The UCLA Football team lost one defensive tackle commitment today but gained another during the first ever early signing period. It was a pretty big one too.
Bulk along the UCLA Football defensive line was hard to come by in 2017. The Bruins were often too easily pushed off the line and because they struggled to sustain blocks by the opposing offensive line the linebackers were constantly dealing with blockers instead of making tackles.
That only compounded the run defense issues by forcing third level defenders to have to take on ball carriers. Those same problems existed in the pass rush but fixing the run defense is the most pressing issue on the defense. That effort received a huge boost in the form of 2018 three star DT Atonio Mafi.
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Atonio not Antonio but that’s besides the point. Mafi measures in at six-foot-three, 360 pounds and can block out the sun. He eats up blockers, can push the pocket but most importantly will give offensive linemen fits so that they can’t get up to the second level and engulf linebackers. His commitment comes on the heels of the news that former UCLA Football commit Aaron Maldonado was going to be signing with Cal. Maldonado attributed his decommitment to a “scheme” issue on the part of the Bruins.
https://twitter.com/mafiatonio/status/943645111220518912
Mafi does fit the the 3-4 perfectly as a nose tackle who can occupy gaps on either side of the center and make running inside a nightmare for opposing offenses. He isn’t just a mountain either. While he won’t be making anyone miss in space, Mafi actually can move his feet. The ability to generate continuous power and force offensive linemen to mirror him will allow for other defenders to shoot the gaps he creates. But guess who already knew that?
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Jerry Azzinaro.
The former Cal defensive line coach is coming to Westwood as the new UCLA Football defensive coordinator and he brought Mafi with him. While more work has to be done picking up defensive recruits, Mafi was a big score for the Bruins on the inaugural early signing day period.