Michigan picked up a commitment last weekend from 3* DT Deyvid Palepale. Originally a Michigan top target, Palepale picked USC in July in rather surprising fashion and the discussion of him died down until recently, when Michigan got back in contact. Within a couple weeks, and aided by the coaching change on USC's defensive staff, Mike Elston was able to flip Palepale and round out the defensive tackle group for the 2024 recruiting class. 

 

GURU RATINGS

RATINGS BY SITE
247: 6'3/288	On3: 6'2/305	Rivals: 6'3/300	ESPN: 6'3/290
3*, 88, NR Ovr #75 DL, #16 PA	3*, 87, NR Ovr #79 DL, #26 PA	3*, 5.6, NR Ovr #35 DT, #17 PA	3*, 79, #50 East #27 DT, #13 PA
3.71	3.57	3.65	3.83
COMPOSITE RANKINGS
247 Composite	On3 Consensus	MGoBlog
3*, 0.8747, #739 Ovr #84 DL, #20 PA	3*, 86.96, #796 Ovr #78 DL, #20 PA	3*, #611/800 Ovr #55/71 DTs since 1990
3.75	3.70	3.68

Palepale's ratings are pretty ho-hum, reflecting a standard 3 star and towards the bottom of defensive tackles that Michigan has recruited since 1990. There is't a ton of variation from the various services either, all mostly being in agreement on their assessment of the player. As a general statement, nearly everyone who has seriously scouted Palepale, be it from PSU, USC, or Michigan lenses all agree that Palepale is ranked absurdly low and his list of offers/interest (high-end P5 programs) reflects that. Most assumed Palepale would rise substantially during his senior year but due to a few circumstances (which I will tell you about in a moment) that did not happen. But don't be surprised if Palepale ends up being named Sleeper of the Year in the 2024 recruiting profiles on this site. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: powerful and quick]

 

SCOUTING 

Most of the scouting for Deyvid Palepale comes from the summer, when Palepale's recruitment was winding down ahead of his July 1, 2023 decision, when he picked USC. Michigan was on hot pursuit of Palepale at the time, with him being described as the program's top priority at the nose tackle position. EJ Holland of On3 went and visited Palepale in person during that period and came back with rave reviews ($): 

Palepale has a very similar build as Mason Graham ... Palepale is obviously a large human with a lot of brute strength, and like Graham, he’s already a great technician and play with terrific speed, burst and feet. Also like Graham, Palepale is extremely underrated at this point in the process. I think he’s a clear On300 kid as opposed to a middling three-star. 

EJ was beating the "underrated" drum all offseason and has continued to do so even through the fall. These opinions were largely parroted by those scouts working for various Penn State and USC blogs, who were also in on Palepale. Thomas Frank Carr from the PSU On3 site wrote up an eval of Palepale in May and hit on a lot of the same points ($): 

On the surface, Palepale is a perfect fit for Manny Diaz’s defensive scheme. While he’s powerfully built, the Landisville native is athletic and mobile. He seems to carry his weight well and matches this listed weight. In addition, he’s got an explosive first step and can stunt and rush from the outside. ... Additionally, Palepale uses his hands very well and seems to grasp his assignment well. His tape is littered with wins that don’t come down to his athleticism and size. However, he’s got quick hands and sheds blocks very well

The mix of athleticism and power with refined technique is a pretty consistent description of Palepale's game and it popped up in Marshall Levenson's write-up of Palepale for WeAreSC: 

I always like watching a good, disruptive interior defensive lineman and watching Palepale, you get exactly that. Palepale, 6-foot-2, 305 pounds, lines up in a variety of fronts ... I think one of the main attractions to his game is he has a good first step. Not only does he fire off the ball quickly, but he does so with power. The offensive lineman he plays against don’t really have the ability to stop him, only really slow him down or get in his way. He does a very good job at getting out of blocks, whether it be raw strength or a small array or pass rush moves he has displayed. He has shown a good swim move and side step that I think can translate well to the next level.

You might be thinking "if he's strong/powerful and athletic, why's he a low-ish 3*?" Good question. There are a few factors going on. First off, recruiting rankings have now been heavily oriented with regard to NFL talent and NFL traits and Palepale has one fatal flaw that will scare off NFL evaluators: short arms. In a rarity, Palepale was a defensive lineman that Mike Elston desperately wanted who doesn't have long arms (as opposed to Brooks Bahr, Ted Hammond, Aymeric Koumba, and on and on). The PSU based write up explains: 

If Palepale had longer arms, he could be a top defensive tackle prospect. But if this were the NFL Draft, he’d be off some team’s boards entirely because he’s losing the battle of reach in the trenches by three or four inches. That’s a considerable gap he’d have to overcome on every single play. 

