Luke Haggard-OT-Indiana

Local NorCal guy out of Petaluma, started out at Santa Rosa Junior College before heading to Indiana. Having started out at TE originally, he's a tall lineman with very good movement ability, a great fit for a zone blocking scheme. He's a likely very late pick in the draft but seeing him in a couple games has me intrigued, he seems to have the prerequisite athleticism and awareness that Shanahan looks for. He's still very much a work in progress but it'll be interesting to follow him throughout the offseason circuit and how he handles himself. He's set to be at the East West Shrine Game in a few weeks.






https://www.thedailyhoosier.com/iu-football-ot-haggard-improving-at-pass-blocking-providing-veteran-presence/

The IU senior played youth football for only one year before getting to Petaluma (Calif.) High School, where he played defensive end and tight end as a freshman. He moved to left tackle on offense as a sophomore, but the team ran a triple-option offense which didn't ask as much of a left tackle as other styles do.

Haggard didn't really start learning the craft of the position until he got to Santa Rosa (Calif.) Junior College. And even then, he wasn't immediately all in. He arrived at Santa Rosa wanting to play defensive end.

"There was a coach at my junior college who told me, 'Listen, you can play defense here if you want, but your potential for tackle is so much higher.' He was just talking for a couple weeks before I made my decision of what I wanted to play," Haggard said. "At first, I was like, 'No way. I don't know how to play that. I don't want to play it.' But he showed me this could have a lot of upside to it."

Haggard learned the position, developed, and came to Indiana ahead of the 2020 season. And over the last year, Haggard has become an important part of IU's offensive line.

After missing last year's opener at Iowa, Haggard started every game for the rest of the season. He went on to win the team's Chris Dal Sasso Award for outstanding lineman. Indiana's first two games this season played out very differently, with different circumstances around them, but Haggard has still been key. Through those two games, Haggard owns an 81.6 grade on Pro Football Focus in pass blocking. That ranks 39th in the country and eighth in the Big Ten. Over the summer he was listed as the No. 9 rated NFL Draft prospect at offensive tackle by that outlet.

The IU offensive line, as a whole, has kept quarterback Connor Bazelak mostly clean thus far, with just one sack allowed. Offensive coordinator Walt Bell acknowledged it hasn't been a flawless operation, and there have still been quarterback hurries, but he said the line has done a nice job in pass protection.

That's an area Haggard spent time in the offseason working on. While at home during the summer, he went back to his high school field or a local park and did various drills. He watched pass protection videos during down time. All in an effort to hone his technique and improve.

My professional offensive linemen assessment says no due to wrong face mask for lineman.

Pull the trigger. Even if he isn't starting until year 3 or 4, it will be worth it if he is the guy.

Not sure how great Draftek is on their player evaluations but they rank Haggard 270th which is undrafted FA range.

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
Not sure how great Draftek is on their player evaluations but they rank Haggard 270th which is undrafted FA range.

He's absolutely a late pick or even UDFA. He's a guy that you take late and try to work with him for a year, coach him up and see what you can get out of him. He's still pretty raw in many ways but has the desired athleticism and has shown an aptitude for quickly picking things up and progressing as an OL.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
Not sure how great Draftek is on their player evaluations but they rank Haggard 270th which is undrafted FA range.

He's absolutely a late pick or even UDFA. He's a guy that you take late and try to work with him for a year, coach him up and see what you can get out of him. He's still pretty raw in many ways but has the desired athleticism and has shown an aptitude for quickly picking things up and progressing as an OL.

2023 Mr. Relevant

I really hope we trade for the last pick for s**ts and giggles

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:

Not sure how great Draftek is on their player evaluations but they rank Haggard 270th which is undrafted FA range.

He's absolutely a late pick or even UDFA. He's a guy that you take late and try to work with him for a year, coach him up and see what you can get out of him. He's still pretty raw in many ways but has the desired athleticism and has shown an aptitude for quickly picking things up and progressing as an OL.

He's a developmental swing tackle that could benefit a year on the PS to get the proper conditioning (directionally similar to what we treated Aaron Banks). Given McGlinchey's FA status, Williams's age, and the fact McKivitz and Jaylon Moore scare the crap out of me...we need a starter and depth at the position.

Nice to be back in this forum. This guy is intriguing. I'm far more worried about OT than most. I'm not sure we are going to re-sign McGlinchey. Trent is not getting younger. We need some attention to the OT position IMO.

Originally posted by GEEK:

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
Not sure how great Draftek is on their player evaluations but they rank Haggard 270th which is undrafted FA range.

He's absolutely a late pick or even UDFA. He's a guy that you take late and try to work with him for a year, coach him up and see what you can get out of him. He's still pretty raw in many ways but has the desired athleticism and has shown an aptitude for quickly picking things up and progressing as an OL.

He's a developmental swing tackle that could benefit a year on the PS to get the proper conditioning (directionally similar to what we treated Aaron Banks). Given McGlinchey's FA status, Williams's age, and the fact McKivitz and Jaylon Moore scare the crap out of me...we need a starter and depth at the position.

This is exactly what you do. Take the guy late and work with him, hoping you have a guy that can play for you by year 3.