Scouting Report: Nick Alftin

The rushers are coming. The rushers are coming.

With Nick Alftin's commitment last week, the Bears are now up to four commitments in the 2018 class, and half of them are set to play at outside linebacker so far, as Justin Wilcox shapes the roster in his own 3-4 mold.

6'5, 235 pound Alftin is not only local -- there goes that Northern California thing again; all four of Cal's commits are from NorCal/in-state so far -- and athletic, but as you may have already noticed, he isn't exactly shy about it -- his first highlight on film is of him at volleyball, showing off a little two-sport versatility. In my opinion, Alftin's better than Tevis so far, for a couple of specific reasons: longer frame and arms (at least on tape), he's stronger against linemen, quicker off the ball, and he's got a few clips that make his potential move to OLB more obvious. Tevis is more developed technique wise, and particularly with his hands, but Alftin's got him beat -- thus far -- in the other categories, and shows some pass rush moves from either side of the line.

How might he transition to playing with his hand off the ground?

These three plays at least give us a glimpse, since he's doing what he'll be asked to do in the future.

1:06, when he instantly flips out to track a swing pass. Playing outside linebacker means he'll be making many movements that like that one, because the modern college game is so focused on placing defenders into tough decisions, and exploiting whatever it is they do choose. You have to be quick, fluid, and decisive as an edge defender in order to survive those kinds of stresses.

1:58, when he rushes from a stand up position and blows up a read option.

2:10, when he changes direction to pursue a quarterback who read him. The play is supposed to leave Alftin unblocked so the QB can run to the outside around him, but he's athletic enough to chase the guy down from behind anyway.