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It’s never too early for a mock draft. NEVER. With idea in mind, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler posted an extremely early 2021 NFL mock draft this week that includes a pair of Trojans, one on each side of the football.
The first player taken out of USC was strong safety Talanoa Hufanga, who went at pick #27 to the Dallas Cowboys. Here’s Brugler’s analysis:
“You don’t need to know Hufanga’s number, just follow the ball and that is where he will be. His aggressive nature will work against him at times, but he competes with outstanding effort and anticipation to make plays versus the pass and the run.”
Hufanga started 10 games for the Trojans in 2019 and has 15 career starts to his name. This past season, the 6’1, 215-pound defender totaled 90 stops, 7.5 tackles-for-loss, 3.5 sacks, three pass breakups, and two forced fumbles.
USC Safety Talanoa Hufanga (@HufangaTalanoa) Highlights
— JustBombsProductions (@JBP_Official) October 22, 2019
Hufanga makes plays all over the field & that's not an exaggeration. He's someone opposing teams watch to see where he is on every play #FightOn
Full Video : https://t.co/a3tSict5k2 pic.twitter.com/rYJn3VWydF
The second Trojan off the board was offensive guard Alijah Vera-Tucker as he went to the San Francisco 49ers with the 30th pick. Here’s Brugler’s thoughts on the pick:
“Whether he stays at guard or moves to left tackle to help replace Austin Jackson, Vera-Tucker is a very talented blocker who impressed scouts as a first-year starter last season. He is a flexible blocker with range and quickness.”
At 6’4 and 315 pounds, Vera-Tucker started all 13 games last season and has appeared in 25 total. For his efforts in 2019, he was named USC’s Offensive Lineman of the Year on top of earning First-Team All-Pac 12 honors.
Man this is Good!!#USC OL Alijah Vera-Tucker (@yung_lijh) vs DT Jay Tufele (@tufele123) Saturday at the Coliseum @USCScoop #FightOn pic.twitter.com/bW2UWhHVvX
— Scott Schrader (@Scott_Schrader) August 12, 2018