PFF doesn't have USC DL Tuli Tuipulotu among top 100 Draft prospects

USC Football DL Tuli Tuipulotu has been everything for the Trojans this season, and that's not an overstatement at all. He has quite literally rotated between three(!) different positions for this team. His natural position is of course...well...he's so versatile that it's not even clear what his most natural position is.

A more than viable argument can be made towards him playing in his natural habitat at either the tackle or defensive end position. That's because while he came into this year as a tackle, he was listed as an end when the first depth chart was released, and he's been seen playing both spots very frequently.

Not only that, but he's even been seen playing linebacker this year. There have been so many key injuries to SC's linebacking core this year, and the Trojans have gotten through it largely due to Tuipulotu's versatility. He's at a career-high in PD's this year (three) with his new role on the team, which proves how dominant he'll be at the next level.

That along with his 11.5 sacks, 17.5 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. All of the stats in this article are as of November 14th. The reason why is because that's when PFF released their 2023 NFL Draft Big Board. They ranked their top 100 prospects. Looking at these numbers, Tuipulotu was sure to be included, right?

USC Football star DL Tuli Tuipulotu was not on PFF's 2023 NFL Draft Big Board.

Somehow, elite USC Football DL Tuli Tuipulotu was left off their top 100 prospects despite leading the country in sacks and leading the Power 5 in tackles for loss. It's tough to understand how PFF could miss this badly. There certainly aren't any issues in terms of how his game translates, as again, he has proven the ability to play three different positions and really do everything for this defense.

He's also doing this in Year 1 with a new defensive coordinator. In fact, neither of the defensive coordinators he's played for are the one who recruited him (Clancy Pendergast). He's dealt with multiple head coaching changes too, and this year certainly isn't a fluke either.

Last year, Tuipulotu had an excellent season too; picking up 48 tackles and 5.5 sacks as a tackle. He also had 7.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and a scoop and score. In his 27 games of his college career; he's totaled 19 sacks and 27.5 tackles for loss.

That means that he averages 8.4 sacks over the course of a 12-game season with 12.2 tackles for loss. Those numbers are very good in general, but great for a player who's played most of his career at tackle. He's likely to be an All-American this season, but somehow PFF doesn't even have him as a top 100 draft prospect.