Another weak spot is conditioning, which Touch The Banner found when he looked at Palepale this past week: 

As with many high schoolers built to play defensive tackle in college, conditioning is going to be an issue early on in his career. There are times even in his highlights where he looks winded, slow off the ball, and slow to get in his stance. ... I think Palepale might need a year or two to get his conditioning in order

These are practical weaknesses of Palepale's game but the biggest reason for his low ranking is what happened during his senior year of high school. Most of these scouts were writing in the summer and were pounding the table for Palepale to be ranked higher, so it was my assumption at the time that Palepale would indeed be a late riser who shoots up the board as a senior once he holds a commitment to a P5 program and displays continued growth. That never happened and the reason why is that he didn't have a proper senior year. Things were going poorly for Palepale's HS team and he posted on social media his dismay with the team's play, publicly calling out the coach in the process. This was considered a violation of team rules and as a result, Palepale was removed the team. 

Being booted from the team was the premature end to Palepale's high school career and in the process, it destroyed his ability to fly up the rankings and be judged fairly for his on-field contributions. It also logically raises the ole "character questions" about Palepale, but EJ Holland, the scout who knows Palepale the most from a personal standpoint, is not concerned at all: 

It’s no secret that Palepale had a tumultuous senior year after publicly calling out his high school coach. Look, kids make mistakes. I called out my high school coach and told my parents I didn’t want to get on the bus after a loss to a rival. I can relate. I’ve gone out and met with Palepale twice, and he’s one of the nicest kids I’ve talked to the entire cycle. 

There doesn't appear to be any documented history of Palepale as an off-field problem, so I think it's reasonable to chalk it up to being an individual mistake, which is easier to do in the internet age than ever before. If Michigan believes in its strong internal culture, then the environment they are placing Palepale into should do wonders to provide him guidance. Which is good, because there is a lot to like with him. On the point of conditioning that TTB brought up, Palepale has been working with a personal trainer since his season came to an end, who caught up with EJ ($): 

We’ve been doing overall stretching and plyometrics. We’re making sure he understands to be on the balls of his feet. He’s a big. We’ve also been working on running mechanics. Overall, just the art of running. How to step and stay under himself. Getting quicker and more explosive for his position. Being different than the kids coming in

The trainer was also asked to give a comparison to Palepale, and he named a different Polynesian DT, one of NFL fame: 

I’m going to say Haloti Ngata. He was a really stubby guy. He stuffed the run. He was aggressive and fearless. He was a big guy, too. I see Deyvid being a Haloti Ngata 2.0

Sounds good to me! TTB offered his own comparison from Michigan lore and its quite the throwback to the mid-90s: 

Overall, Palepale is a good nose tackle prospect. He reminds me of former Michigan nose tackle William Carr with his style of play, though Carr was shorter and lighter. Carr ended up being an All-American and getting drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals

Overall, a prospect I have no issue bringing in. 

OFFERS

Palepale held offers from a wide array of P5 schools, but his top three were those who have been mentioned in the scouting section, in-state PSU, his childhood team USC, and Michigan, who wanted Palepale's services the most and was ultimately the best fit. As for the other suitors, he held offers from Rutgers, MD, OSU, and Wisconsin out of the B1G, Louisville, Pitt, ND*, and Miami out of the ACC, Tennessee, Auburn, Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida and Vandy out of the SEC, plus Washington, Colorado, and Cincy elsewhere. Doesn't seem like your normal list of offers for most 3*s!! 

HIGH SCHOOL 

Palepale is originally from Anchorage, Alaska, but since age 14 has lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. For those unfamiliar, Lancaster County is considered the epicenter of Amish people in the United States, so it's a bit of an unusual place for football players to be coming out of, especially football players who are ethnically Polynesian like Palepale (you may recall Joel Honigford was from Amish country in Ohio). Palepale began last season playing for Landisville Hempfield High School, which was a pretty good team in 2021 and 2022, going 9-3 in the latter year and winning the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One championship.

After his junior season, Palepale planned to transfer to IMG but then changed his mind. In hindsight, that was a bad idea because Hempfield's 2023 campaign was a debacle, going 3-7 and failing to qualify for the postseason. The frustration over that season led to Palepale's ill-fated condemnation of the coach on social media, resulting in his dismissal from the team. After he was removed from the team, Palepale transferred to Manheim Township High School, where he never played football. 

