CJ West, IDL, Indiana
Size:
Height: 6011
Weight: 316
Arm: 31 ½”
Hand: 9 ¾”
Accomplishments:
Third-team All-MAC (2023) • Three-star recruit
“CJ West is a big-bodied, slashing defensive tackle who makes a living in the offense’s backfield.”
Strengths:
Lateral agility
Point-of-attack power
Locates the football
Backfield presence
Concerns:
Anchor
Pad level
Pass-rush upside
Film Analysis:
CJ West looks the part of an NFL-framed defensive tackle at 6-foot-2 and 317 pounds and was a top-30 recruit in the state of Illinois. While at Nazareth Academy, he was named to the All-East Suburban Catholic Conference as a senior. He originally committed to Minnesota but re-opened his recruitment and wound up at Kent State. He played four seasons for the Flashes and accumulated 110 tackles, 19 for loss, and seven sacks before transferring to Indiana for his redshirt senior season. He made 40 tackles, seven for loss, with two sacks on the season for the Hoosiers on their way to a College Football Playoff berth.
West predominantly lined up inside the guards for Indiana, anywhere from a 2i position to zero-tech. He’s inconsistent off the ball but has pop in his hands to jar offensive linemen with jabs to the chest and quick extension to knock them back. Against the run in one-on-one situations, he does a nice job of stacking and locating the ball when he’s assignment/gap sound. However, he’s a slasher at heart and was used on a good amount of run stunts, but he tends to freelance and take himself out of gaps against the run. He gets in the backfield regularly and causes havoc, wracking up tackles for loss. His lateral first step is key because if double teams line him up, his anchor struggles to keep him grounded. He showed flashes of using the “kickstand” technique to anchor but needs to use it more at the next level to succeed, along with a more consistent pad level to battle linemen.
West doesn’t have a deep pass-rush tool bag as a pass rusher, but he still does well to affect the quarterback with his lateral quickness to step around blockers. Flashing a quick ‘arm-over’ technique paired with his lateral quickness, he can get into gaps and speed up the quarterback, forcing incompletions. His pass-rush plan isn’t as developed either, and he will need to add counters and sequencing to find a consistent impact at the next level. He doesn’t defeat double teams often in either phase of defense, which makes it hard for him to place in a defensive scheme.
His playstyle projects best as a three-technique at the NFL level with his slasher mentality, but improved lower half strength and anchor will take his game to a more complete level. Developing his pass-rush tool bag and plan will also open up his usage on third down.
Prospect Projection: Day 3 —Scheme Specific Contributor
Written By: Daniel Harms
Exposures: Ohio State (2024), Michigan (2024), Notre Dame (2024), Michigan State (2024)
