Hauoli Kikaha Scouting Report ~ 2015 NFL Draft

Bandit ~ Hauoli Kikaha ~ Washington Huskies 6024/252

Regarding Bandits

Throughout the FootBall World, Defenses are in the process of undergoing spectacular Disruption and Revolution. Old Roles are getting dramatically transformed, and virtually every Front 7 ~ or Front 6!! ~ Defensive Job Description is transitioning into an Hybrid Role where the Defender is asked to excel in multiple Roles and multiple Fronts.

For that reason, and in order to offer NomenClature that speaks not to archaic, obsolete "Positions", but rather to Skill Sets that accurately reflect the dynamic Changes of the 21st Century Game and the Roles they have spawned, I have undertaken to craft Terminology that is designed to break Skill Sets down as they really are.

Defensive Coordinators have, since Time Immemorial, employed highly creative terminology  in devising Defenses and in designating Assignments. In that Spirit, I have admittedly indulged myself considerably in devising the following NomenClature. It is undeniably colorful, but I like to think that there's an underlying Logic, as well:

Bandits ~ This is my term, derived from Defensive Schemes, for Players with the WingSpan for the Defensive Line yet who, unlike Dragons, lack the Size to play there regularly, because they can't be expected to Anchor against the Run.

They are thus the right Size though a bit tall to play MidFielder and can generally do so, but I believe are optimally employed as Wild Cards, deployed all over the Formation from Snap to Snap, usually in the murky, shifty region between the Defensive Line and the MidFielders, usually standing up, and generally giving no clue as to their Intentions.

I believe that the Bandit, whatever he's called in a given Formation, stands at the very EpiCenter of the disruptive Changes that Defensive Formations are undergoing today. Their unique combination of Size & Speed offers precisely that Wild Card Variable that I believe is potentially priceless for Defenses to compete and indeed to excel in the incessantly and rapidly evolving Strategic LandScape of the 21st Century. The Prototype would be around 6050/245 or so, I'd say.

As the ultimate Defensive Hybrid, Bandits could quite conceivably Rush the Passer, Blitz the Run, or Drop into Coverage on any given play, and from virtually any alignment on the Line or in the BackField. They won't anchor against the Run very effectively, they won't overwhelm with Power in their Pass Rush, and they're not built to Turn & Burn with WideOuts in Coverage, but they are in fact optimally built to conceivably compete effectively in all three Facets of the Game.

Of course, where and how any given Coach chooses to deploy his Players is his Business. Players that I characterize as Bandits may often or even routinely line up anywhere, on any given Down. My only purpose is simply to identify what I perceive as Skill Sets, to distinguish types, if you will, and perhaps create a universal Point of Reference.

When evaluating Bandits, this is how I break down the Attributes to which I pay most particular attention:

Power: Above all: Core Power. Torso Power is important, but Core Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. All the upper body strength in the world still fails if you can't dig in your heels. But Core Power enables a Defensive Lineman to project Power in the Passing Game and to reject Power in the Running Game.

Agility: Launch Velocity, Acceleration, and above all: Fluidity or Core Agility. Core Agility is even more essential to sustained good Health ~ and to sustained good FootBall ~ than Core Power. The ability to react with Serpentine smoothness is a tremendous asset in all Aspects of the Game, and certainly in the Hand to Hand Combat that characterizes Trench Warfare. All the Power in the World goes only so far if you're stiff and lumbering out there.

Combat Skills: Paw Power, Mechanics ~ Hand Speed & Positioning ~ and of course: Frame.

Intangibles: Processing Speed and Motor. Processing Speed or Diagnostic Velocity is about how quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to how the Rapidly Roiling Tactical LandScape effects Blocking Schemes, and Motor is about Endurance and Drive: How much Work has been put into Conditioning, and how it manifests itself.

Run Defense: Power, Agility, Combat Skills, Navigating Traffic, Processing Speed, Motor, and Tackling.

Pass Coverage: Agility, Processing Speed, and Catch Point Capacity.

Pass Rush: Power, Agility, and Combat Skills.

Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:

Power

* Core Power ~ lower body Power. Core Power trumps Torso Power. Tyrannosaurus Rex had exceptional Core Power.
* Torso Power ~ upper Body Power. Important, but not crucial. T Rex had lousy Torso Power...yet was King.
* Anchoring Strength against the Run.
* Drive Power in the Pass Rush.

Agility

* Fluidity, above all things: Core Agility & Flexibility makes everything possible.
* Launch Velocity ~ Speed into Contact off the Snap.
* Acceleration ~ Short Speed or Quickness.

Combat Skills

* Paw Power ~ The Power & Speed of the initial Punch.
* Paw Velocity ~ How active the Hands are.
* Paw Positioning ~ It's all about Angles & Leverage.
* Frame ~ Above all: WingSpan.

Intangibles

* Processing Speed ~ Field Vision. Rapidly Reading & Reacting to the Offense.
* Motor ~ Intensity and Duration.

