Scouting Report
GENERAL REPORT: GRADE: 5.84
Body Structure: Raji is a wide-body type with outstanding shoulder and chest width. He has big hips, thick thighs, huge calves and tree-like legs. He lacks good arm length and needs to control his weight (as high as 360), as he does have stamina issues when he plays with added bulk. His frame is fleshy in the midsection and he has natural strength, rather than a well-built weight room physique.
Athletic Ability: Raji has a thick frame with decent initial burst for a player his size. He is agile moving down the line and light on his feet, but lacks the suddenness to explode through the gaps. He demonstrates good knee bend, showing the agility, balance and short-area acceleration to get into the backfield. He has the body control and change of direction agility to make plays down the line. He also has good strength, but needs to be more physical in his play. He did play with a high motor in 2008, something he did not do in the past. GRADE: 6.6
Football Sense: This kid is field smart, but does struggle in the classroom, sitting out the 2007 season due to academic issues. He does show good field smarts, but the coaching staff felt he just did not want to apply himself in the classroom and he paid for it by sitting out a season. He has the ability to quickly learn and retain plays. He understands assignments and is quick to pick up schemes. His feel for the ball is above average and he makes an effort on every play to get to the ball. He is rarely caught out of position due to a mental error. GRADE: 6.3
Character: Raji has finally bought into the program. He comes from a supportive family (both parents are pastors), but his academic problems and lack of work ethic in the past will raise a few red flags. He was suspended for part of a game in 2006 (vs. Clemson) for fighting vs. Central Michigan. The previous coaching staff felt that he was the laziest player on the team, but a year away from the game gave him renewed motivation. Still, you have to wonder if it was to impress the NFL teams or that he finally realized he needs to step it up on and off the field. GRADE: 5.3
Competitiveness: He is a solid competitor who plays with improved aggression, but you would like him to be a little more physical in his play. He can dominate the action in the trenches and never takes plays off. He relies a lot on his quickness and hand usage to finesse blockers and makes every effort to get to the ball, but for a player of his size he should be mauling blockers more often. The staff felt that it needed to motivate him constantly in practices, politely calling him a "game" player. GRADE: 6.0
Work Habits: Raji will never be called a hard worker in the weight room or practices. He is not the type that needs to be pushed to get the best effort out of him, as he is not a self-starter. He is a good field presence who lets his actions speak louder than his words, but not the example you want for being a mentor for the team's younger players. GRADE: 5.0
ATHLETIC REPORT: GRADE: 6.62
Explosion/Pursuit: Raji lacks good timed speed and will have stamina issues late in games, but he has a good burst off the snap shooting the gaps and the low center of gravity, along with incredibly thick legs to maintain his ground at the point of attack. He attacks the gaps with good urgency and flashes the ability to gain advantage on an offensive lineman. His burst off the line allows him to penetrate the gaps almost immediately. GRADE: 7.5
Strength at Point: Raji is sometimes too slow to shed and has shorter than ideal arms, but is nearly impossible to move out at the point of attack, thanks to his wide base, very strong anchor and noticeably improved leverage (that was a problem in the past). He has the power to split and disengage, but will revert to trying to out-finesse the blocker late in games (stamina issues), especially in one-on-one situations. His weight room figures do not always translate to the football field, but he is very effective at using his hands to stab and separate. He will get washed out when he gets too high in his pads and needs to play at a lower pad level to be effective when trying to shed and stack. GRADE: 7.0
Use of Hands: In the past, Raji's lack of arm length would see him struggle to disengage. He now shoots his hands more often, keeping them inside the frame to shock and jolt with much better authority than he showed his first three seasons. He now displays the proper positioning to use his hands in attempts to jolt at the line of scrimmage. When he locks on to a blocker, he has the functional strength to control. Still, he lacks the length to have consistent success defeating reach blocks. GRADE: 6.3
Lateral Pursuit/Effort: For a player of his size and fleshy midsection, Raji shows the quickness and hip snap to reach the edge to make tackles on the corner. He moves effortlessly down the line and when he gets free, is quick to zero in on the quarterback. He locates the ball quickly working through trash and has no problems generating the pursuit needed to make plays on runs between the tackles. GRADE: 6.8
Tackling Ability: Raji might not have a good amount of tackles, but one he collides with a ball carrier, the runner is quickly on the ground. He is not really a good wrap-up tackler (short arms), but uses his body well to generate a strong impact behind his hits. When he stays low in his pads, he generates the power to hit and take down with authority. He shows good hand usage to wrap and the hip roll to jolt on contact. GRADE: 6.5
Run Defense: Even though he does not always utilize his strength, Raji gets good position and body lean to stack and control when he stays at a good pad level. When he gets too high, he struggles with the blocker, especially against one lined up over his head. With his frame, he does a nice job of clogging the rush lanes and is too much of a force for lead blockers to move him out. He has the ability to lock on and either drive the blocker back or simply stand the opponent up. He has the ability to make tackles on the move, but is best when staying at the line or charging into the backfield rather than give long chase. GRADE: 6.9
Pass Rush: Until 2008, Raji showed limited ability as a pass rusher. He is still a work in progress, but is a physical bull rusher who can get to the quarterback in the short area. He lacks the foot speed to generate long pursuit, but once he gets free and gets a bead on the quarterback, he will usually make the play in the backfield. For a player of his size, you'd expect him to be more physical and generate more power to get a strong push off the snap. GRADE: 6.3
Closing on the QB: Raji lacks overall body flexibility and suddenness to close on the quarterback in a hurry, having to rely on his bull rush to disrupt the backfield. It is his balance and short-area burst that gets him into the backfield, where he has some ability to flush out the passer. He has enough short burst to close, but gets locked on quite a bit because he does not always bring his power game. When he is given a free lane, he shows explosion through the gaps to gain penetration. GRADE: 5.4
Instincts/Recognition: Raji has the ability to read and react and is quick to pick up blocking schemes. He has a good feel to flow to the ball and his agility down the line lets him string plays wide. He has the field vision and awareness to react quickly to blocking schemes. GRADE: 6.9
Compares To: SHAUN ROGERS, Cleveland -- Rogers is about three inches bigger than Raji, but both have the awesome ability to change the tide of a game on the field and frustrate coaches by their lack of work ethic away from it. Raji had a good senior campaign, but it was not earth-shattering. You have to look at the whole picture here. Is your team going to get a player motivated and hungry to prove his doubters wrong, or a player his former coaching staff had to constantly monitor. That's a lot of money to gamble on someone that can either dominate for you or get a general manager fired.
OVERALL GRADE: 6.50:
--Report by Dave-Te' Thomas