Henry To’oTo’o 

Pos: LB

School: Alabama

Ht. 6’1″ 

Wt. 227

Games Watched: Texas, Texas A&M, LSU

One Liner: Well rounded linebacker that wins with instincts, pursuit, and technique

Strengths: 

  • Very good instincts. To’oTo’o plays with high quality instincts, and it looks like he is trained well with years of experience. He understands play development and uses his keys to jump out and attack based on prior understanding of blocking schemes and play progressions.
  • Very good pursuit. To’oTo’o plays great in pursuit, and has high quality linear speed to attack and pursue the ball carrier in space. 
  • Good technique. To’oTo’o is a technically refined linebacker. He plays with good block shedding, has good instincts, and can be used in zone coverage as well. For the most part, he is not overly aggressive, and will be patient to mirror and read running back movements before pouncing and closing.
  • Good block shedding. To’oTo’o has flashes of advanced blockshedding ability for a college linebacker. He has an effective swim move and has the power and toughness to outmuscle blockers to shed. This will need to be more consistent at the next level, but the flashes are promising. 

Weaknesses:

  • Adequate man coverage. To’oTo’o looks a bit lost in man coverage at times. He is late to diagnose the passing play and will delay in flipping his hips and guarding the receiver in pursuit of the ball. His above average and pursuit may still be too little for To’oTo’o at the next level in terms of recovery. 
  • Adequate read and react. To’oTo’o has good instincts, but struggles with play fakes and options at the mesh point. His instincts tell him to bite at the first look he sees, but against Texas, To’oTo’o was faked out quite a bit at the mesh point and bit early in the process. There are also instances were To’oTo’o was a tick slow to react, leading to him getting blocked and neutralized out of the play.
  • Adequate athleticism. To’oTo’o is not a spectacular athlete, and shows some stiffness in his hips in man coverage where he is forced to readjust his body to the receiver. In zone, To’oTo’o lacks exceptional change of direction and burst to attack the player in his area. 

Overall Assessment: Henry To’oTo’o is a well rounded player, who does some of the more important things required of a linebacker at a solid level. While his athleticism will prevent him from being a reliable man coverage linebacker at the next level, To’oTo’o looks well trained on tape with good instincts, that will have their occasional misses, but promising nonetheless.To’oTo’o flashes NFL caliber blockshedding and is solid in many areas. His ceiling will be capped as a result, but To’oTo’o can be a reliable player in the right scheme at the next level.

Scheme Fit: SAM LB in an odd front where he has other linebackers/defensive backs to assist in coverage

Pick Projection: Mid-Late 3rd Round

Grade: 6.26