Indiana Stock Up Showcase: Defensive Line Evaluations

The defensive line group was a smaller, but talented one. Each of them had their moments during the showcase. In both the drills and 1v1's they displayed a good work ethic, an attention to detail, and coachability. The group was predominantly made up of 2028's and a 2029. So, there's still a lot of time and room for physical and skill development. Academically the group is holding it down as well as all of the players range from strong to high caliber students. So let's take a look at the group.    Reihl showed up and he showed out on his way to camp MVP for the defensive line. Watching his testing and drills he immediately caught my eye. He showed explosiveness and ability to bend in the 3 cone and 20-yard shuttle as well as the drills. All of those traits easily translated to the 1v1's. Reihl lined up mostly at right end. He routinely won with his twitchy get-off and he showed and that ability to bend and turn the corner at a high level. The blockers struggled to get their hands on him due to his active and violent hands. I'm really looking forward to seeing him develop over the next couple of years.     Hayworth was another impressive 2028 defensive lineman who had a great day. He showed a good burst off the ball. Luke has a great feel for how to use his length to his advantage. He does a great job of long arming and then using active hands to swipe and rip. When turning the corner, he had a really good dip and bend move that was impressive for a taller longer end. The traits are there for Hayworth, if he can continue to get stronger and more violent, I think his game will go to another level.     Emanuel really caught my eye during the 1v1's. He dominated on the interior. Griffin used his low center of gravity and explosive get off to win off the snap. Even more impressive was his ability to fluidly string together pass rush moves. Speed to dip and bend or speed to reverse spin. When he attacked the center of the blocker he showed violent hands.     What I saw from Lachlan was a defensive tackle who's more of a run defender. He has a low center of gravity and does a good job of anchoring. The pass rush moves are a work in progress, and you could see him taking the techniques in and trying to apply them. Smith has a good motor, and you see a player who loves the game.     Conover is more of a power rusher. He has a thicker build that presents itself more for a power rush and 2 gapping. He uses his length well in long arming and he has the lower body strength to drive blockers backwards. He plays with good pad level and his head up. As develops his pass rush ability it will add another level to his game.     Clary came out even though he was unable to perform due to an injury sustained in a wrestling match the day prior. Since he signed up and made the effort to come out, I wanted to make sure I got an evaluation out on him, so I watched his freshman film. I really liked what I saw. He's very advanced for a freshman. Clary's length and athleticism really pop. He's a versatile defensive end who can play the run and the pass. In the run game he shows the ability to anchor and shed. In the pass game he has a really nice dip move where he dips and gets skinny to win on either the inside or out. He has active hands and knows how to counter.

The defensive line group was a smaller, but talented one. Each of them had their moments during the showcase. In both the drills and 1v1's they displayed a good work ethic, an attention to detail, and coachability. The group was predominantly made up of 2028's and a 2029. So, there's still a lot of time and room for physical and skill development. Academically the group is holding it down as well as all of the players range from strong to high caliber students. So let's take a look at the group.