SI All-American Candidate Ma'a Gaoteote Highlights and Evaluation

Ma'a Gaoteote is a linebacker prospect from Pickerington St. John Bosco in Bellflower, Calif. Gaoteote is an SI All-American candidate.

Prospect: Ma'a Gaoteote
Status: SI All-American candidate
Vitals: 6-foot-1, 210 pounds
Position: Linebacker
School: Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco
Committed to: USC
Projected Position: Mike or Will Linebacker

Frame: Somewhat compact frame at just over 6-foot and 210 pounds. Appears to have a solid length in his arms with room to add more mass and definition. 

Athleticism: Fair athlete with good quickness to close and finish when pursuing ball-carriers. Has good lateral movement when flowing to football across the second level. Solid ability to settle in space and come to balance with a good pad level to get a good fit and strike on ball-carriers. 

Instincts: Anticipates well versus run with good key diagnose and scheme-read ability. Locates the ball quickly in the post-snap phase with good block-awareness and vision. Willing to squeeze the line of scrimmage and has the range to reach runners laterally across the second level. Flashes awareness in coverage along with the ability to peel off from initial threats to latch on to underneath routes. 

Polish: Ball-location skills and closing quickness are his top traits at this point and compensate for adequate athleticism in space. He has been playing against the elite competition for most of his high school career, thus will not need much time to adjust to college-level game-speed. Continuing to develop his man-to-man coverage skills will be important. 

Bottom Line: Gaoteote plays in arguably the top high school football league in the country at Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, so he’s already facing off against college-level competition. The second-level defender works best when he’s off the ball and allowed to flow and pursue laterally versus the run. He beats blocks with quickness and strikes ball-carriers with a good pad level. Gaoteote projects as an off-ball ‘backer either as a Will or Mike in a 4-3 defense or as a weak inside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.