Scouting Report: 2022 Safety Sione Hala
On Friday, Boston College earned a long-expected commitment from Sione "Riz" Hala, a four-star safety prospect from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower California. Hala is a consensus top-40 prospect in California and a top-25 safety prospect nationally. He is the second defensive back in BC's 2022 class and the first safety. So what kind of player is Hala, and how does he fit into the Eagles' defense?
Sione Hala is listed at 6'2" 195 pounds and plays safety and wide receiver for St. John Bosco. It seems that he primarily focused on safety during the past season and that seems to be where he projects most favorably at the next level. Despite being listed at under 200 pounds, Hala looks exceptionally well-built; he looks very muscular, but it does not affect his athleticism. Hala fills a variety of roles for the Braves, playing deep single-high safety, covering half-field zones in two-high shells, matching up against slot receivers in man coverage, and playing in the box as a run defender and pass rusher.
Strengths
In general, run defense is one of Sione Hala's greatest strengths. As previously mentioned, he plays much bigger and tougher than his size might indicate. Hala is not afraid to deliver big hits against receivers coming over the middle or attacking downhill to meet the running back. He does a good job of diagnosing the run play, attacking the appropriate gap, and taking good angles to cut off the ball carrier. Hala is good in pursuit, as he navigates through traffic well to get the ball carrier. In addition, his motor consistently runs hot, and he finishes every play through the whistle, even if he has to run across the entire field to help bring down the ball carrier.
Hala is also effective when used as a pass rusher in exotic blitz packages. He obviously has the speed and explosiveness to beat offensive tackles off the snap. But Hala also has decent body lean, such that offensive linemen don't just throw him aside once they get their hands on him. While he has not developed pass rush moves, he probably does not need to, given his primary roles and usage.
In pass coverage, Hala is at his best when playing in two-high shells as the Boundary safety. Because the hashes are much wider in college football than in the NFL, offenses can spread defenses out more. In response, defenses sometimes designate their safeties as the Field Safety (playing to the wide/open side of the offense) and the Boundary Safety (the shorter side of the field). Hala plays well when he has less ground to cover by himself, or he's working in tandem with a cornerback. He does a good job reading the quarterback from the backside of the play and breaking on the throw. Hala's ability to see the play and trigger downhill to attack may be among his best qualities. He also has good ball skills, most likely acquired due to his background as a receiver; he tracks the ball well in the air, times his jump to the arrival of the ball, and does a good job of trying to catch the ball if able, or knock the ball away if not.
Weaknesses
Even though I praised Hala's build, I think he will need to pack on between 10 and 15 pounds to play at the college level. In order to come downhill against the run and cover tight ends, he should probably play around 205 to 210 pounds. I'll get more into why this is important in the next section.
Generally, at this point in his career, my biggest concern about Hala is his abilities in coverage. The defensive scheme asked him to play as the single-high free/post safety a lot. I do not think he has the speed or range to succeed in this role at the college level. Based on what I have seen, he would struggle to cover the entire middle of the field between the numbers. Additionally, Hala is not asked to match up against receivers or tight ends in the slot that much, relative to his other assignments and alignments. During his senior year this season, I'd like to see how he plays when he has to mirror receivers in man coverage and how he plays in short/intermediate zones. If he proves that he can do this, he will be an elite defensive weapon; if he struggles, his role will have to be much more limited.
Projection
Despite his possible limitations in coverage, Sione Hala looks like the versatile defensive weapon that Jeff Hafley, Tem Lukabu, and Aazaar Abdul-Rahim are looking for. Hala could be the long-term successor to players like Jaiden Lars-Woodbey, Jahmin Muse, Kam Arnold, and Bryce Steele. I think Hala fits best as the hybrid safety-linebacker that the coaching staff seems to want to incorporate into their defense. He is an excellent run defender, so he will be able to help stop the run by playing in the box and in the overhang area. Hala can still be effective playing in two-high shell defenses, where he only has to cover one-half of the field. If he can display growth and consistency in coverage, especially against tight ends and slot wide receivers, he could be a special player in the Eagles' defense moving forward.