Washington State Football Early Impact (JUCO) LOI’s: DE Lyman Faoliu
By Josh Davis
School: College of San Mateo, CA
Position: Defensive End
Vitals: 6’2.5″, 275 lbs
Rank:
- Rivals:
- Scout:
- ESPN:
- 247 Sports: #11 (Strong DE)
Other Offers of Interest: Maryland, Oregon State, UNLV, Utah State, Western Michigan
Best Attributes: Disruptive Pass Rusher, Tackling, Lateral Quickness
Prediction & How He Improves Cougars in 2013:
The loss of Travis Long cannot be overstated when mentioning the Cougar defense going into 2013. For the past 4 years, Long was the constant disruptive force that WSU had to offer on that side of the ball, with a combo of quickness and power that would have started him on 10 of the 12 d-lines in the conference. He is likely to be a mid-round NFL pick in April.
Coveted JC pickup Lyman Faoliu fills the void in a very big way and a little more. Not only does he have the hair of a champion, but his nickname is just awesome! Samoa Five-0. Since the #50 was worn by senior Adam Coerper last year, it would stand to reason that number and nickname should stay very active in a Crimson and Gray uni.
The JC transfer from San Mateo will do for the Cougar d-line what last year’s JC transfer Justin Sagote did for the LB corps in 2012: Bring experience and explosiveness to a devastated position. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him as a stand-up DE from time to time. His basic instinct is pass rusher, with a really good first step and a profound nose for the ball.
Lyman also plays mis-direction well because of his agility laterally to stay in the cutback lanes and closes the gap between himself and his prey in a lot less time than his size would indicate. He’ll need to develop his front-side run stopping prowess to be the force that Long was, but he seems to have that in his arsenal too.
All Coug’d Up Recruit Grade (out of 5): 4.5
Highlights: