LSU JUCO Transfer Commit ‘20 Ali Gaye (DE) Highlights and Evaluation

Former Hooper Turned Defensive Lineman.

The #1 JUCO defensive end in the country from Garden City C.C. (KS) is looking to make an immediate impact along LSU’s defensive front. At 6’6-270, Ali Gaye looks and plays every bit the part of an SEC defensive lineman. His technique is refined, (as most JUCO guys are), and his hands are feet are constantly active.

As a Washington high schooler, Ali Gaye came along way from his former hoop dreams.

It wasn’t until his senior season that he really decided to take football seriously. His attitude toward switching his headband for a helmet seems born out of his willingness to be coachable. He noticed how his body was forming, and adapted to his circumstances.

Either that or he just doesn’t like running. But who Does? Not I.

As a former D-Line coach, Head Coach Ed Orgeron emphasizes elite technique at the defensive line position, especially at the SEC level. One of the selling points for Gaye was the background coach Orgeron has in coaching his position.

As 247’s Shae Dixon Reports:

"The head coach being a defensive line coach shows you how important that is. He makes sure they are perfecting their craft so that they can produce." - Gaye

Despite his enormous frame, Gaye plays with consistently low pad level, properly utilizing all the strength he has. He’s got hands that stack and shed with ease, a trait that a lot of JUCO defensive ends are known for.

Having coached H.S. D-line in a competitive league, of course stack and shed are in our practice drills. But it’s another thing to actually execute the technique in a game. The more reps these kids get at it, the more often I see it. Therein lies the "secret" about why JUCO can produce immediate D1 starters. Nothing really special about JUCO other than that it means more reps against better players. 

The defensive line is one of those positions that you can really only improve by lining up practice after practice against good competition. In competitive conferences at the JUCO level, the size of the offensive lines can be indistinguishable from their D1 destinations, along with their skill set and coaching. 

This forces defensive lineman that, let’s say previously relied on sheer size/strength/speed alone, to instead learn how to do it the “right” way. Seeing as he only started taking football seriously his senior year, JUCO was the perfect landing spot for this clearly athletically gifted young man.

Honestly, nobody was even touching this guy in his freshman year at GCCC. In a division as competitive as the one they play in, he’s likely seeing bonafide 20-year-old men with D1 talent across the line. 

LSU Recruiting Class of 2020

Along with CB Elias Ricks and WR Rakin Jarret, Ali Gaye headline what has to be considered a top 5 recruiting class in the entire country. Only 5 of which are 3 stars, one of them being a grown man in Ali Gaye.