Scouting Report and Highlights: Elite Gators EDGE Commit Jamonta Waller

When All Gators observed and met with edge rusher Jamonta Waller at Under Armour's Atlanta-area recruiting camp in February, the class of 2024 prospect explained what made him one of the nation's most coveted pass rushers.

"My get-off is the main thing," Waller said. "If I can get off the ball faster than the O-Lineman, he's already beat."

The skill has contributed, in large part, to Waller's 17.5 sacks, 37 tackles for loss and 11 passes batted down over the last two seasons for Picayune (Miss.) Memorial.

Waller, who committed to Florida on June 19, should offer the Gators a high-floor pass-rushing option with potential left to grasp upon joining the team. He is technically advanced for a player of his age, brings elite athletic and physical traits to the position including the speed and explosiveness he suggested, and hustles on every snap through the whistle.

Learn more about Waller's edge-rushing skill set in the following All Gators scouting report, and check out Waller's junior season highlights at the bottom of the story.

Scouting report: Gators EDGE commit Jamonta Waller

In an unusual fashion, this scouting report will begin by documenting Waller's perceived weakness as an edge rusher: his size. He is 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, and his height would rank in the 10th percentile among edge rushers in the NFL Draft pool since 1999, per MockDraftable.

Already possessing a very muscular frame, it is unclear how much weight Waller will be able to add at the next level. In an effort to preserve his athleticism, he probably shouldn't play over 240-245 pounds in college.

And that just about wraps up the negatives of Waller's evaluation. His general skill set is polished and intriguing, albeit with room to continue developing. And in fairness to Waller, his frame can actually benefit him in certain instances while paired with his athletic abilities.

Waller is a quick, flexible athlete off the edge who often approaches quarterbacks to create a play in the backfield before the passer can react. His first step is extremely explosive — he is often across the line of scrimmage before the offensive tackle is fully out of its stance — and paired with long strides, it allows him to climb into the backfield quickly with the tackle or affiliated blocker often trying to catch up with him.

His hand usage is mature for a prospect of his age, as Waller has effectively displayed numerous primary pass-rushing moves throughout his high school footage: An outside and inside swim move — the latter including a fake outside step to manipulate the blocker, the double-swipe, an outside and inside rip, and an outside spin.

Waller also flashed a developing cross-chop move in his 2023 spring game and has previously deployed an inside spin as a counter when his first rush move is stalled. He occasionally uses a mix of the swipe and rip moves as inside counters, as well, but can continue to sharpen his reactionary rushes in order to avoid relying on his athleticism and hustle to finish plays, which is less effective in college than in high school.

Although he does not routinely bend around the tackle en route to the pocket, Waller has displayed the ankle dorsiflexion required to do so and has used that flexibility to his advantage otherwise. He is adept at changing direction in a flash, in order to pursue the ball carrier as it moves away from him.

And while the prototypical edge rusher is tall and long, stout rushers with explosiveness and flexibility can use their lack of height to narrow the point of attack for offensive tackles to target their initial punch in pass protection. Waller does this specifically, creating a small strike zone that blockers struggle to strike accurately.

To pair, an underappreciated aspect of Waller's frame is his arm length. A specific number is unavailable but it is evident in Waller's tape that he can extend a long reach when approaching blockers and closing in on the ball-carrier, a crucial skill regardless of size at the position.

Waller's game is similar to that of former Maryland and current NFL edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue.

Listed as a 6-foot-3, 240-pound prospect in the 2013 class, Ngakoue relied on his motor, athleticism and physicality to compile 21.5 sacks and 33 tackles for loss with the Terrapins and become a third-round draft pick. Both players honed in on pass-rushing technique as prospects to compensate for their below-average sizes at the position.

In seven pro seasons against even bigger and more polished talent, Ngakoue has tallied 65 sacks.

Waller will face similar challenges jumping from high school football in Mississippi to the SEC, hailing from a classification that features schools with under 1,000 students enrolled before joining the most physically imposing conference in college football.

But, there is ample reason to believe he can handle the transition and become a productive edge rusher for the Gators. What he lacks in size for his position, he knacks in just about everything else.

Observe Waller's junior season highlights via HUDL below:

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