Hercules Mata' Afa DE Washington State

HERCULES MATA'AFA
Defensive End
Washington State
6'2" 255 lbs

Wow, what a pocket wrecking ball of knives. Redshirt sophomore he really flashed in the game against Boise State

I think he's fast enough for Leo but at 255 lbs he was splitting double teams from the DT position. He reminded the announcers of Teddy Bruschi

This will be a good tandem to watch this week in the USC vs Washington State matchup

Frankie Luvu moved from will linebacker to rush linebacker this offseason, while Hercules Mata'afa has finally settled into his defensive tackle spot. Together, they're causing havoc for opposing offenses.
Entering his senior season at Washington State this fall, Frankie Luvu had a measly 1.5 career sacks in 33 games played over three seasons.

That was due, in part, to his position. Luvu spent his first three years at will linebacker, backing up Jeremiah Allison in 2015, and splitting time with Isaac Dotson in 2016.

Dotson had just about locked up the WLB spot going into fall camp, but Luvu's abilities were so enticing that WSU defensive coordinator Alex Grinch knew he had to find a way to get the 6-foot-2, 235-pound linebacker on the field.

We've seen him one-on-one in practice," Grinch said. "You saw a guy who had the speed, quickness and willingness to be physical. And you can't just rely on speed off the edge, you have to have a Plan B so if you don't beat (the blocker) off the line, you find another way to get to the quarterback. Frankie's able to do that, and he's able to drop into coverage at times."

It seemed the perfect skillset for rush linebacker, so that's where the coaches moved Luvu going into fall camp.

Through two games, that position switch has proved already yielded dividends

As the 21st-ranked Cougars (2-0) welcome Oregon State (1-2) to Martin Stadium this Saturday, Luvu leads the defense with 2.5 sacks, and is coming off a breakout performance in WSU's win over Boise State.

Against the Broncos, "Frankie Luvu probably had the best game that he's had," WSU coach Mike Leach said this week.

Luvu tallied five tackles and 2.5 sacks – including one that knocked Boise State's starting quarterback, Brett Rypien, out of the game – and also recovered a fumble in the Cougars' triple-overtime win.

For Grinch, it was satisfying to see Luvu finally play to his potential.

"It was the right move," Grinch said. "If you have a guy who can affect the quarterback, we have to put him in position to do that and we'll be a better defense for it."

But Luvu's emergence, along with the development of some other young pass rushers, has also brought out the best in defensive tackle Hercules Mata'afa, who leads the defense with 5.5 tackles for loss, and has two sacks so far this season.

Luvu has been dynamic off the edge, and using him outside with Mata'afa on the inside has been an effective one-two punch for WSU's improved pass rush.

"They're talented. They're very athletic, twitchy guys," Oregon State coach Gary Andersen said of the Cougars' Mata'afa-Luvu pass rushing tandem. "They move them around and cause a lot of disruption and a lot of issues."

Seattle Times.com

Luvu looks like a good WILL candidate.

Definitely worth keeping an eye on him. Reminds me a bit of Yannick Ngakue who I loved the year he declared and couldn't figure out why he was always graded so low. Was actually surprised when Jags drafted him in the 3rd round, not so much cuz I questioned his talent but because like 99% of the draft publications/sites had him late day 3 pick.

This kid may not declare but I think a similar spot is possible if he declares.

Yeah, I've been tuning in for Falk and Mata'afa and Luvu stand out.
Mata'afa is kind of like Marcus Rush with explosion.

Too small to play DT in NFL. Can be a good end or possibly strong side OLB in an attacking 4-3 scheme

He's a bad Mata'Afa!

is that # 50 ?

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
is that # 50 ?

Yes.

He just crushed that running play, tackle at mesh point 5 yards deep.

He drops into coverage next play. He is si quick.

Originally posted by ChaunceyGardner:
He just crushed that running play, tackle at mesh point 5 yards deep.

He drops into coverage next play. He is si quick.

1st rounder ?

Originally posted by ChaunceyGardner:
He just crushed that running play, tackle at mesh point 5 yards deep.

He drops into coverage next play. He is si quick.

Sounds like a three-down SAM to me.

The get off, hands, motor and ability to get skinny jump off the screen. I see in Hercules a lot of what I liked in Solly, albeit in a smaller package.

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:

1st rounder ?

My guess would be early to mid 2nd

Originally posted by Heroism:

Originally posted by ChaunceyGardner:

He just crushed that running play, tackle at mesh point 5 yards deep.

He drops into coverage next play. He is si quick.

Sounds like a three-down SAM to me.

The get off, hands, motor and ability to get skinny jump off the screen. I see in Hercules a lot of what I liked in Solly, albeit in a smaller package.

Hell yeah. Maybe a 2nd round target?

Originally posted by SmokeCrabtrees:

Originally posted by Heroism:

Originally posted by ChaunceyGardner:

He just crushed that running play, tackle at mesh point 5 yards deep.

He drops into coverage next play. He is si quick.

Sounds like a three-down SAM to me.

The get off, hands, motor and ability to get skinny jump off the screen. I see in Hercules a lot of what I liked in Solly, albeit in a smaller package.

Hell yeah. Maybe a 2nd round target?

Or Patriots at end of first , if he comes out. If he keeps it up could be a bit higher.

After USC's loss to Washington State on Friday, Trojans HC Clay Helton said, "I don't know if we'll see a better player than [Washington State redshirt junior DE Hercules Mata'afa] in our league."
Helton referred to the 6-foot-2, 245-pounder Mata'afa as a "tackle-for-loss nightmare." He would know. The redshirt junior put in five total tackles in Friday's upset victory, including two which went for loss. He has now registered at least 2.0 TFL in all five of Washington State's games to date.
Source: ESPN.com Oct 3 - 7:33 PM