UCLA Football Recruiting: DT Eddie Vanderdoes Has Bruins In Top 10
A video of DT Eddie Vanderdoes, just in case you haven’t been in awe of something today.
Highly-coveted, five-star defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes has chosen his top 10 schools and announced them, where else, on Twitter. Check it:
There’s a reason Vanderdoes is so heavily recruited and followed. The dude is the biggest defensive tackle (in respect to size) that has enough mutual interest from UCLA. (Benji Palu, unranked/unrated by ESPN, Scout and Rivals, has more poundage to him.) At 6’4” and 305 pounds, the dude is a total force to be reckoned with at the defensive line and can wreak some serious havoc for the opposing backfield.
Defensive tackles are crucial in 3-4 defenses, much like UCLA will be running under Lou Spanos, and are required to occupy as much space on the offensive line as possible. The dude is a beast and can play the role of nose tackle at the college level, which is important since nose tackles have far more responsibility and must meet greater physical demands than defensive ends in a 3-4.
As FS150 notes, however, Vanderdoes can play defensive tackle in the 4-3, too. The dude is versatile and big enough to play that position too, and that’s why he’s a five-star prospect.
The battle for Vanderdoes continues, and now, UCLA’s made the cut into the top ten. Although Vanderdoes will be a must-have, it is good to know that UCLA has another DT commit, Kenneth Clark, to fall back on if Vanderdoesn’t commit (see what I did there?), which, if we’re honest, isn’t totally likely, considering we’re one in ten schools vying for his services.
But we’ll need a guy like this. Hopefully, UCLA recruiters can get on it and set the Bruins apart from the rest. As per usual.
GO BRUINS!!!