Run Defense

* Power
* Agility
* Combat Skills
* Navigating Traffic
* Processing Speed
* Motor
* Tackling

Pass Coverage

* Agility
* Processing Speed

* Agility
* Processing Speed
* Catch Point Capacity

Pass Rush

* Power
* Agility
* Combat Skills

Hauoli Kikaha Scouting Report

Power: Competitive. Exceptional Drive Power. Mediocre Anchoring Strength. For his Size, both are outstanding, but he's rather compact, and his deficient WingSpan significantly inhibits his capacity both to project Power and to reject it.

Agility: Competitive. Adequate Launch Velocity, extraordinary Fluidity, and awful Acceleration, and yes that is an unusual and confounding combination!! It's probably just as well that Kikaha was too sick to run the 40 at the Combine, as he might've succumbed to a coronary incident. The man has no Speed. And yet he has the Fluidity of a Serpent.

Combat Skills: Extraordinary. His Paw Speed and Mechanics are phenomenal, but his WingSpan is deficient, and it hurts him in Combat. Even so, he was a Wrestler in High School and a Judo Champion, and it shows in Battle.

Intangibles: Phenomenal. Formerly raw, deficient Field Vision and Processing Speed improved considerably in 2014. I'd go with Competitive with Exceptional Potential. And his Motor if simply sensational. Utterly terrifying.

Run Defense: Mediocre. Kikaha exhibits extraordinary Core Power for'is Size, but his deficient WingSpan enables lengthier Blockers to get their hands on'm. This has the effect of rendering his Anchoring Strength mediocre. Even so, he's nevertheless generally effective at setting an Edge, due mostly to his extraordinary Combat Skills and that sensational Motor. He's deficient in Pursuit, however, due to that awful Acceleration, but he's a phenomenal Tackler.

Pass Coverage: Deficient. His Fluidity is extraordinary, yes, but that glacial Acceleration hurts'm considerably.

Pass Rush: Tremendous. His deficient WingSpan will cost'm many a Battle, and I fully expect Kikaha to get RagDolled on occasion, but there's no such thing as him being actually out of a Play, and that does translate to the next level, where even Professionals can get cocky and think their man's beaten. But Kikaha's relentless Motor is only one thing his Pass Rush has going for'm. Short of WingSpan, he may be, but that Judo Championship is no joke: Kikaha's Combat Skills are phenomenal, and when they enable'm to get in close quarters with his Foe, that's where he seizes the Advantage, because his outstanding Core Power, extraordinary Fluidity, and advanced Combat Skills will enable a man of extraordinarily violent temperament to vanquish many a Foe. And Hauoli Kikaha is precisely that guy.

Hauoli Kikaha Prospectus

One of the daunting Aspects evaluating Hauoli Kikaha ~ and one of the daunting Aspects of being Hauoli Kikaha ~ is that I've read in one report that he needs Space to operate effectively, yet in another read that he's...not that effective in Space.

Unfortunately, there's Truth in both these Statements.

I believe that Kikaha projects to be at best mediocre in Pass Coverage and at best adequate in Run Defense.

Even so, I believe that, despite obvious and considerable physical hindrances, Hauoli Kikaha's dynamic Pass Rushing production at Washington translates to the next level. He's a Try Hard Guy, to be certain, but I believe that there's a genuinely formidable Skill Set, there, one that belies the notion that he won't be an Impact Player.

And it comes down to his unique Pass Rush Skills, as touched on, up above: I have no doubt that his lack of WingSpan will cost'm many a Battle, and that he'll often get tossed aside like last week's Lottery Ticket. But so ferocious and skilled a Fighter will many far more Battles than many might think, just looking at'm next to the guy he's facing.

And once Kikaha gets the edge in a Battle...I don't expect that he's going to lose it to often.

Nope.

My Fellow Draft Writers ~ the ones who actually know what the Hell they're writing about, a distinction that I don't pretend to claim ~ often write, when dealing with Pass Rushing, about the term "converting Speed to Power", which is a painfully inarticulate attempt to refer to converting from Speed to Power. Only Willy Wonka can convert Speed to Power.

I prefer to adapt the infinitely cooler term Torsion.

And let me tell you: When Hauoli Kikaha drives on his man's OutSide Flank and then looks to corner on'm ~ to drive off his outside leg to the QuarterBack and through his aforementioned Foe ~ his Torsion is extraordinary.

In EarthSpeak, you say?

I believe that that short-armed Tasmanian Devil will drive many a 315 Pound Linemen right into his QuarterBack's lap!!

I do have concerns about the other Aspects of'is Game, so I must attenuate my Grade accordingly ~ as it seems others have done ~ but I certainly have little doubt that this guy will not only do whatever it takes to make the most of his considerable Talents, but rapidly become a great TeamMate and an enormous Locker Room Leader.

Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!

Yank Rank: Warrior ~ Par Value!!

Market Value

2nd/3rd Round

Yankee Grade

2nd/3rd Round

Please do Note: This and all Evaluations issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women of Good Will!!  I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!

This is not is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning: Caveat Emptor!!