Highlights & Evaluation: Louisville DT Commit Josiah Hope

Another of the top prospects in the Commonwealth of Kentucky is opting to join the Louisville football program, as Josiah Hope has committed to the Cardinals.

Here is Louisville Cardinals On SI's full evaluation:

Prospect: Josiah Hope
Position: Defensive Tackle
Measurables: 6-foot-3, 300 pounds
School: Radcliff (Ky.) North Hardin
Top Offers: Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU, Wisconsin
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.8803 (580th)

Josiah Hope's Junior Year Highlights: HERE (Hudl)

Frame: As you can guess by his measurables, Hope already has a good amount of weight packed on him. He'll need to convert some of that weight to muscle, but it should be an issue. Height is good for a defensive tackle, wingspan is about average, and he has some broad shoulders to boot.

Athleticism: Sure, Hope could use to turn some of his weight into pure muscle, but he already has very good play strength as is. Additionally, he has good north-south burst and footwork, and his open field speed/overall movement is not what you would expect from a 300-pound lineman

Instincts: While many people simply expect defensive tackles to just eat up blocks, Hope is actually a very good pass rusher. Unsurprisingly, he has an explosive first step and a violent first strike, but he also has good set of swim and spin moves for an interior lineman. He uses his hands very well when shedding initial blocks, but also has a solid counter moves when he can't simply bounce right off. Combine Hope's pass rush toolbox with his mass and play strength, and you have a lineman who is very hard to adjust to as the game goes on. Once he is able to blow by his blocker, Hope takes good pursuit angles to the ballcarrier, and actually has good closing speed for a tackle.

Polish: Of course, Hope plays the bulk of his snaps as a interior lineman in a three-point stance. That being said, he also does sometimes line up on the edge. He doesn't get stood up completely up very often when engaging with a blocker, but when lined up on the edge, his bend is average - which isn't unexpected for his size. While he's a good pass rusher, you'd like to see him utilize his strength/size more on bull rushes. However, Hope's motor is always running and doesn't stop until well after the whistle is blown, and that's greatly assisted by some very sound tackling fundamentals. He also does well with timing his disengagement on blocks against zone rushing.

Bottom Line: Overall, this is a very good pickup for Louisville. Hope has a unique blend of size, strength, and pure pass rush ability that you don't see very often in defensive lineman. He'll have to tune his body for the college game once on campus, but Hope is an early playing time candidate.

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