Vitals
Name: Paul Boyette
Position: Defensive tackle
Height: 6-4
Weight: 280
Speed: 4.9
High School: Humble
Rating (Rivals): Four out of five (5.8)
Offers
- Texas (committed 2/26/2011)
- Alabama
- Baylor
- Florida State
- Kansas State
- Nebraska
- Notre Dame
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
- Texas A&M
Overview/recruitment
Back when Paul Boyette committed at the second Junior Day, he was an extremely important piece to the overall class. Recall that at the time, Malcom Brown was a heavy lean to A&M and it appeared the Longhorns would have to construct a defensive tackle class without the state's top prospect at the position. As a result, landing a commitment from Boyette was a major priority.
Put Boyette in the "lock" category as a visitor at the second Junior Day, as it was well known that he was going to jump on a Texas offer ($) as a longtime Longhorn fan:
I like the coaching staff. It's a family environment. It's like a home away from home. It's a good coaching staff and they have your back through thick and thin. I like the facilities, the campus life.
It's a good program that I've always wanted to play for. I've always thought this would be a dream achievement. I've wanted to be a Longhorn since I was like 3 or 4.
When you're Texas, sometimes recruiting is extremely easy.
Scouting report
Paul Boyette Highlights (via 247SportsStudio)
ESPN evaluation ($):
Boyette has the tools to be a productive presence in the interior of the defensive line. He is a kid with good height and bulk and should be able to pack on more good size with time in a college weight program. Not a kid that will wow you with great first-step quickness, but he gets off the ball well and will show some flashes. He can be tough and productive against the run. He flashes the ability to fire out of his stance low and get under a blocker's pads and when does and generates power from his lower body he can stand a blocker up and knock him back. He does a good job of bringing his hands and creating separation. He does a good job of being able to engage a blocker, hold his ground, locate the ball, and shed. He can be pretty consistent at using his hands, but does need to be more consistent with his pad level. He is a good wrap-up tackler. Runs well for his size and displays a little range outside the tackle box and works along the line of scrimmage well. As a pass rusher he shows some flashes of being able to create pressure with a bull rush when he fires out low. Will show flashes of attacking half-a-man and using weapons and being able to turn and get skinny some. He needs to keep developing as a pass rusher and be able to clear from the blocker and finish, but shows the ability to be able to supply some pass rush as an interior player. Boyette is an active and good player and displays the tools with some work to be a very good and well-rounded defensive tackle at the college level.
At a position that often experiences a great deal of attrition due to the wear and tear all the contact causes on the body and some simple bad luck over the years, Boyette could eventually become a key contributor for the Texas defensive line, most likely as a run-stopping defensive tackle who can play over the football.
A strong lower body allows the Humble product to hold strong at the point of attack, where he also shows the recognition ability to influence passing lanes by getting his big paws in the air. One of his opponents at the Semper Fi Bowl called Boyette one of the toughest players to block ($), even after going against national recruits like Eddie Goldman and Aziz Shittu in his career.
If there's a criticism of Boyette, it's that he doesn't have the same quickness of other prospects in the class like Malcom Brown or even Alex Norman and it's a factor that decreases his upside fairly significantly. Add in the fact that he often doesn't play with ideal pad level and he becomes a strong redshirt candidate.