The Irish once again flipped a prospect, this time in California with 2021 Devin Aupiu, as Notre Dame’s gain was UCLA’s loss.
Committed ☘️ #GoIrish #GoldRush pic.twitter.com/DEfg2f32Gl
— Devin Aupiu (@aupiu44) December 9, 2020
Let’s take a look a what we can expect from the six-foot-six-inch and 225-pound edge defender when he arrives in South Bend.
Unfortunately for Aupiu, California postponed their season to the spring, so he was not able to put together any current film but his junior highlight tape is more than impressive. Although most of Aupiu’s work comes from the defensive end position, his athleticism will allow him to move back into an outside linebacker role in the future.
He shows some great pass-rushing instincts, so there’s not much work to be done in that area. Not much coverage is shown in his highlight package, so it’s hard to know how Aupiu will fare dropping back and defending passes.
If Aupiu sees the field early, it will be in pass-rush situations, but he may need a few years to bulk-up and be an every down linebacker. He’s a tweener right now, so he might not end up as an linebacker, if he adds on more weight while keeping his speed, Aupiu could very well end up as a defensive end. Either way, Brian Kelly and Clark Lea are happy to land the versatile defender.
