Commitment Evaluation: 2024 OL Makai Saina

New USC commit Makai Saina is the fourth offensive lineman in USC’s 2024 class and is one that Trojans staff is very excited about.

Saina is the No. 414 overall prospect and No. 29 interior offensive lineman in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 69 player in Texas.

Here is a breakdown of his game.

My personal thoughts

The first thing to know here is that while Saina is ranked as an interior prospect by On3, USC views him as a tackle, at least to start his career. Saina, being a Dallas-Fort Worth prospect, is a kid I have seen several times, both in games and in games. The simple evaluation is (and this sounds cliche) he is big, he is strong, and he is nasty. He measures in at about 6-foot-5 and around 285 pounds. He has the size and lengthened to play tackle, but can also slide into guard and take care of business.

Saina packs a punch in his hands and he is quite skilled at putting defenders on the ground. He very rarely gets knocked off his own base and uses his strength to leverage defenders against themselves, putting them out of a play. When needed or able, Saina pushes defenders back several yards and has shown a good ability to finish blocks in the dirt.

He has good hands and good feet, and while occasionally will overstep in either direction, he does a good job of using quick feet to get squared back up with the defender and getting hands on. The same goes for defenders changing rush lanes or trying to put a move on Saina, he reacts well and rarely lets the defender gain space.

Saina plays in a strong classification of Texas 6A and has faced a number of power five defensive line prospects, all of which he has had success against. I am intrigued to see the growth of Saina when he arrives in Los Angeles. I think his frame will hold a good bit of more weight and I think we will see him more toned up in the future.

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