6) Mesidor sees advanced age as a feature, not a bug. There’s a lot to like about Akheem Mesidor, a relentless pass rusher who earned first-team All-ACC honors this past season with 12.5 sacks, including 5.5 in Miami’s four-game College Football Playoff run. As Bucky Brooks’ No. 3 edge defender and Daniel Jeremiah’s No. 20 overall prospect, Mesidor is widely projected to be a first-round pick. But one potential knock on his draft profile is the advanced age. Having played college football for six years — two at West Virginia, followed by four with the Hurricanes — Mesidor turns 25 on April 5, making him one of the older players in this draft class. He doesn’t see this as a negative, though.

“You can call me a seasoned rookie,” Mesidor said on Wednesday in Indianapolis. “I think I’m coming in more mature with a different approach, different mentality than a lot of younger guys. I think my age could be a plus.”

To his point, Mesidor draws steady praise for the maturity of his game, which combines a non-stop motor (SEE: last season’s impressive total of 63 tackles, including 17.5 for loss) with a deep bag of pass-rushing moves (tied for fourth in the FBS with 67 pressures, per Pro Football Focus). A native of Ottawa, Canada, the 6-3, 265-pounder believes the prolonged voyage truly refined his skill set, which will allow him to hit the ground running in the NFL.

“Everybody has their own path, everybody has their own timeline — mine just happened to be six years in college,” Mesidor said. “And I was able to continue to learn and grow with these amazing people around me who helped me become the person that I am right now.”

One of those people has been Jason Taylor, Miami’s defensive line coach for the past three seasons. A Pro Football Hall of Famer with the seventh-most sacks in NFL history (139.5), Taylor has been an invaluable resource for Mesidor.

“I’m always in his office, always in the facility. JT has a couch right there — I’m always laying on it, we’re always talking or watching film,” Mesidor said. “He’s been a tremendous help and like a mentor to me throughout this whole process.”

A product of Akron, Taylor wasn’t drafted until midway through the third round (No. 73 overall) back in 1997. Mesidor appears set to come off the board much earlier in a couple months. But that’s also a testament to Taylor’s tutelage.

“He was tremendous in the league, a legend,” Mesidor said. “And he taught me how to be a professional, how to approach the game, how to approach the way you eat, sleep, train, all these different things.”