Leki Fotu | DL | Utah
Elevator Pitch
Fotu is a mountain of a man that can clog the interior of a defense. Don’t let his size fool you, despite being 330 pounds, Fotu has a bit of quickness to his game. He likely falls into the latter part of day two but he can make strides to be a focal point inside for man teams looking for a nose or one-technique defensive tackle. A penetrating defensive tackle who needs to develop more as a pass rusher.
Vitals
Height | 6-5
Weight | 330
Class | Senior
Strengths
The first thing you notice is the size of Fotu. He uses that size and strength well at the point of attack. He can also use his length against offensive lineman when engaging. One on One blocking against Fotu seems very ineffective, teams will need to use double teams against him more often than not.
Uses his hands well in fighting with interior lineman. Uses that quickness off the line to his advantage. When engaged, uses lower body power well to drive blockers into the pocket. Despite his size, shows off motor in pursuit. Given his abilities up front, Fotu is a perfect player in a two-gap defense.
Weaknesses
Leki Fotu is a work in progress in terms of pass rush. He is fairly limited in giving anything on passing downs so he will likely be a two-down tackle early on in his career. He really struggles with leverage due to playing with a narrow base. Lineman are able to get under his pad level to control him in passing situations.
If he doesn’t beat the lineman off the snap, he can be swallowed up by blocking. His inability to counter is another reason that Fotu is in the latter portions of day two conversations. Late in games he seems. to get gassed so conditioning will play a factor.
Projection: Day 3
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