateral range and looks sluggish in attempts to change direction … Has a strong hand punch, but needs to use it with more consistency … Could do a better job playing with true aggression and too often tries to finesse rather than maul.

Compares To: MAURICE WILLIAMS-Jacksonville-Built more like an offensive tackle, Albert is surprisingly effective sinking his weight and firing off the snap. He lacks the change-of\-direction agility to be isolated on the outside as a tackle, but does show good straight-line movement skills to widen and sustain rush lanes. He works well with his center on combo blocks and has a strong punch to shock and jolt. He has worked hard to improve his conditioning, going from 340 to 315 pounds over the last two years, but he needs to improve his stamina. He tired late in games, getting into trouble with penalties or overextending. With a very weak offensive guard crop, he could sneak to the top of this position with solid postseason workouts.

No injuries reported.

Campus: 5.41 in the 40-yard dash … 375-pound bench press … 500-pound squat … 33 5/8-inch arm length … 9 ¼-inch hands.

PREP SCHOOL

Attended Hargrave (Chatham, Va.) Military Academy in 2004, playing football for head coach Robert Prunty … The offensive tackle received a four-star rating from Rivals.com, a service that ranked him 12th among the top 25 prep school players in the nation.

Attended Glen Burnia (Md.) High School, playing football for head coach Brad Wilson … As a junior, the football staff convinced him to try the gridiron … Went on to start as a two-way tackle, picking up first-team All-Metro accolades as an offensive lineman by the Baltimore Sun as a senior, as he also delivered 65 tackles on defense … Earned first-team All-Anne Arundel County honors by the Baltimore Sun in 2003 and was rated the 38th-best offensive lineman in the country by Scout.com … First starred in basketball at Glen Burnie, as he averaged 15.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game as a senior, earning second-team All-Metro honors from the Baltimore Sun … Scored nine points for the Baltimore All-Stars at the Marines Charm City Challenge.

Sociology major … Brother, Ashley Sims, was a defensive lineman at Maryland in 1996 … Son of Susan Albert … Born Branden B. Albert on 11/04/4 in Rochester, New York.