Friday, January 24, 2014

Scouting Report: Keisean Lucier-South

Orange (CA) Lutheran defensive end Keisean Lucier-South
Name: Keisean Lucier-South
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 218 lbs.
High school: Orange (CA) Lutheran
Position: Defensive end
Class: 2015

Notes: Holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Boise State, California, Colorado, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt, and Washington . . . Claims a 4.7 forty time . . . Had 10 sacks as a junior in 2013 . . . ESPN 4-star, 82 grade, #9 DE, #65 overall . . . Rivals 4-star, #7 WDE, #80 overall . . . Scout 5-star, #2 DE . . . 247 Sports 4-star, 96 grade, #6 WDE, #57 overall

Strengths: Long-armed with good frame to add weight . . . Quick first step that gets offensive tackles to open up sooner than they like . . . Comes around corner with inside shoulder dipped . . . Plays with good knee bend . . . Spikes inside well due to leverage . . . Good change of direction . . . Lowers hips at point of contact, allowing him to stay with shorter players . . . Uses hands and long arms well to disengage from blockers and wrap up ball carriers . . . Very good speed . . . Takes proper angles and does not often need to readjust pursuit

Weaknesses: Needs to add weight and get stronger . . . Overpowers some high school linemen due to quickness and ability to play low, but needs to play more violently to beat players at next level . . . Does not display a variety of pass rush moves

Projection: Weakside end. The key for Lucier-South will be whether he maintains his athleticism while he adds weight, because he's very thin now. If he can maintain his speed and change of direction, he should be able to remain at weakside end and give offensive tackles fits with his length and quickness. If that speed starts to dwindle once he adds another 40-50 lbs. of muscle, then he may need to move to strongside end. He plays with enough leverage to take on tight ends and tackles on the strong side, so that wouldn't spell disaster for him. Perhaps the most encouraging thing is his pursuit angles, which combine with his understanding of leverage to suggest that he comprehends the game on a higher level than "see ball, get ball." Also, Maxpreps named his school's league (the Trinity League) as the #2 most difficult conference in the nation, so he's having success against quality competition. That league includes St. John Bosco (Josh Rosen, Jaleel Wadood, Damien Mama) and Mater Dei (Matt Barkley, Matt Leinart, Max Wittek), among others.

Reminds me of: Taco Charlton. Michigan hasn't successfully recruited many guys like Lucier-South in recent years, so while I think Lucier-South is more refined as a player than Charlton was, they are comparable when it comes to size and natural athleticism.

Likelihood of committing to Michigan: Lucier-South has been pining for a Michigan offer for a long time and called Michigan his "dream school." Still, he lives on the west coast and is being pursued by the likes of Notre Dame, Texas, and USC, so there's no shortage of suitors to try to convince him otherwise. No other strong leaders appear to have emerged, so I think Michigan has as good of a shot as anyone.

11 comments:

  1. Trivia: IIRC, Tom Brady is a NoCal (San Mateo, specifically) guy. I wouldn't guess that his high school was in the same league as a bunch of SoCal schools. I may be mistaken.

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  2. You are correct. There are (at least) two Junipero Serras in CA. One is in San Mateo, the other is in San Juan Capistrano. Brady went to the one in San Mateo. The one with the school in the Trinity League along with Orange Lutheran is in San Juan Capistrano. That doesn't detract from the quality of the league. See:
    http://articles.latimes.com/2013/sep/08/sports/la-sp-0909-sondheimer-20130909

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  3. You are correct. There are (at least) two Junipero Serras in CA. One is in San Mateo, the other is in San Juan Capistrano. Brady went to the one in San Mateo. The one with the school in the Trinity League along with Orange Lutheran is in San Juan Capistrano. That doesn't detract from the quality of the league. See:
    http://articles.latimes.com/2013/sep/08/sports/la-sp-0909-sondheimer-20130909

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    1. Bob, I'm admiring your passion on this particular point.

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  4. Anybody know how many Junipero Serras there are in CA?

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    1. At least three - one in San Mateo (Northern CA), one in Gardena (Southern CA, near LA) and one in San Diego (far Southern CA).

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  5. Kids a beast, I've seen him play in person. Michigan needs to start recruiting this type of athlete, which aren't as common in the midwest as they are on the west coast.

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  6. Wow....this dude would be perfect in Maize & Blue. I'm sick and tired of our 'under-sized' DE's of recent years.

    Lets hope he enjoys 0 degree temps with snow. It would be good for him to experience cold weather to one day prepare him for the NFL which seems to frequently have important games played outdoors in bad conditions including this years SB.

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    1. Um... he's barely 200 lbs, I'd say he's in the same mold as Ojemudia playing well below his college weight. Could be great if he keeps his speed when he hits 260 lbs.

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    2. Ojemudia is 6' 2" or barely 6' 3"... this dude has got at least 3" in height on him to pack the lbs on and grow into an elite DE.

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  7. Michigan or Michigan State tomorrow?

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