6’5” – 254 lbs. – 4.79
Played his first season at 200 pounds and ended up putting together a line of 36-6.0-1.0. Bulked up to 243 as a sophomore (19-6.0-4.0), then stepped into the starting lineup and went 77-16.0-8.5 and 40-7.5-3.0 in his junior and senior years. Tall with long arms and a thick build; really looks the part. Massive wingspan. Was asked to play various different techniques; regularly shifts back and forth between the left and right sides of the line. Took snaps out of two-, three-, and four-point stances. Gets good extension with his arms and flashes the ability to generate push with his bull rush; good leg drive after contact. Active with his hands. Pretty good instincts to flow toward the play direction. Strong effort in backside pursuit and chasing to the sidelines on outside attempts. Aggressiveness can sometimes take him out of position; would like to see more discipline in his run fits. Despite his size, is more active than powerful at this point; makes more tackles flowing toward the ball than he does by dropping his anchor, stacking blockers, and shedding them like a two-gapping team would like to see. High-motor player who does a pretty good job of diversifying his approach. Good suddenness and quick feet help him create the threat of inside penetration; pretty effective rusher on stunts and twists and got a lot of his pressure with inside moves. Flashes the ability to bend back toward the passer but it didn’t seem like opposing tackles had too much trouble getting enough depth to stop his speed rush. Sometimes seems to rely more on activity and effort than planning and technique. Above-average athlete for his size, but doesn’t have an elite closing burst, which allowed quarterbacks to flee the pocket at times during the games reviewed. Overall production dropped off pretty dramatically in his senior year. Has made some limited drops into coverage, but technique hasn’t really been developed much; has quick feet but still looks a little bit awkward. That’s probably not going to be a major part of his game at the next level, although it may increase his appeal to zone-blitz teams. A pretty intriguing prospect who has a great frame, plenty of energy, and above-average athleticism, but who hasn’t really put it all together at this point. Could be hard to block if he plays the run with more discipline and develops a more refined approach to rushing the passer.
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