SI All-American Candidate Elijah Jeudy Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: DE Elijah Jeudy
Projected Position: Edge
Status: SI All-American Candidate
Vitals: 6-foot-3, 240 pounds
School: Philadelphia (Pa.) Northeast
Committed to: Texas A&M
Frame: Athletic frame with solid length and upper-body definition. Thick thighs and trunk with fair bubble.
Athleticism: Jumped nearly 36 inches last spring. Possesses light feet and twitchy lower-half. Sprinter-esque lean at times out of stance at the snap with quickness and upfield burst to reduce ground in a hurry. Can come to balance in space and surf laterally down line. Good range to hunt in pursuit. Chases relentlessly and has quickness to close and finish.
Instincts: Solid job working upper-arm/shoulder of man to gain control at entry and impact. Can bend on the edge with good sinkage and hip flexion. Also has good torso rotation. Reliable to flatten well when cornering to launch points during rush. Good eyes versus run and is alert to play strong at point versus oncoming backside pulls. Doesn’t lose ball in traffic. Flashes ability in coverage to be a wall player and relate to 3.
Polish: Mainly lines up as an RDE in 4-man fronts at 5 and 7-technique, and sometimes at on-ball ‘backer. Used as an inside looper on T-E stunts. Speed-rush is his best asset to pressure passers, but also possesses a 2-hand swipe and spin, and will rip to counter at times. Will need to continue adding bulk and strength for college game. Needs to get consistent with his ice-pick in his spin move. Must improve coverage transition quickness versus pass.
Bottom Line: Jeudy has the potential to develop into an alpha rusher at the next level. He has the twitch and explosiveness to consistently threaten left tackles, while having point-of-attack toughness to hold his own on the edge in the run game. Look for Jeudy to play as an on-the-ball linebacker/edge in base, and put his hand down to rush in certain sub packages.