July 23, 2010

Cali High's Top 25: #10 Viliami Moala

By Admin

Cali High Sports is coming out with the best and most accurate list of the top Cali players for each sport. We start with football in which an unusually deep California class has immense talent at seemingly every position.

We continue our countdown to number 1 with Grant defensive tackle Viliami Moala. Moala highly sought after by pretty much every school in the Pac 10 and could be a four year starter at the next level. 

#10 Viliami Moala

School: Grant

Position: Defensive Tackle

Height: 6'2

Weight: 325

Schools Considering: Washington, Oregon, USC, UCLA, Arizona 

NFL Comparison: Haloti Ngata

Viliami Moala is a big boy. A real big boy.

Lots of high school players like to claim they have one quality that is pro ready: whether it be size, speed, vertical, what have you. The truth is those guys don't realize what a huge jump it is from the high school level to even the college level, let alone the pro level. But in the case of Viliami Moala, he already has NFL size. In fact, he's bigger then some NFL defensive tackles. 

At 6'2 325 (and still growing) it would be hard to tell Moala apart from some NFL nose guards in a lineup. And Moala isn't just a big dude, he knows how to play and how to use his size to his advantage. 

Moala uses his size and strength to simply overpower defenders and cause havoc in the backfield. For such a big guy he does a good job getting a strong initial burst off the ball and just leveling defenders to the ground. He uses his whole body when pushing a blocker aside, not falling into the bad habit of just using his arms. 

On passing plays Moala uses a few different moves to get by his defender and has a good second burst needed to sack the quarterback. Moala is very effective on running plays using his surprisingly strong lateral quickness and massive body to take away gaps and running lanes and drag down defenders. You won't see a runner break a Moala tackle. 

Moala is so quick that it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for him to see time at defensive end. He has great footwork and is overall a very solid, fundamental lineman and could be used at different positions along the line to wear down the whole offensive line.

The next level?: Moala has received high profile offers from Pac 10 schools and as the year progresses should start to see offers pour in from high powered nationally known programs like Alabama, Florida and Oklahoma, all of whom have said to be interested in the big man's services.

Moala is definitely worth of such offers and profiles to be a star at the next level. Once he gets a truly great D-line coach to work with him on small things like keeping his pads lower, driving through a double team and other small fundamental issues Viliami could become unstoppable. The kid has great talent and even greater potential.

Cali High Grade: 91

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