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2010 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Mike Iupati
Written by Brett Solesky   
Thursday, 04 February 2010 14:43
If you've followed the college football season with any sort of interest this season you've no doubt heard about Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.  Suh was a Heisman trophy finalist for the Cornhuskers and is considered by many to be the best overall prospect in this year's NFL draft, the best defensive tackle prospect in the last decade. 

This prospect profile isn't about Suh though it's about another player who isn't as hyped but may be every bit as dominating as Suh is. ,

The player in question is offensive guard prospect Mike Iupati of the Idaho vandals, a monster prospect who himself may be the best guard prospect to come out of college in the last decade.  Iupati may very well be the best player overall in this year's draft, but because he is an offensive guard prospect he won't be thought of as a player that could go in the top five overall in the draft.  

I watched a couple of Iupati's games this season, but I carefully watched the film of the Humanitarian Bowl game courtesy of the ESPN360.com game archive.  To say that Iupati is dominating may not do him justice as a prospect, he empties out the football cliche dictionary with his play. 

Mike IupatiAt 6-foot-6 325-pound he already possesses NFL size and strength and athleticism.  He can pull, he can fire out to the second level, he has balance agility and superb feet in pass protection all of those things you want.  He is extremely strong at the point of attack, generating power from his trunk through to his long arms and powerful hands.  He can drive block with the best prospects in the country or he can sit back, extend his arms in pass protection and then simply throw the rusher to the turf. 

As Mike Mayock stated in his evaluation of him "When I put the tape in on him I almost fell over he's so good." 

That's another fair assessment by Mayock because Iupati has been dominating at the college level, no matter the level of competition. 

He was the talk of Senior Bowl practice week with the way he played and practiced showing that even though he played against a lower level of competition in a  non-BCS level conference he can still  hold up against the top players in the country. 

There isn't a lot of weakness to Iupati's game, though you could argue he plays high at times and doesn't get low enough, but he's 6-foot-6 so he's not going to get as low as guards that are in the 6-4 and below range.  His pop at the point of attack is unmistakable on film.  He easily can flip the defender to the ground, it's almost comical just how dominating he is.   At times during the Senior Bowl you could see how DTs could get underneath him at the POA and while they didn't move him back, they were able to maintain solid position in their gaps. 

Iupati needs to also use his hands better, because at times he grabs rather than punches.  The grabbing can lead to some  holding calls which could be a problem in the NFL.  He needs to better trust his own strength and technique and realize that he's every bit as good as the scouts say he is. 

I don't see any reason why Iupati shouldn't be a Top-15 pick in the NFL, he can play multiple positions likely the four main positions on the line required and he could succeed at each position.  That level of value and versatility only serves to strengthen his stock in the eyes of scouts. 

Right now you probably couldn't build a better prospect from the ground up than Iupati.  He is just the right mix of strength, power, athleticism and the always talked about mean streak.  He just fits into the profile of a must have offensive linemen for most teams. 

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