6’7” – 314 lbs. – 5.40
Profile:
- Small-school prospect who has been manning his team’s left tackle position since arriving on campus as a true freshman, earning first-team all-conference honors in each of his past three campaigns.
Positives:
- Offers an excellent combination of height, bulk, and length for a pro tackle; really looks the part from a physical standpoint. Highly athletic for a player his size and looks very comfortable covering ground to reach/shove defenders in space. When he locks on, is able to get his arms extended and drive his feet to generate push. Seals opponents inside when he blocks down on interior linemen. Has very good-looking pass sets, bending at the knees, keeping his back straight, and extending his arms to lock out opponents. A little bit more athletic in a straight line than he is laterally quick, but is able to leverage his length in order to protect the edge against opposing speed rushers. Doesn’t let opponents into his pads. Works hard to cover ground and lead the way on screens. Could potentially play in either a man or zone-blocking scheme.
Negatives:
- Balance is an issue; falls off of more blocks than he should given his incredible frame, and will end up on the ground from time to time. Has a tendency to drop a late anchor against power and can be walked back into the pocket against relentless bull-rushers. Will lapse into using his body instead of his arms at times. Overall hand placement is generally good but will catch opponents or miss with his punch from time to time; punch also tends to fail to jolt opponents. Needs to make a big leap up in terms of the level of competition he’ll be playing against. Probably too tall for guard and has no prior experience on the right side of the line.
Summary:
- Very intriguing because of his excellent build, his impressive athleticism relative to his size, and his good-looking pass sets. It would be nice to see him clean up his balance and do a better job of using his arms, both in terms of increasing the violence of his punch and of extending his arms more consistently, but those are the types of things that can be cleaned up by a quality offensive line coach. In a year somewhat lacking in high-end offensive tackle talent, some teams may prefer to try and iron out the kinks in his game rather than reaching early. Could sneak into the second day; mid-rounder at the latest.
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