Breaking Down The Commitment Of Darren Agu To Notre Dame
Notre Dame picked up a commitment from Rabun Gap (Ga.) Nacoochee defensive end Darren Agu, giving the Irish three players in the 2022 class at the position. Following Agu's commitment I joined the crew at WSBT Sportsbeat (Darin Pritchett, Sean Stires) to break down his commitment.
1:25 - We kick things off by talking about how quickly Agu went from being offered (April 2) to being a commit to Notre Dame (April 9). That led to a bit of a dive into his background, which includes growing up playing soccer in Europe before moving to the United States. We then talk a bit about his upside and how much improvement he must make with his game after having only played football for a very short period of time.
3:08 - With Agu's commitment happening so quickly, we discuss if there should be some concern for Notre Dame in regards to a potential de-commitment.
4:35 - We dive deeper into the film of Agu, and talk about the skills that stand out when breaking him down. We talk about Agu's unique combination of size, athleticism and instincts, and how his soccer background has helped him develop impressive agility and foot quickness.
6:41 - Sean asks about a past Notre Dame comparison for Agu in regards to how he would fit at Notre Dame.
8:25 - Darin asks about what's next when it comes to recruiting the defensive line at Notre Dame, and we wrap things up again talking about how quickly this commitment happened.
Here is my film analysis of Agu:
Agu is exactly the kind of defensive end that line coach Mike Elston covets. He's listed at 6-6, but beyond that he has incredibly long arms. Agu is listed between 225 and 235 pounds, but he has a long, lean, muscular body that will hold plenty of weight.
On film you see Agu play all over the defense, something you don't often see from a 6-6, 230-pound athlete. He'll line up as a standup edge and rush the passer, he'll put his hand in the ground and be physical in the run game, he plays off-ball linebacker and he'll line up in space and cover. What's even more impressive is that Agu looks just as comfortable in space as he does playing with his hand in the ground.
Agu must clean up his technique and become more consistent, but there are a lot of snaps where he shows a great burst off the edge, the kind that could lead to him being a top-notch edge rusher. The England native also shows quick feet and easy change of direction traits, which allows him to be as versatile as he shows.
You also see Agu showing extremely fast and strong hands, which combines well with his elite length to give him the potential to be a great block destructor. He shows a natural feel for it already, and with even more technique work Agu will be incredibly difficult to handle as both a pass rusher and run defender. He shows a good motor on game film and his closing speed is outstanding.
His combination of length, athleticism and experience on offense makes it very hard to ignore the comparisons of Agu to current Notre Dame junior Isaiah Foskey, who was also a standout high school tight end. Like Foskey, Agu is woefully underrated right now, and once he gets into college his rare traits give him a chance to one day develop into a special player on the edge at the Vyper position.
Related Content
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Notre Dame 2022 Class Big Board
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