STATS

Was not able to find any stats on Palepale, as Landisville Hempfield's MaxPreps page was barren and he did not play for Manheim (which had stats available). 

FAKE 40 TIME 

No 40 time available anywhere that I saw. 

VIDEO 

Junior year highlights: 

ETC

Cousins with Penei Sewell. Got back into contact with Elston after seeing Kenneth Grant chase down Kaytron Allen in the open field. Plays basketball and does the discus (115-1) and shotput (39-1). 

 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE 

Palepale is a nice pick up for Michigan to shore up a DT room that felt a tad underwhelming in the 2024 class since the decommitments of the Smith twins. In getting Palepale, Michigan is scooping up a player who feels incredibly undervalued by the recruiting process. His list of offers and interest, with so many blue blood programs on it, in addition to where Michigan had Palepale on their board (right at the top) suggests that this is a legit 4* talent who happened to still be sitting with a 3* ranking due to several converging factors.

Palepale is not a flier/swing for the fences type of prospect, with a pretty refined game already. He may need a year or two to build up his stamina and finish molding his body, as most defensive tackles do, but then should be able to contribute sooner rather than later. The mix of speed and power is legitimate for Palepale and it feels like Michigan with Mike Elston running the show should be well positioned to get the most out of him. I'm not sure if Palepale will be a star at Michigan but he should round into a solid contributor and I have decent confidence in that projection. 

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS 

Michigan is now finished at DT for the 2024 class, taking a quartet of Ted Hammond, Owen Wafle, Maneul Beigel, and Palepale. It's not a terribly exciting group if you are a star-gazer who goes off ratings, but for those scouting the class both Wafle and Palepale seem like easy bets to over-perform their rankings and do provide reason to be excited. Hammond and Beigel both look more like support players who are longer term developmental projects, while Wafle and Palepale both have more college-ready traits and could contribute earlier in their Michigan careers. The 2024 class is now almost complete, as Michigan is only looking at a couple more players for signing day, like EDGE Lugard Edokpayi and WR Gatlin Bair. 

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS

OFFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
QB	Jadyn Davis	NC	4.4⬇⬇⬇	Smooth, accurate field general
RB	Jordan Marshall	OH	4.5	Accelerates South-North
RB	Micah Ka'apana	NV	3.9⬆⬆	Well-balanced accelerator
WR	I'Marion Stewart	IL	4.0⬆	Ronnie slick/quick, #1 WR to M
WR	Channing Goodwin	NC	3.7⬇	Chain-moving son of Jon
TE	Brady Prieskorn	MI	4.3⬇⬇	Colston Loveland Midwest
TE	Hogan Hansen	WA	4.0⬇⬇	Colston Loveland West
LT	Blake Frazier	TX	4.2	Athletic son of Steve
RT	Andrew Sprague	MO	4.3⬆	Basketballin' grow-a-Long
RG	Luke Hamilton	OH	3.9⬇	Midwestern mauler
LG	Ben Roebuck	OH	3.8⬇	Bigger Midwestern mauler
C	Jake Guarnera	FL	3.9⬆	Mauler but center
DEFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
NT	Deyvid Palepale	PA	3.7⬇	Penei's Alaskan nose cousin
DT	Manuel Beigel	CT	3.5⬆	Lengthy German via Choate
DT	Owen Wafle	NJ	4.0	Little nose with bite
DT	Ted Hammond	OH	3.9⬇	Cincy build-a-bear
SDE	Dominic Nichols	MD	3.8⬆	Mike Morris-ish SDE
WDE	Devon Baxter	MD	3.9⬆⬆	Super long 4-3 grow-an-edge.
LB	Mason Curtis	TN	4.1⬇⬇	Long athlete moving up
LB	Jeremiah Beasley	MI	4.0	Explosive hitter from Belleville
LB	Jaden Smith	NC	4.0	Underscouted Uche/WLB
HSP	Cole Sullivan	PA	4.0⬆⬆	Hybrid LB with crazy athleticism
S	Jacob Oden	MI	4.0⬇⬇	Tall son of coach
CB	Jo'Ziah Edmond	IN	4.0⬆⬆⬆	PU decommit, long CB/WR ATH
Nk	Jeremiah Lowe	KY	3.4	Sainristilian athlete