Prospect Evaluation: Notre Dame Commitment Isaac Rochell
By Nick Combs
Feb. 1, 2012; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly speaks at a press conference for national signing day at the Guglielmnio Athletics Complex. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-US PRESSWIRE
Rochell committed to Notre Dame on June 7th, 2012. He is ranked 111th in the nation according to Rivals.com and the 9th ranked Strongside Defensive End in the country. Rochell should make up for the loss of Aaron Lynch.
Strengths
Isaac Rochell is a 6’4’’ 250 pound defensive end. The film I watched was of him playing defensive end, defensive tackle, and offensive tackle. He has many strengths, in my opinion his 2 greatest strengths is his ability to fire off the ball quickly and using his hands to get off blocks. On film you can see that the combination of his size, speed, and the use of his hands makes him the 4 star player that he is. Rochell also has great vision, when he engages with the offensive lineman his eyes are always on the ball. He then gets off the block takes a good pursuit angle and makes a play on the ball carrier. The one thing that really stuck out to me was the great use of his hands. He rarely lets the offensive lineman get inside his pads. One common trait you see with quick athletic defensive lineman is the over pursuit of plays. By this I mean after shedding the block a defensive lineman will just run straight up field, disregarding what is going on with the offense. Rochell breaks down after shedding the block and takes the correct angle of pursuit. There is one particular play where Rochell is the backside end to a sweep and he takes a textbook pursuit angle to make the tackle 50 yards down field. I couldn’t believe it, a guy that size running down a tailback is a testament to the how good this guy is pursuing the football.
Weaknesses
Like everyone in the world even Isaac Rochell has weaknesses, but these weaknesses are easy fixes and nothing to worry about. There are times during the film when Rochell tends to get too high and expose himself a little too much to the offensive lineman. By not staying low you can expose too much of your chest and this will allow the offensive lineman to get into your pads and engage, which is hard to get out of at the college level. Also, his pass rushing could be a little more diverse when it comes to getting off the block. Adding a spin, dip and rip, and a swim move could give this guy more to work with. Rochell uses his pure athletic ability and hands to get off blocks, which is good, but playing the teams Notre Dame plays you will have to mix it up. The offensive linemen Rochell will see at Notre Dame will be nowhere close to what he saw in high school.
Overall Rochell is a solid recruit that I see being an asset to this team in the near future. We talk about the lack of depth on the defensive line for Notre Dame, especially with Kapron Lewis-Moore leaving next year. Someone needs to step up and make plays. I don’t see Rochell playing much if any his freshman year since Sheldon Day will more than likely take Kapron’s spot next year. Who knows maybe he will surprise us.