Luiji Vilain, Wolverine

Luiji Vilain, Wolverine


June 12, 2016
Luiji Vilain 23x

Alexandria (VA) Episcopal DE Luiji Vilain (image via Canada Football Chat)

Alexandria (VA) Episcopal defensive end Luiji Vilain committed to Michigan on Sunday afternoon. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC, and Virginia Tech, among others.

Vilain is 6’4″, 238 lbs. and claims a 4.8 forty. He also has a 30.5″ vertical and a 4.33 shuttle time. He will play in the 2017 Under Armour All-American Game in January.

RATINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 83 grade, #11 DE, #95 overall
Rivals: 4-star, #10 WDE, #180 overall
Scout: 4-star, #10 DE, #138 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, #5 WDE, #94 overall

Hit the jump for more on Vilain’s commitment.

I’ve had my eye on Vilain for a couple years, because he’s a Canada native who had some strong interest in Michigan early in his recruitment, along with 2016 cornerback Patrice Rene (North Carolina) and 2017 safety Jonathan Sutherland, also Canadian transplants who ended up at Episcopal. Michigan didn’t end up offering until early March of 2016, even though they have been well aware of him for a long time. He visited campus in May and named his commitment date shortly afterward, which is often indicative that someone has decided based on his most recent visit.

Vilain is a well rounded football player, in my opinion. As a pass rusher, you can see in the first three clips from his junior year that he uses a swim move, a push-pull, and a rip to successfully terrorize the opposing backfield. He’s explosive off the ball, and he has quick feet. He uses his hands well to disengage from blockers, and he’s able to bend and maintain leverage against offensive linemen.

I would like to see him make a couple minor tweaks to his stance, and he can occasionally be a little undisciplined with his keys. I also think he could take some better angles in pursuit, as well as get stronger to hold up a bit better at the point of attack.

Overall, I like Vilain a lot as a recruit, and I think he’s rated pretty fairly by the recruiting sites. He’s not a surefire star because he lacks outstanding measurables, but he has enough components to be a very good football player at the next level. He reminds me of former Michigan defensive end Tim Jamison in some ways. I didn’t think Jamison reached his potential at Michigan, but he was still a solid college player who made his way to the NFL.

Michigan now has 14 commits in the 2017 class and, along with Corey Malone-Hatcher, two defensive ends. Michigan will probably take three or four prospects at the position. The class is currently scheduled to be 19 players strong (LINK), but that number will go up. He’s the first Virginian – if he can be called that – to commit to the Wolverines since Wilton Speight in the 2014 class. If he counts as being Canadian, Quebec native Benjamin St-Juste committed last summer as part of the 2017 class, and the last actual signee was defensive tackle Renaldo Sagesse in the class of 2007.

TTB Rating: 84 (ratings explanation)

4 comments

  1. Comments: 118
    Joined: 10/22/2015
    SinCityBlue
    Jun 13, 2016 at 12:31 AM

    What does it mean to be “undisciplined with his keys?” I’ve heard the phrase before but never knew what it really means.

    • Comments: 191
      Joined: 8/13/2015
      crazyjoedavola
      Jun 13, 2016 at 4:04 PM

      that just means he loses keys, if he’s not careful, someone can enter his house or steal his car…

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Jun 13, 2016 at 9:13 PM

      Each position has specific “keys” or “reads.” They might vary from play to play, but generally they remain pretty static. For example, in a two-back set, an inside linebacker might read the fullback through the near guard. That means he keeps his eyes on the crown of the near guard’s helmet to read run or pass (low hat or high hat), reads the blocking scheme, and then follows the flow of the fullback. How a player reacts may differ based on personnel, formation, or opponent. I think Vilain gets lost in his reads a couple times. It’s fixable, though.

  2. Comments: 1863
    Joined: 1/19/2016
    je93
    Dec 24, 2016 at 11:24 AM

    Seems so long ago, I almost forgot about this one til I saw you discussing him elsewhere

    Any changes to your thoughts now that Luigi has played his Senior year?

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