Background:
Four-star recruit who appeared in six games as a freshman and nine games as a sophomore, totaling 10-2.0-0.0 and 16-2.0-0.0 over those seasons, respectively. Enjoyed a more productive junior year over seven games, finishing with a line of 23-4.5-3.0 before declaring for the draft.
Positives:
Carries his weight well and has at least adequate size/bulk for a pro defensive lineman. Very high-motor, aggressive player who brings a lot of energy to the defensive front. Fires out with plenty of explosiveness and a low pad level, allowing him to knife into the backfield and disrupt rushing attempts on occasion. Keeps his shoulders square and knows when to discard a block and make a tackle when engaged. Has impressive functional strength to create movement with his bull rush. Closing burst is good enough to finish. Active with his hands and shows a swim move that’s already pretty effective. Flashes the ability to maneuver into open lanes and create pressure that way. Looks fast chasing down fleeing quarterbacks. Does a pretty good job of sniffing out screens. Impressive range and speed when chasing from the backside. Gets his hands up to contest passing lanes.
Negatives:
Really has just one productive year under his belt, and was more of a rotational player even then. Might be a little bit miscast in an odd defensive front, so might need to be playing in a defensive line rotation on a team which uses four down linemen. Can be a little bit too reliant on his bull rush to create pressure and can occasionally stall out around the line when that doesn’t work. Aggressiveness is sometimes used against him; hard-charger who loves to attack upfield, which can open up some possibilities for screens.
Summary:
A very likable prospect because of the intensity and effort he brings to the defense. Should be a good fit for an even front which like their defenders to play with aggression, playing with leverage, explosiveness, power, and activity, traits which gave opponents a lot of trouble this past year. Could conceivably fit in either a one-gap or two-gap defensive front.
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