USC Football: Scouting Trojan Commit Offensive Lineman Jason Zandamela

What are the Trojans getting in Jason Zandamela

AllTrojans.com declared Clearwater Academy International (Clearwater, FL) offensive lineman Jason Zandamela the third most important recruit who’s currently committed to USC. The former rugby player measures up at 6’3 ~300 pounds. According to 247 Sports’ Andrew Ivins, Zandamela is relatively new to the sport of football, but 247 thinks he is the best interior offensive line prospect in his class.

So, what are the Trojans getting in Zandamela? We took a look at his film to find out.

The first thing that jumps out is how smooth he is and how well he moves. He looks like a young Jason Kelce at center. Given he is relatively new to football, it’s impressive how good he is at the center position. The only thing, after watching his film, we can think might be a hurdle in college is the red zone. While Zandamela might be able to handle driving a nose tackle off the ball on the one-yard-line, there just isn’t evidence of this on his film.

But, let’s talk about the good. He’s got elite horizontal speed and is extremely effective when he’s asked to pull and kick out or lead block. He’s also great at turning his defender’s shoulders to create a lane for the ball carrier. More often than not, Zandamela is simply a better athlete than whoever he’s blocking. If he can continue to add strength and get comfortable with base blocks, the sky is the limit for Zandamela.

He is perhaps most effective in pass protection, which will come in handy in Lincoln Riley’s air raid. He might be the most athletic offensive lineman in the country at the moment. 

If he can handle going head up against the some of the strongest defensive lineman in the country that come a dime-a-dozen in the Big 10, he should have an excellent career at USC. Look for Zandamela to sit year one, and push for playing time in year two. USC hit it out of the park with Zandamela given how well he cold fit USC’s offensive scheme. 

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