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USC Football: Top 3 Trojan prospects for 2021 NFL Draft

By Connor Muldowney

BOULDER, CO - OCTOBER 25: Amon-Ra St. Brown #8 of the USC Trojans carries the ball for a first quarter touchdown against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field on October 25, 2019 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
BOULDER, CO - OCTOBER 25: Amon-Ra St. Brown #8 of the USC Trojans carries the ball for a first quarter touchdown against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field on October 25, 2019 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 13: Defensive lineman Jay Tufele #78 of the USC Trojans celebrates in game agaisnt Colorado Buffaloes at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 13, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 13: Defensive lineman Jay Tufele #78 of the USC Trojans celebrates in game agaisnt Colorado Buffaloes at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 13, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /

When Jay Tufele came to USC in the 2017 class, the excitement for his immediate impact was through the roof. He was a five-star prospect, ranked by 247Sports as one of the 15 best prospects in the country and the No. 2 defensive tackle. He has lived up to the billing thus far and he looks to be one of the top interior defensive linemen in the nation for 2020.

Tufele has pieced together a couple of solid years after redshirting as a true freshman. He had 23 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks as a redshirt freshman and only got better as a sophomore.

In fact, Tufele finished with 41 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks with a pass deflection in 2019, earning All-Pac-12 first team honors and was an honorable mention All-American according to college football guru Phil Steele. He was also USC’s defensive lineman of the year for the second straight season.

The 6-foot-3, 305-pound tackle enters the 2020 season as arguably the best defensive lineman in the Pac-12 and could sneak into the first round as the first interior defender off the board.

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