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Eli Harold – Virginia

Eli Harold

College: Virginia

Position: Defensive End

Height:

Feet Inches
6 3

Weight: 247lbs

Speed: 4.60

Wonderlic Score:


Athletic Ability

  • Q.A.B.

    7.5

  • Quick Feet

    7

  • C.O.D.

    7

  • Flexibility

    7.5

  • Coordination

    8

Summary:

Harold possesses outstanding burst and twitch in his get off. He shows excellent coordination in working his hands while keeping his feet firing forward/around the edge. Can struggle to come to balance in space (will overrun the ball at times). His twitch also translates in his handwork. He is capable of generating pop & force with them plus utilize excellent leverage, his bull rush at times is very effective. Catches OL off guard & converts speed to power well. Has superb ankle flexion & can flatten his loop nicely. His balance is one thing that is questionable particularly at the POA in the run game. His lack of sand & strength causes him to get pushed around & knocked on the ground too much. Gets a narrow base at times versus power.

Section Grade: 7.4


Competitiveness

  • Toughness

    7.5

  • Clutch Play

    7

  • Production

    7

  • Consistency

    6.5

  • Team Player

    6.5

  • Pride / Quit

    6

Summary:

For an undersized DE Harold exuded a lot of toughness and fight in the trenches. He saw lots of time as a 4 tech and in the B gaps on the twist game. He plays the game with an edge & tends to get a little overzealous after the whistle. The ’14 Miami game speaks to this. He made several clutch plays including the ’13 Maryland game with a strip sack on 3rd & 11 as well as the ’14 Louisville game in the 4th quarter while up 23-21. Louisville had ball on their own 12, Eli used hands to twist from C to B gap freely for a huge sack. His fire is lit the majority of the time but he too often will pull up early on plays out of his reach rather than finish. Had an outstanding 3-year career in terms of production.

Section Grade: 6.8


Mental Alertness

  • Learn / Retain

    6.5

  • Instinct / Reaction

    6.5

  • Concentration

    6

Summary:

Harold shows the ability to recognize when OL are off balance and is very good at switching from an outside speed rush to power & getting underneath OL to push them back into the QB. At times he will get redundant going outside or attempting the bull rush rather than use an inside counter. It results in the OT oversetting outside & taking him out early too often. His focus is a bit off in his get offs. At times it appears he’s reading the cadence but has a slight recoil where he rocks back before exploding and its late more than not. When reading his head is turned inside to the ball (obviously reading it) he sometimes is a second late exploding. When he times it right he’s electric.

Section Grade: 6.3


Strength / Explosion

  • Body Type

    7.5

  • Durability

    7

  • Explosion

    8

  • Play Strength

    6

Summary:

Section Grade: 7.1






















Ability Overview

6 Read & React

Able to alert to misdirection & gauge when OL are off balance

8 Initial Quicks

Exceptionally sudden & quick both out of his stance as well as in the twist game

6 Play Strength

Not very strong in his base yet, lacks sand but is capable of holding his point with leverage & strong hands

7 Use of Hands

Fast, aggressive hands with good power. Bends OL back at times & has a strong one arm stab to keep chest clean

5.5 Shed Blockers

At times will disengage quickly but more so gets engulfed, especially versus the run. Really struggled versus Cam Erving in ’14 vs FSU. Shed at will vs Louisville

6 Run at Him

Scrappy at the POA one on one, really struggled vs the double team. Wins with leverage & good hand placement center-mass. Stands up OL but if he gives his chest up he gets blown up

6.5 Pursuit / Range

His pursuit angles are good but at times he goes much too wide. Off the edge he has all the ability to flatten sharply but doesn’t always execute. Loop is too wide too often chasing down the LOS. Has plenty of range and speed to track down RBs & QBs from behind

6 Tackling

Strong hands & arms to wrap up. Did so with momentum working opposite way but doesn’t always come to balance in open space. Very aggressive in pursuit, can result in overrunning the ball

8 Closing Burst

Can eliminate space in a hurry. Very quick & has good top end speed. Gets faster after he turns the corner

6.5 Power Rush

Has a surprisingly effective bullrush. Converts speed to power well by working inside low & with strong hands. Can drive OL into QB but needs to catch them off guard to win here

7 Speed Rush

Doesn’t possess a reliable inside counter but has very good hands in administering his arm over & swipe moves. Can time his swipe perfectly at times making OL look foolish. Gains speed around the corner & has the flexibility to get under OL. When his get off is timed right he’s devastating running the loop

