6’4” – 262 lbs.
Redshirted in 2015. Rotated into the defense in his redshirt freshman season, posting 22-7.0-2.5. Went 48-15.5-7.0 in a very impressive sophomore season, then sustained a season-ending wrist injury in the opener of his junior season after being named a team captain. Came back to post 52-15.5-9.5 as a senior. Actually measured in a little bit taller than his listed size at the Senior Bowl, being closer to 6’4” than 6’3”; arms were a solid 33.5” in length. Listed as a linebacker but takes a lot of his snaps as more of a traditional defensive end, often out of a four-point stance; flips back and forth between the left and right sides fairly regularly. Plays the game with physicality, toughness, and a strong motor. Has the size, length, power, and physicality you’d like in a run defender, but is more of a project at this point. Has the ability to anchor, but was asked to play a more aggressive role with the Gators and looked like he struggled during the games reviewed. Relies too heavily on his body instead of getting his arms extended and keeping his head up, with the consequence being difficulty locating the ball. Gives good motor in pursuit, but is not one of the faster or rangier players. Given his gaudy sack totals in 2017 and 2019, expected to see a little bit more as a pass rusher as well. Reaction times to the ball being snapped are at least adequate, but has just average explosiveness overall. Works in a lot of stutter-steps and mixes up his approach, flashing the ability to slap away an opponent’s hands or get low and use his bull rush to create some push, but overall his moves look a little bit flat and can play high at times. Looks stiff around the edge and has some balance issues, causing him to run too deep or wipe out. When he gets the advantage on the outside, does a good job of using his length to go for the strip, but was more successful when he was able to use an inside move to create a clear lane to the passer, where he displays an adequate closing burst. Also made some limited drops into zone coverage, but wasn’t asked to cover much ground. Size, physicality, competitiveness, and high-level SEC production warrant a look, but doesn’t have quite as much polish/refinement as anticipated and may lack the high-end athleticism to make him a high draft pick.
DRAFTEXAMINER 