Dolphinator530
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Getting a chance to watch a lot of video this week and have to say didn't know much about this guy until his name continued to be brought up as a fast climber. Surely it has to do with projection due to size correct? While yes that is part of it, this guy already possesses a crazy skill set and the only real "red flag" is his weight, which the coaching staff this year held him accountable for and his results were crazy. So gonna talk about him a bit and welcome other viewpoints or analysis from my fellow posters.
First of all he is enormous 6'7" 360-370 depending on where you look him up. Carries the weight well and could see his continued physical maturing due to the positive reinforcement of results from his weight loss. Most of the time when a guy is this large they simply have one element to their game, overwhelming power. And he has power in dump truck loads, I have seen him uproot and decleat people with his punch. And it isn't just raw power, his core and leg strength in his anchor is incredible. And for a big guy, doesn't body people up or depend on his frame, he uses his reach and hands to really control his man. Speaking of reach I think while watching one of the videos he hit me in the chest, good lord he covers a lot of area and boy does he use it well, only knock I have is he is inconsistent with his punches and can be a bit wild with his hands and overzealous with his punch leading to him having to make up for it with physical ability, that wont go well in the NFL.
The shocking thing and I do not use that word lightly is the mobility and flexibility he has for someone of his size; it really is something to behold. He can bend at the hip and has incredible power when turning out blocks, doesn't fold at the waist when in space, and while he is high hipped due to size and coaching to this point his lower half is dynamic which helps prevent him from drifting. He was very raw and simply used physical tools early in his career but has taken definite strides this year. He is starting to show ability to recognize and diagnose the play better using his eyes more effectively especially while moving up field when there is a chance to peel back and pick up a block. He still needs to improve but shown a willingness to be coached in this aspect. And you have to love his overall mentality, fierce competitor with an edge to his game.
Obviously with a guy this large weight management will be a big deal, this current staff seems to have conditioned guys well and with a culture of accountability I dont see something like this being an issue. It is a mostly self motivated thing but with the results being so positive find it hard to believe that he will simply let himself go in the NFL. He does have to work on his technique, as i said, can be overzealous with his punch but is so overwhelmingly powerful he can simply bully guys in college. With game planning and now playing with comparable athletes he will have to refine his game and work on maintaining balance since most NFL D-linemen will try to out leverage him due to his size. But overall I would say this is a pretty rare prospect with this level of smoothness and mobility with someone this size.
I see him as a mid first round guy as he isnt as clean of a prospect as Thomas, Whirfs or Wills but dont get it twisted he is well deserving of the current climb in stock. If Miami has to use one of the 1st to trade up and get the QB they are after he could be the other 1st rounder. Wouldn't be mad if he was will be interesting to see testing results, especially his weight to see how seriously he is taking his NFL prep.
Video of Louisville OL below......he is #73
First of all he is enormous 6'7" 360-370 depending on where you look him up. Carries the weight well and could see his continued physical maturing due to the positive reinforcement of results from his weight loss. Most of the time when a guy is this large they simply have one element to their game, overwhelming power. And he has power in dump truck loads, I have seen him uproot and decleat people with his punch. And it isn't just raw power, his core and leg strength in his anchor is incredible. And for a big guy, doesn't body people up or depend on his frame, he uses his reach and hands to really control his man. Speaking of reach I think while watching one of the videos he hit me in the chest, good lord he covers a lot of area and boy does he use it well, only knock I have is he is inconsistent with his punches and can be a bit wild with his hands and overzealous with his punch leading to him having to make up for it with physical ability, that wont go well in the NFL.
The shocking thing and I do not use that word lightly is the mobility and flexibility he has for someone of his size; it really is something to behold. He can bend at the hip and has incredible power when turning out blocks, doesn't fold at the waist when in space, and while he is high hipped due to size and coaching to this point his lower half is dynamic which helps prevent him from drifting. He was very raw and simply used physical tools early in his career but has taken definite strides this year. He is starting to show ability to recognize and diagnose the play better using his eyes more effectively especially while moving up field when there is a chance to peel back and pick up a block. He still needs to improve but shown a willingness to be coached in this aspect. And you have to love his overall mentality, fierce competitor with an edge to his game.
Obviously with a guy this large weight management will be a big deal, this current staff seems to have conditioned guys well and with a culture of accountability I dont see something like this being an issue. It is a mostly self motivated thing but with the results being so positive find it hard to believe that he will simply let himself go in the NFL. He does have to work on his technique, as i said, can be overzealous with his punch but is so overwhelmingly powerful he can simply bully guys in college. With game planning and now playing with comparable athletes he will have to refine his game and work on maintaining balance since most NFL D-linemen will try to out leverage him due to his size. But overall I would say this is a pretty rare prospect with this level of smoothness and mobility with someone this size.
I see him as a mid first round guy as he isnt as clean of a prospect as Thomas, Whirfs or Wills but dont get it twisted he is well deserving of the current climb in stock. If Miami has to use one of the 1st to trade up and get the QB they are after he could be the other 1st rounder. Wouldn't be mad if he was will be interesting to see testing results, especially his weight to see how seriously he is taking his NFL prep.
Video of Louisville OL below......he is #73
