Name: Sione Teuhema
Sione Teuhema recruit scouting report: 2014 edge rusher
The Keller product has significant physical upside, but needs to develop a great deal in college.
School and hometown: Keller High School in Keller, Texas
Position: Defensive end
Height and weight: 6'3 and 211 pounds
Ratings: A consensus three-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite rankings, Teuhema is the no. 25 weakside defensive end nationally and the no. 72 player in the state of Texas, though 247Sports has him as the state's no. 48 prospect.
Offers: Teuhema holds offers from LSU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, TCU, Texas, and Washington State.
Highlights: Hudl
Scouting Report:
At 211 pounds, Teuhema will almost certainly need a redshirt season in college to add some weight to a frame that could easily hold 230 or more pounds, a necessity since it appears that he will end in a 4-3 offense in college. Playing him as a stand-up rusher in some 3-4 looks may be a way to get him on the field more quickly.
Despite his lack of size at the high school level, he plays with his hand on the ground for Keller and often ends up inside in the pre-snap line shifts employed by his school. As a result, there is more evidence of Teuhema making plays against the run than there is of him as a pure edge rusher, the role that he is expected to fill in college, which can somewhat cloudy projections to the next level.
Against the run, Teuhema has the speed to track down plays from the backside when unblocked in zone schemes and shows the ability to play half a man and shoot gaps when playing inside the tackles, with a nice swim move. However, he also shows greater strength than his pure mass would indicate holding up against the run, though he can get away with less-than-ideal pad level and arm extension in those situations, something he will need to improve upon as he develops.
Because of how the Keller scheme appears to employ Teuhema, it's not clear how much of an opportunity he has a pass rusher. Does he end up playing inside so much that he can't show his speed off the edge or does he simply not make many plays in that role? It's a difficult question to answer from highlight film, but given his offer list, major programs like LSU, Oklahoma, and Texas believe that he can contribute there. Otherwise they wouldn't have offered him at his current size.
Every once in a while, he does have a chance to display his first-step explosiveness, which is impressive. He can use his hands a bit, knows when he has contain, and can impact passing lanes, but there aren't any real pass-rushing moves on display, so he's rather starting from scratch there.
There's some risk with Teuhema because so much of his upside is dependent upon physical growth and projections as an edge rusher, but given that Samoan prospects typically have little problem gaining weight and based on the flashes of high-level athleticism, he's probably worth the risk, especially since he is a good run defender who should remain capable in that area in college.
Look through SB Nation's many excellent college football blogs to find your team's community.
