Along with his 2023 NFL Draft scouting report, can Alabama LB Henry To’oTo’o take house the LB1 mantle subsequent April? It’s a title that many Crimson Tide linebackers earlier than him have managed to achieve. Now, To’oTo’o makes it his mission to perform simply that within the 2023 cycle.
Henry To’oTo’o NFL draft profile
In a approach, To’oTo’o’s collegiate profession has already come full circle. Alabama pursued the previous four-star LB recruit out of highschool. However the Harmony, California product as an alternative signed with the Tennessee Volunteers.
To’oTo’o would play for Tennessee for 2 seasons. As a real freshman, he grew to become a direct contributor on protection, amassing 72 tackles, 5 sacks, and two go deflections in 2019. His manufacturing held regular in 2020 when To’oTo’o added 68 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a choose, and two extra go breakups.
Upon making a reputation for himself on the SEC stage, To’oTo’o selected to enter the switch portal and leverage his efficiency into a good larger vacation spot. That selection finally landed him with Alabama.
He got here to the Crimson Tide two years later than they might have most popular, however his addition was price it both approach. To’oTo’o put up 111 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 4 sacks in 2021, incomes All-SEC second-team honors because of this. Now, To’oTo’o is a prime linebacker prospect within the 2023 NFL Draft cycle, and the stakes are ramping up.
- Place: LB
- Faculty: Alabama
- Present 12 months: Senior
- Peak/Weight: 6’1″, 230 kilos
Henry To’oTo’o scouting report
Fashionable NFL linebackers have gotten extra numerous and versatile, however the conventional LB mould nonetheless has its place. How does To’oTo’o mix parts of each archetypes, and how much draft inventory may he subject when the 2023 NFL Draft rolls round?
To’oTo’o’s positives
At 6’1″, 230 kilos, To’oTo’o has a strong body with good density and size. He’s not an elite dimension risk, however the worth of his size is compounded along with his high-end explosiveness. To’oTo’o is a supremely explosive athlete who accelerates extraordinarily shortly when triggering on performs. He launches off his platform with intense burst, and he can immediately throttle as much as match gamers, closing gaps with immediacy.
Within the field, To’oTo’o’s explosiveness affords him wonderful vary. He can monitor throughout the formation and neutralize zone runs. The Alabama LB additionally strikes with wonderful twitch and might throttle up and down with suddenness. He’s a spry lateral athlete who can cowl floor and match runners with energetic shuffle steps.
To’oTo’o’s hips are free sufficient for him to assemble himself shortly by minor route adjustments. He additionally employs lively toes and is an amped-up mover in tight areas. The Alabama LB has sufficient fluidity to adapt in area and get his hips round when responding to misdirections. Furthermore, To’oTo’o can use sudden actions to maintain himself clear in congested areas.
To’oTo’o doesn’t fairly have an elite composite athletic profile, however his processing capability helps to maximise his instruments. The Alabama LB has proven he can shortly course of motions and key in on play instructions. He’s visibly fast along with his processing and response velocity, and he’s additionally an lively communicator pre-snap who can acknowledge formations and get teammates in place.
To’oTo’o can set off immediately by tight seams to stymy ball carriers, and he has an incredible mixture of persistence and decisiveness in congestion. The Alabama LB has proven he can determine operating backs and tight ends sneaking out into the flats, whereupon he can monitor them to the sideline. To’oTo’o is an adaptable processor who can recalibrate when confronted with misdirections and shortly determine open targets to pursue. He stays composed when patrolling gaps and might use fast lateral bursts to shift gaps and monitor RBs.
Going additional, To’oTo’o can masterfully fight possibility performs in area. Not solely can he actively dip his shoulder to scrape by blocks, however he can even take away angles along with his positioning, then shortly shift focus to secondary runners when tosses happen. He has sufficient lengthy velocity to trace performs to the sideline and take away angles upfield, and he can even match RBs on wheel routes.
