Fili Moala DT 6'5 295 USC

Moala redshirted with USC in 2004, but did earn the scout team player of the year for his play in practice that season. He did not make much of an impact on the field a year later, where he had just eight tackles, one of them coming for a loss. As a sophomore, Moala made ten starts, and finished the season with 20 tackles, seven for loss, and 2.5 sacks. He entered his junior year as the starter, and became an impact player, finishing with 32 tackles, 5.5 for loss, and 2.5 sacks.

Strengths

Moala is a solid all around tackle, having the ability to impact the game in a variety of ways. He has a great frame, with the room to get bigger and stronger. He plays with good leverage, and shows the ability to hold his ground at the point of attack and clog running lanes. Moala also shows the burst off the ball to get into the backfield to disrupt the action. He plays with a mean streak on the field, and will not back down from any challenge.

Weaknesses

Moala has had some success and has had a lot of talent around him on the defensive line while at USC, but has never dominated at any point. He doesn’t toss lineman around to make the tackle, and he isn’t going to blow through the interior line of every snap to be a major disruption. He will need to prove this year that he can have an impact while being the main attraction on the defensive line.

Future

Fili Moala is a good defensive tackle that can do a few things very well, but does not dominate in any one aspect. He may need to bulk up a bit more to anchor down the middle of the line as a run stopper, because he isn’t the freak athlete with the explosion to get into the backfield any time he wants. He has steadily improved over his career, and if he takes the next step up he could be looking at hearing his name called in the first round of the draft come April.