Oregon Football Signee Spotlight: OL Iapani Laloulu
Today's Signee Spotlight will take us to the trenches. We're focusing on 2023 Oregon Ducks offensive line signee Iapani Laloulu.
He's the younger brother of Faaope Laloulu and is looking to make a name for himself in Eugene after becoming one of the top interior offensive linemen in the country.
SIGNEE SPOTLIGHT: 2023 Oregon quarterback Austin Novosad
Vitals
Height/Weight: 6'2", 355 pounds
Hometown/High School: Honolulu, Hawaii/Farrington High School
Distinction: Under Armour All-American, Polynesian Bowl All-Star
Status: Enrolled
Evaluation
The first thing that pops on the film for Laloulu is the raw power he possesses.
He has strong hands and is good at hand fighting with defenders, beating their arms down to knock them off balance. Furthermore, when he gets his hands on a defender, he's a difficult blocker to shed.
He has tree trunks for legs, which makes it no surprise that he's great at anchoring the point of attack and holding his ground. Laloulu is a true mauler in the run game, but there's a good foundation in pass blocking as well.
There's plenty of pancakes on tape, as he plays with good leverage to be the lowest man. However, he was often the biggest player on the field which made it likely that he could win his matchup by "out-physicaling" his opponents.
His 355-pound frame makes him look like he's bigger than 6'2", but he's impossible to miss on the Farrington offensive line. He played a good amount of defensive line as well, which bodes well for his technique and conditioning.
The recruitment, how it happened
Despite being named an Under Armour All-American, perhaps Laloulu didn't generate the buzz you would have expected on the recruiting trail.
He reeled in eight reported scholarship offers during his high school career, highlighted by Oregon, Arizona, Florida and Tennessee among others. As Hawaii's top recruit in the 2023 class, he took official visits to Oregon and Arizona, which leads me to believe this recruitment was largely a two-team race.
The Ducks have prioritized the state of Hawaii for many years, including Kawika Rogers more recently in 2022, so that pipeline looks like it's still important. As I've written before, it really feels like Oregon is in a league of their own when it comes to recruiting brothers of current players (Sewells, Winstons, Herberts, etc.), and I'm sure that helped seal the deal here.
Outlook at Oregon
Laloulu looks like he's slated to hold down the interior of the offensive line during his time with the Ducks. He enters a room that returns some solid production with Marcus Harper II and Jackson Powers-Johnson as some of the main standouts, with Junior Angilau coming in from Texas as a projected starter.
He may be able to find the field sooner rather than later if he can slide further inside and play some center. He's the top-rated offensive line recruit from the high school ranks in Oregon's class, but I don't expect to see him outside of being in the rotation as a freshman who will likely redshirt.
Rankings rundown
247Sports Composite Rating: Four-star (0.8989)
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 342 Natl., No. 18 IOL, No. 1 in HI
Rivals Rating: Four-star (5.9)
Rivals Ranking: No. 136 Natl., No. 7 OG, No. 1 in HI
On3 Consensus Rating: Four-star (89.76)
On3 Consensus Ranking: No. 350 Natl., No. 22 IOL, No. 1 in HI
READ MORE: Oregon Football 2024 recruiting hot board-running back
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