Can Someone on this board please tell me why this guy doesn’t play more. He was a Big Time Recruit; A D-End; and we are playing walk- ons in front of him.
He is a redshirt freshman playing behind a RS sophomore (also not a walk on) Bradlee Anae. The other DE is Fitts and 5th year senior. And the top 8 Defensive linemen do rotate in on a regular basis.
I understand Fitts and Anae. BUT Chris Hart, Repp and 96 (who is a walk on) don’t remember the name are also playing before him. Wondering if anyone had insight into why.
Just a guess, but thinking he’s undersized for DE. He needs to move over to the linebacker or fullback position. He’s come in on a few plays but definitely doesn’t have nearly the same motor as he did in highschool.
If weight was the only thing that mattered for DE then Dimick would be in the NFL. There’s a lot more to being undersized than just weight, height and strength for example. Most NFL DE prospects are 6’4″ and taller. Tupai at 6’1″ will struggle like Dimick to be drafted as a DE. I would bet they’re trying to switch him over to LB’r.
Tupai and Anae came together in the same class. Anae struggles with containing the edge, which makes me think Maxs also struggles with some things or the coaches would play him. Repp and Hart both have an extra year in the system and so they get the backup roles. Tupai will get on the field, but it’s pretty obvious he has some things to work on or we would see him in there more often.
The other thing to remember is that just because a kid is a 4 star guy, it doesn’t mean that he is necessarily better at some point than a walk on. There are so many variables that go into how a guy that develops you just have to trust the staff to pick out the guys that are the best at that particular point in time. Some of our better players have been lower rated guys that just worked a lot harder than others.