Notre Dame football: Irish flip California defensive end Devin Aupiu
By Carlee North
Notre Dame football: Irish flip California defensive end Devin Aupiu
What will Aupiu bring to South Bend?
The 6’6 225-pound defensive end is going to bring a lot of size, and with his size, you sometimes worry about speed, but Aupiu can definitely run for his size. He has really nice instincts and a high-end motor, which defensive line coach Mike Elston is certainly going to use to his advantage once he arrives on campus.
You could also add the fact that he is tough as nails, and looks like he plays with a massive chip on his shoulder. Will he start game one of next season? Probably not, no. Could he be a really good player in a couple of years once he gets stronger? No doubt about it.
He has all the tools and the mindset, and once he gets into the strength and conditioning program with Matt Balis, I really think Aupiu could be capable of being a great player. This was of course a late pickup, but it’s someone I don’t mind the staff taking a risk on late in the game, especially with the upside he shows.
Hopefully, the Polynesian Bowl, where’s he’s been selected as an All-American, will be played this year, so there’s another chance to watch him work along the defensive line before heading to South Bend.
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With Aupiu aboard, the 2021 class now has 24 commitments, which include one specialist, eleven on offense, and twelve on defense. Aupiu will be joining DT Gabriel Rubio, DE Jason Onye, DE Will Schweitzer, LB Prince Kollie, and LB Kahanu Kia along the defensive front seven.
This is a real solid group that could be extremely productive in the next couple of years as a whole. You just gotta love what defensive coordinator Clark Lea is doing, not just on the field but in this recruiting class as well.