Bears Recruit Profile and Scouting: 2019 OLB Orin Patu

Bears Recruit Profile and Scouting: Orin Patu

On June 24th, the Bears added a talented outside linebacker named Orin Patu to what is shaping up to be a great 2019 recruiting class. So, what can the 6’4”, 200 pounder from Rainer Beach High School in Seattle, Washington add to our future defense?

The first thing you notice about Patu is his quickness. As a defensive end in high school, he gets off the edge with a great first step and plenty of agility to make the opposing linemen look completely silly on many plays. On many of the plays, he relied on his quickness alone. However, he is a much more complete player than this.

You can see his pass rushing arsenal in the HUDL tape as well, but I thought this clip from the Elite 11 camp in Las Vegas brings the most excitement to Patu’s potential. In this clip, he destroys the offensive linemen with a nifty move and speeds past him after the initial move. This is something that I absolutely love to see from a pass rusher. Raw athletic ability is one thing, and he sure has that. He also has a college-ready frame. However, he also displays that he isn’t just a raw talent, but that he also is an advanced pass rusher for his age who will disrupt the passing game both in the stat sheet with stats but also by rushing throws from the quarterback.

While pass rushing looks to be his main strength, he also shows ability in run support. He does a nice job shedding blockers when the running back comes his way, and also shows hustle to chase runners down from behind. He also does a nice job making reads on option plays. Patu even looks like he could be a decent special teamer early in his Cal career.

The one thing about Patu is that he played defensive end in high school. While this is common of many college linebackers, he doesn’t have enough weight to play the position in college so he definitely will be an outside linebacker for the Bears. What this means is that we don’t have any tape on his coverage abilities. However, with the Bears great coaching staff and his athletic ability, there is no reason to believe he can’t become decent in pass coverage.

At the very least, Patu looks like he can become a really good pass rusher at the NCAA level, but he also possesses a great shot to become an all-around starter for the Bears in just a few years. Patu looks to be the exact type of player that Wilcox and his staff need, as he is a solid 3-Star prospect who should turn into a good college player.

What do you Bears fans think about the commitment? What type of player do you see Patu becoming in the long run?