by Bryan KellyAlong with being arguably the most important player in a great run defense, a defensive tackle must possess a multitude of abilities: a good burst off the line of scrimmage, quick feet, good hands, the ability to diagnose and react to the play, and the strength to interfere with it.
No wonder top defensive tackles are some of the most coveted recruits in the country—and why many of 2011's have already found their likely destinations come Signing Day 2011.
While for some, video might have been hard to come by, I've ranked who I think are the top 10 defensive tackles in the 2011 recruiting class. See if what you've seen and heard agrees with my assessments.
No. 10:
Mustafa Jalil(Cal)
The Bears reached down to San Diego and picked up 6'4", 300-lb
defensive tackle Mustafa Jalil, who kept Cal's 2010 recruiting momentum
going by switching his verbal from San Diego State in April.
Jalil is drawing raves as San Diego's top prospect, but I wasn't as
impressed with the brief film I watched as I was with the other
defensive line prospects.
Jalil's "burst" is more like a slow burn. He comes out of his stance
slowly and can get stood up if he plays too highly. He has the strength
to combat and beat back high school O-lines, but at the next level he'll
need to work on getting his feet in position.
He's a few inches above the ideal height. That could hurt him if he
doesn't back up the size with weight.
I'm going to trust the recruitniks that the potential is there, but I
think he's slated for a move away from the interior line and towards a
weakside end.
Rest of the 2011 defensive tackles.
