Trey Lealaimatafao scouting report: Squatty, explosive 2014 defensive tackle

Name: Trey Lealaimatafao

School and hometown: San Antonio (Texas) Warren High School

Position: Defensive tackle

Height and weight: 6’1 and 300 pounds

Ratings: A consensus three-star prospect in the 247Sports composite ranking, Lealaimatafao is ranked among the 40 top defensive tackles in the country by the same ranking. He is considered a borderline top-50 player in the state.

Offers: Lealaimatafao holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Houston, Iowa State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Texas, and others.

Twitter: @TreyL55

Highlights:

Trey Lealaimatafao #55 DT/DL Earl Warren High school class of 2014 (via Trey L)

Scouting report:

There aren’t many positions where being slightly undersized can be an advantage, but defensive tackle is one of those positions. Listed at 6’1, Lealaimatafao is on the short size to be a strong prospect. However, at a position that requires winning the leverage battle on every play, squatty defensive tackles can be extremely effective, though the San Antonio Warren product may never be a four-star prospect as a result.

When Lealaimatafao lines up in a gap, he appears to be almost impossible for opponents to stop, in part because of his size and height, but mostly because his anticipation of snap counts and impressive first-step quickness allow him to get into the opposing backfield almost before offensive linemen trying to reach block him can get their hands on him.

Playing heads up isn’t quite as much of a strength for Lealaimatafao, as he can get a little bit high even with his relatively short stature and does need to work on coming out of his stance a little bit lower.

There’s also a motor there that allows him to make plays down the field, even if the overall top-end speed of Lealaimatafao wouldn’t rank among the top prospects at his position. When re-directing in the backfield to make plays, he is above average for his size and would allow him to be competitive in college right now in terms of pure mass.

As a tackler, the mass and momentum generated by Lealaimatafao when he crashes into backfields can result in some pretty vicious hits for a defensive tackle. He’s not a natural bend-and-explode tackler, but that probably doesn’t matter too much to the opponents who spend an extra second or two on the ground after ending up on the receiving end of Lealaimatafao tackles.

His less-than-ideal size hasn’t kept him from accumulating an impressive offer list and shouldn’t keep him from being a productive player in college, either.

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