6.5 Errors

Inconsistent angles to ball carriers in pursuit & can get stubborn attacking the edge rather than working inside but is very consistent in his leverage, hand work, & executing the twist game effectively

Section Grade: 6.6














Critical Factors









6.5 COMPETES

8 INITIAL QKS

6.5 INSTINCTS

7.5 PLAY SPEED

6 PLAY STR

7 SIZE

Section Grade: 6.9






Final Summary









Overall Grade: C 6.9









Games Viewed:

Year Location
2013 Maryland
2014 UCLA
2014 Louisville
2014 Florida State
2014 Pittsburgh
2014 Miami

Combine Notes:

  • 4.60 40 yard dash, 24 reps 225 (PD), 35 vert, 10-3 broad, 7.07 3 cone, 4.16 20 yard shuttle, 11.81 60 yard shuttle

Strong Points:

Shredded build, very little body-fat, excellent length, and very twitchy. Possesses excellent dorsiflexion and flexibility in his lower half to bend the edge & flatten with speed. Has a wide catch radius to chase down ball carriers from behind. Very strong hands. Catches OL off balance & has the power to bend them back & push back. Converts speed to power nicely for a lighter player. Excels exploding laterally in the twist game & fires the backfield with ability to keep feet firing while working his hands.

Weak Points:

Lacks sand and functional strength to play with his hand in the dirt and especially versus double teams. Not very instinctual in space (slow to react) and can struggle to come to balance due to over aggression. This rears its head in his inability to work inside once he starts off the edge, OTs overset & he rarely makes them pay. Is on the ground too much in traffic & versus power in the run game (gets a narrow base).

Summary:

Harold is a 2-year starter and 3-year true junior. He has started 24 straight games the last two seasons and appeared in all 12 games as a true freshman. He finished his career with129 total tackles, 75 solo, 17.5 sacks, 36.5 TFL, 4 FF, 1 FR (for a TD), 2 INT, 3 PBU. Harold lines up in a 2pt, 3pt, & 4pt stance throughout each tape I saw as well as in a wide 9, 5 tech, 4 tech, and even a 3 tech at times.

Harold is an exceptionally muscular, ripped up body with lots of twitch and explosion in his movements both out of his stance & laterally in the twist game. He gives OL fits not only with outstanding burst, but also special bend around the edge, and very aggressive hands. He has experience in reading the OL, ball, and cadence pre-snap. His reaction time appears to be a tad late when his head is pinned inside watching the ball. He excels at timing the cadence but has a slight recoil before he explodes & if it isn’t timed perfectly it gives up a valuable step. When he times his burst just right his athletic profile makes him absolutely devastating for OL to recover. Harold uses an effectively timed swipe and shoulder dip combo move, an arm over, and a bullrush to effect the QB. He does a very nice job of working outside & eventually catching OL off guard back inside for his bull rush. His plays with outstanding leverage & refined handwork to get underneath & drive them back with force. He has loads of bend in his lower half, particularly his ankles. He can not only flatten but his has a rare ability to increase his speed once he does so. While he can lure OL to sleep & convert speed to power, OL tend to overset outside & anchor. Harold doesn’t display any real inside counter move & doesn’t have the strength to get off a block once locked on. Versus the run Harold has a lot of fight in him & uses the aforementioned leverage game to hold his spot at the POA at times. He utilizes a nice one arm stab to keep his chest clean and hold the edge but more times than not he cant prevent OL from engulfing him due to sheer lack of sand/size/functional strength. Head up he struggles but crossing the OL’s face from C to B gap his lateral quickness, aggressive hands, & leverage enable him to penetrate the gaps & knife through the LOS. Harold didn’t drop in coverage much at all but he did struggle coming to balance in space at times. He’s very aggressive in pursuit and tends to react late to COD.

One area Harold stands out in is when his defense needed a big play he usually was the one generating pressure in key moments. I think he was used too much inside the OT at the LOS leaving him exposed to double teams and getting lost in traffic. He is built & has the skill-set to excel as a 3-4 edge player and has the hand strength/athleticism to play as a SLB as well. While I didn’t see him in coverage he has the tools to develop in this area. Overall Harold has the burst, bend, length, hand strength, and aggressiveness to effect the pass game right away and not be a complete liability versus the run if kept on the edge. He should develop into a high quality starter with a good shot at earning multiple pro bowl spots down the line.

Pro Comp – Whitney Mercilus

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