Total, To’oTo’o is a high-energy competitor who exudes urgency on each play. The Alabama LB hits WRs with drive on the catch level, actively aiming to dislodge the ball. He can even step into the outlet and violently have interaction lead blockers on inside runs. Along with his size and play power, To’oTo’o can stonewall H-backs and collapse runs early. And he actively squares up and extends contained in the torso when participating blocks.
To’oTo’o can knock lead blockers off-balance along with his extensions and lengthen and shed with drive. He has sufficient play power to shed blocks in area, and he can violently rip down anchors and surge outdoors blockers. As a tackler, To’oTo’o has proven he can use his size to wrap up and wrestle down ball carriers. He’s an aggressive tackler who actively extends and engulfs opponents.
Increasing on To’oTo’o’s tackling, the Alabama LB brings nice closing burst, and his size permits him to get a lever on ball carriers and sluggish them earlier than they will explode upfield. He can lead along with his shoulder and play by the sort out level, and he acquired higher at driving by tackles because the season went on. He not often overpursues, and when he does, he’s proven to be pretty clean redirecting within the sort out field at brief discover.
Elsewhere, To’oTo’o has proven he can observe the QB’s eyes in protection and get correct depth based mostly on implied intent. He’s additionally proven he can successfully place himself in zone after dropping again and has a working understanding of spacing. And eventually, To’oTo’o’s explosiveness, size, flexibility, and motor grant him thrilling potential as a spot blitzer.
To’oTo’o’s areas for enchancment
Athletically, To’oTo’o’s hips aren’t probably the most fluid when he must make sharp route adjustments. He typically must take collect steps to decelerate and transition. In run protection, To’oTo’o typically retreats upfield when confronted with linemen in area and must be extra disciplined along with his positioning.
Going additional, To’oTo’o experiences occasional lapses in identification. He may be frozen and performed out of place by misdirections. His lengthy velocity has a visual cap in long-range pursuit, and he doesn’t have nice full-field vary. Moreover, within the open subject, To’oTo’o doesn’t at all times present the power to make solo tackles within the open subject constantly. He typically slips off ball carriers when participating and might nonetheless be extra constant driving by tackles.
On the second stage, To’oTo’o may be simply redirected by linemen, and he must be extra constant along with his handwork when combating blocks. He can even get drawn too far up by play fakes, and when he must get depth after play fakes, he typically takes his eyes off the QB. In consequence, he can play himself out of place.
Furthermore, To’oTo’o can leverage himself higher at stems. He typically goes on auto-pilot in protection and offers his man an excessive amount of area. He additionally freezes on breaks at instances and doesn’t have the elite fluidity to get well floor. Total, his eye self-discipline, leverage, and positioning in protection can enhance.
Present draft projection for Alabama LB Henry To’oTo’o
Coming into the 2023 NFL Draft cycle, To’oTo’o is among the prime linebackers throughout the scouting panorama. Like different Alabama LBs earlier than him, he may go on to assert Spherical 1 capital. I’m of the thoughts, nevertheless, that he’s a strong Day 2 prospect. If the draft had been as we speak, there’s an excellent likelihood he goes within the prime 75. However he has room for enchancment in a number of essential areas and doesn’t fairly have an elite athletic profile.
To’oTo’o does have quite a bit going for him. He has a standard LB body with good size and high-level explosiveness. He’s additionally an incredible processor who reveals excellent response quickness, instincts in congestion, and identification capability. Furthermore, To’oTo’o is a high-energy, bodily defender who isn’t afraid to impose his will on opponents.
The issues with To’oTo’o primarily are available protection. He does have a working understanding of positioning, however he’s not probably the most fluid athlete when he has to get well, and he doesn’t at all times successfully play leverage at stems. The Alabama LB has greater than sufficient explosiveness and lateral agility to enhance there, however proper now, that section is much less constant.
Nonetheless, there’ll at all times be a marketplace for linebackers like To’oTo’o — defensive leaders and explosive pursuit defenders who can shed blocks, sort out, and sift by congestion. And he at the very least has a serviceable protection flooring, with some blitzing capability. As a scheme-versatile off-ball LB, To’oTo’o has beginning upside within the Day 2 vary.
