Quote:
Originally Posted by SAGA45
What's he say about Neil Farrell Jr., DT LSU?
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8. NEIL FARRELL JR. | LSU 6041 | 330 lbs. | rSR. Mobile, Ala. (Murphy) 9/9/1998 (age 23.64) #92
BACKGROUND: Neil Farrell Jr. grew up in Mobile and was drawn to basketball instead of football as his go-to sport throughout childhood. When he enrolled at Murphy High, he planned to play basketball, but the football coaches coaxed him to the football field despite zero experience on an organized team. A three-year varsity starter on the defensive line, Farrell earned First Team All-State and All-Conference honors with 86 tackles and 17.0 tackles for loss in 2015. He again earned First Team All-State and All-Conference honors as a senior with 101 tackles, 28.0 tackles for loss and 13.0 sacks. Farrell was also the starting center on the basketball team, averaging 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds as a junior.
A three-star defensive tackle recruit out of high school, Farrell was the No. 25 defensive tackle in the 2017 recruiting class and the No. 17 recruit in the state of Alabama. Although basketball is his favorite sport, he realized that his future was in football when he received scholarship offers from Kentucky and South Carolina after his sophomore season. Farrell picked up offers from Alabama, Clemson, Michigan and USC before signing with LSU the summer prior to his senior year and despite last minute flirtations with Florida State, he became a Tiger on signing day. He graduated with his degree in interdisciplinary studies (August 2021). Farrell originally opted out of the 2020 season after his grandmother (Creola Morrisette) was hospitalized because of COVID and put on a ventilator, but he returned to the team after she improved. He took advantage of the extra year of eligibility and returned to Baton Rouge for a fifth season. Farrell skipped LSU’s 2021 bowl game and
accepted his invitation to the 2022 Senior Bowl, which was played in his hometown of Mobile. He was named the top defensive lineman of the week for the American Team.
STRENGTHS: Outstanding size and comfortably carries 340 pounds ... strong hands to snatch, dispose and find the football in the run game ... able to press blockers off him and disengage without overthinking ... has the first step quickness to penetrate gaps and play on the other side of the line of scrimmage ... physical upper body to rip and soften the shoulder of blockers ... able to push the pocket with his drive power from his hips and lower body ... tracks the football laterally with his backfield vision ... took on a leadership role as a senior and owns a “magnetic personality,” according to the LSU coaches ... saw his snaps increase as a senior (averaged 37.2 defensive snaps per game in 2021) and played his best football.
WEAKNESSES: Stiff ankles and labors with quick direction change ... has some bad weight that he could stand to lose with better conditioning ... his aggressive play style leaves him out of control ... struggles to break down and finish in short areas, like the pocket ... inconsistent gap discipline and plays with tall pads ... doesn’t have great length and his rush quickly loses momentum when long-armed blockers reach his chest ... not a rangy player who will consistently chase down the ball carrier on the outside ... has a history of lower body injuries, including a right foot injury that required surgery (January 2019) and an ankle issue that required surgery (March 2020).
SUMMARY: A three-year starter at LSU, Farrell was the nose tackle in former defensive coordinator Daronte Jones’ four-man front, splitting his time over both the A gap and B gap. After a nondescript first four years in the program, he appeared more motivated as a senior and his production (on the field and in the stat sheet) took a jump, finishing third on the team with 9.5 tackles for loss. Farrell has dominant flashes when his battery is charged, displaying hand techniques, backfield vision and force at the point of attack to defeat single blockers. He has penetration skills, but struggles to quickly redirect or break down in short spaces, which might be helped by weight loss. Overall, Farrell doesn’t always play with balance or control, but he has surprising snap quickness along with his functional play strength that give blockers trouble. At worst, he should be a rotational nose tackle in the NFL with potential to be more.
GRADE: 4th Round