2013 NFL Draft Prospects: Utah

These are the school’s prospects for the 2013 NFL Draft by status * – denotes 2014 prospect ** – denotes 2015 prospect.

This page was last updated April 24, 2013. Follow me @walterfootball for updates.

Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah
Height: 6-3. Weight: 311. Arm: 33.58.
40 Time: 5.15.
Projected Round (2013): Top-16 Pick.
4/24/13: Lotulelei looks solid in the top 10 as there are a lot of teams in the latter half that could consider drafting him.

The heart issue that caused Lotulelei to be pulled out of the Combine has been determined to be a non-issue. He has been given full medical clearance to play pro football. Lotulelei put on a show at his pro day and was very impressive with power, speed and explosion.

Lotulelei had an excellent senior season. He played well against BYU, Utah State, USC, UCLA and Washington. Lotulelei was extremely disruptive and more so than the numbers indicate. He recorded 42 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, five sacks, three forced fumbles and four passes broken up.

Lotulelei has a rare combination of size, power, speed and explosion. He beats blockers with strength and speed. Lotulelei is dominant when he isn’t double-teamed and remains effective while taking on two blockers.

8/25/12: Lotulelei was a First-Team All-Pac-12 pick in 2011 and won the Morris Trophy as the conference’s top defensive lineman as voted on by the starting offensive linemen. He recorded 44 tackles, 1.5 sacks, nine tackles for a loss and a forced fumble. As a redshirt sophomore in 2010, Lotulelei was a backup for most of the season and had 21 tackles with 2.5 tackles for a loss. He is still developing and has tons of potential.

Lotulelei was more disruptive last year than his numbers indicate. He causes a lot of havoc at the point of attack by his ability to fire through his gap and penetrate the backfield. Lotulelei is powerful and extremely quick. He has the sheer strength to grab guards and toss them aside. He also explodes off the snap to quickly gain leverage on the guard.

The main thing that the senior has to work on is adding some more pass-rushing moves. He should add a rip move and spin move to go along with his speed and power rushes. Lotulelei is still raw. He has a huge ceiling and should only get better as he gains more experience. Lotulelei could fit in any NFL scheme, but could be a prototypical tackle for a 4-3 defense.

Joe Kruger*, DE, Utah
Height: 6-6. Weight: 269. Arm: 34.78.
40 Time: 4.83.
Projected Round (2013): 4-5.
4/24/13: Kruger had a quality junior season with 30 tackles, eight tackles for a loss, six sacks, two forced fumbles, an interception, a blocked kick and a pass broken up. He definitely benefitted from playing next to Star Lotulelei. Kruger had three sacks as a sophomore. He could be best as a 3-4 defensive end in the NFL.