SI All-American Candidate Michael McLaughlin Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: Michael McLaughlin
Status: SI All-American candidate
Vitals: 6-foot-7, 260 pounds
Position: Offensive Tackle
School: Parkland (Fla.) M. Stoneman Douglas
Committed to: Miami
Projected Position: Offensive Tackle
Frame: Tall with ideal length in upper-body. Somewhat tight torso. Fair bubble and hips. Adequate thickness in thighs and calves.
Athleticism: Occupy-type in run game who leans on targets after contact. Reliable to sustain base blocks. Flashes good short-area foot quickness and adjustability when asked to short pull and trap. Has solid feet in pass-protection on the right island and can force rushers to take wide arc past passer’s launch point. He also plays basketball.
Instincts: Savvy to take appropriate angles on down blocks to attack half a man and win with leverage. Can climb the linear track to second-level defenders and latch with a good fit. Uses a vertical set in pass-protection with decent accuracy in his punch. Good awareness of twists and delayed blitzes.
Polish: Plays right tackle and is asked to base and combo block, along with some short pull/fold and lead concepts. Length compensates for lack of ideal mass, bulk and strength. Ducks head in pass-protection at collision points and catches blocks with inconsistent punch timing. Limited ability to power step and recover. Plays tall at collision points in the run game and doesn’t bring feet early upon contact.
Bottom Line: McLaughlin is a tall and long tackle prospect with some promise. He isn’t going to impress with power, yet he flashes fair feet to perform various blocks in the run game and is a long-setter in pass-protection. McLaughlin fits best as a right tackle in an offense with zone-blocking concepts at this point and could kick over to left tackle later in his college career.