Mike Golic
Center, 6-5, 270
West Hartford, Conn. (Northwest Catholic)
Questions have been asked about whether Golic will be able to put on enough size to be a successful lineman in college. Considering the fact that his bloodlines certainly didn’t have questionable size, it should come in due time. As a side note, when I reported to campus I was about 220 pounds. By the time I finished out my senior season at Notre Dame – 285 pounds.
Another popular question is if the competition that Golic has faced in Connecticut is strong enough to judge him as a player. Clearly I’m going to be a bit biased since I’m also a CT native, but good players can play. Competition doesn’t matter much as far as how much the player will grow at the next level. There’s a reason why Division III athletes get drafted at times before Division I-A athletes and some 5-star high school recruits from the best football state are never heard of again after National Signing Day.
Down in San Antonio for the Army All-American Bowl, Golic may have struggled at times during one-on-one drills at practice, but he was one of the advanced players when it came to team passing drills. He’s a very intelligent lineman that combo blocks well. That will be key in how well he adjusts to the college game as far as picking up blitzes and reading line stunts/games. He doesn’t look to be as quick as Braxston Cave coming off the line of scrimmage, but he has great hand placement and easily gets control of the defender.
As with most high school linemen transitioning into a college player, he’ll likely need a couple years to be ready to contribute on the offensive line, but we may see him early on special teams based on his long snapping abilities.
Ethan Johnson
Defensive End, 6-4, 265
Portland, OR (Lincoln)
Since Johnson sat out most of his senior season with a knee injury, I reached back to watch some junior film of the talented prospect. He likely could have returned at the end of the season, but made a tough decision and opted to remain out and focus on his future at the next level. He even stayed home during the Army All-American Bowl week so he could continue training and report to campus 100% healthy.
Johnson brings great technique to the table after being coached up by 10-year NFL veteran, Shawn Price. He does a nice job of penetrating the line of scrimmage and is very strong when facing a double team. He runs well when pursuing the ball carrier and secures the tackle by fully wrapping up.
He turns the corner well on action away, but I would like to see him use his hands more coming out of his stance and getting a grasp of the offensive lineman. He uses his hands often as far as slapping the hands of the offensive lineman and shooting his other hand over to keep them off of him, but he’ll need to get better control of the lineman.
He closes the gap well on the line and stays tight to the hip of the offensive lineman against the down block. He has good feet and shows his athleticism by being able to bounce back out quickly on misdirection plays and chasing down the ball carrier. He should be prepared to contribute early with more focus on his hands and his technique is already developed coming in.
After initially being looked at as more of a hybrid player at outside linebacker/defensive end, Lewis-Moore will start things off on the edge of the defensive line. He felt strongly about Notre Dame for some time and initially had the hometown pressure of staying close, but in the end he decided to go with his heart and commit to the Irish.
Lewis-Moore is always active in pursuit of the football and has a great motor. You can see him chase down running backs from the opposite side of the field numerous times on his film. He has the frame to put on some more weight and has the foot quickness to make his presence felt on the quarterback’s blind side.
He shows great emotion on the field and he’s non-stop until the whistle. I’d like to see him use his hands better as well, but this is something that will be touched on often by Jappy Oliver. Other than that, he’ll also need to work on his get off and reacting to the ball being snapped more aggressively. He has pretty good technique and utilizes the rip well to get off the blocker.
Lewis-Moore is a character which you can easily tell if you listened to the "Irish Tuesdays" radio show when he was a guest on June 10, 2008, but he also can get down to business and should adjust well with some technique work.
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As with most high school linemen transitioning into a college player, he’ll likely need a couple years to be ready to contribute on the offensive line, but we may see him early on special teams based on his long snapping abilities.
