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Vavae Malepeai NFL Draft Profile
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Vavae Malepeai Scouting ReportVavae has good vision to find the hole and get North South. He gets good initial push and always seem to be falling forward for a positive gain. He is a hard runner with a work horse type back mentality. He is well built with a thick frame and powerful lower body which keeps his legs pumping through contact. He is patient behind the line of scrimmage, allowing blocks to create openings. He looks for cutback lanes with accurate vision. Vavae hits the hole hard and runs with power to get the tough yards and a physical attitude. He does not possess top breakaway speed, though he is rarely caught from behind. He shows a surprising burst to beat linebackers to the edge. He can plant his foot in the ground and explode. He shows better straight line speed than expected. He fights for extra yardage and is reliable in short yardage situations.
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Areas for ImprovementVavae has poor acceleration and takes too long to get up to full speed. He is a slow starter with little burst. He is too indecisive and hesitant at the line of scrimmage. He is a tall, upright runner who lacks great power as a runner. He is not a quick twitch athlete and is forced to gear down too much. Malepeai is not very loose throughout his frame. He looks tight redirecting. He will dance and leave his feet instead of taking what is there. He loses momentum when he gears down to change direction. It takes him a few steps to accelerate back to full speed. He appears indecisive, will dance too much at the line of scrimmage. He lacks natural playmaking ability. He lacks great speed to consistently threaten the edge and he can be caught from behind.
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Vavae Malepeai Career at Southern CaliforniaMalepeai made 2015 Prep Star All-West Region, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Gatorade Hawaii Player of the Year, KHON2/Cover2 Hawaii High School Weekly Marcus Mariota Award State Player of the Year, USA Today All-Hawaii Offensive Player of the Year and All-Oahu Interscholastic Association Blue Offensive Player of the Year as a senior running back at Mililani (Hi.) High. He ran for 1,952 yards on 234 carries (8.3 avg) with 29 TDs in 2015. Malepeai saw key action as a backup tailback and on special teams as a redshirt freshman in 2017. Overall in 2017 while appearing in 13 games (all but Arizona), he had 49 carries for 261 yards (5.3 avg), 3 receptions for 5 yards (1.7 avg) and 4 tackles. He sprained his knee late at Arizona State and was sidelined against Arizona. He saw lots of playing time at tailback and on special teams as a sophomore in 2018. Overall in 2018 while appearing in all 12 games and starting once (California), he ran for 501 yards on 93 rushes (5.4 avg) with 8 TDs, caught 15 passes for 88 yards (5.9 avg) and made a tackle. He won USC’s Bob Chandler Award. Malepeai was a key part of the tailback rotation when healthy as a junior in 2019. Overall in 2019 while appearing in 8 games (Fresno State, Stanford, BYU, Utah, Washington, Notre Dame, UCLA, Iowa) and starting the first 6 and the finale, he ran for a team-high 503 yards on 105 carries (4.8 avg) with 6 TDs and caught 15 passes for 70 yards (4.7 avg) with 1 TD. A lingering knee injury sidelined him for 5 games (Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Arizona State, California). Malepeai was a key part of USC’s running attack as a senior tailback in 2020. Overall in 2020 while appearing in 5 games (all but Oregon) and starting 3 times (Utah, Washington State, Utah), he ran for a team-best 238 yards on 54 carries (4.4 avg) with 3 TDs and caught 16 passes for 64 yards (4.0 avg). He missed the Oregon game after spraining his knee late in the UCLA game. The hard-charging Malepeai, a 1,000-yard career rusher, should continue to be a vital part of USC’s tailback corps as a senior in 2021. |
Vavae Malepeai NFL Draft Player ProfileA part of a struggling USC rushing attack over the last few seasons, Malepeai presented a dependable yet unspectacular element to the Trojans backfield. Malepeai runs with outstanding effort, routinely bouncing off tackles to create second effort. Plays with good vision, recognizing cutback lanes quickly while running inside zone. Effort alone, Malepeai should vie for a long look in camp, but his middling physical profile leaves little to get excited about. He lacks prototype athleticism wanted at the position. There is nothing dynamic about him, lacking the ability to create splash plays with speed/acceleration. There is little creativity from Malepeai when working in space, becoming easily corralled with not much ability to create additional yardage. He was never able to put together much consistent production over the course of his USC career. There is no three-down potential here. In actuality, he may be no more than a camp body when all is said and done.
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