Liberty Hill (TX) Liberty Hill defensive tackle Alister Vallejo committed to Michigan on June 10. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Kansas, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, and SMU, among others.
Vallejo is listed at 6'3" and 310 pounds. As a junior in 2024, he made 51 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, 16 quarterback hurries, and 4 blocked kicks.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 80 grade, #29 DL
On3: 3-star, 87 grade, #82 DL
Rivals: 3-star DE, 5.7 grade
247 Sports: 4-star, 91 grade, #32 DL, #204 overall
Hit the jump for more.
Vallejo was a bit of an under-the-radar commitment, pledging to the Wolverines on June 10th, which was a few days prior to his official visit to Ann Arbor on June 13th. In fact, I don't even think he was on the official visitors' lists that were out there, including mine. Notre Dame was thought to be a strong competitor, and he also took officials to Kansas and SMU.
The first thing that jumps off the screen when it comes to Vallejo is his quickness. Some sites list him at 6'4" and 295 pounds, while others are at 6'3", 310. Either way, he has very good acceleration, lateral quickness, and speed in the backfield to track players down. He doesn't look to be 310 pounds on his junior film, but if he is indeed roughly that size with the quickness he shows, that's very impressive. He spends some time as a 3-4 defensive end and as an interior guy, and he shows a couple nice pass rush moves with an efficient swim and a dip-and-rip off the edge.
When facing double teams, Vallejo sometimes plays a little high. And I would like to see him work on making a little more solid contact with his hands to shock and shed linemen. While he uses his hands, he could use a little more refinement with his hand placement.
Overall, Vallejo is a very solid defensive tackle prospect who looks a lot like Mason Graham in several ways. I don't say that lightly when comparing him to a top-10 NFL draft pick - and I don't necessarily expect Vallejo to follow in his footsteps - but I think Michigan fans are going to be pleased with Vallejo down the road (standard caveat: if he sticks around long enough during the transfer portal era). Vallejo's competition at Liberty Hill is not on the same level as what Graham played at Anaheim (CA) Servite, so the Texan might take a little longer to develop. But by year two, I could see him playing a role in the rotation before becoming a quality starter.
Michigan now has 20 commitments in the class of 2026, including six defensive linemen: Vallejo, defensive end McHale Blade, defensive end Tariq Boney, defensive tackle Titan Davis, defensive end Carter Meadows, and defensive end Julian Walker. Michigan has not had any previous players from Liberty Hill.
TTB Rating: 84
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