UCLA Football: Scouting 2024 Linebacker Blake Tabaracci
Park City (Park City, UT) middle linebacker Blake Tabaracci committed to UCLA back in June. He recently dropped his senior season highlight film on Hudl. AllBruins.com reviewed his sophomore, junior, and senior season to see how the 6-2, 210-pound linebacker has progressed to better understand the trajectory he is on. Our goal is to give Bruin fans an idea of how soon Tabaracci might see the field and become a difference-maker at the linebacker position.
Tabaracci lined up at middle and outside linebacker for most of his career. We noticed his development in pass coverage takes a big leap during his senior season. He’s able to flip his hips and get depth to cover the deeper crossing routes. He also isn’t afraid to get down and dirty in the box, banging it out with the offensive linemen. He’ll need to put on some weight to be able to be ‘the guy’ in the middle for any Division One program, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
The spectacle in Tabaracci’s game is his quickness and his athleticism. We did see some minor red flags in his film, however. While he can absolutely lay the wood when he wants, we also saw several plays where, when tackling, he left his feet too early or didn’t wrap up. Tackling has become increasingly difficult to coach/learn at every level. Tabaracci clearly has the ability to get to the ball carrier and do it fast. But he’ll be facing a steep learning curve in the Big 10 as far as tackling.
Overall, there are some technical concerns with Tabaracci’s game, but the athleticism and big-play ability of his game proved too attractive to pass up for college recruiting departments. He committed to UCLA after considering offers from Michigan, Arizona, BYU, Colorado, Stanford, Utah, and USC to name a few.
We expect Tabaracci to contribute on special teams quickly for the Bruins. However, it may take him a year or two to develop into a reliable choice for a starting role on the prolific UCLA defense.
Don't forget to join our community at LA Sports Report, where we celebrate all things Bruins!