With a record of having at least one player selected for the last 13 years, can the 2023 Boise State NFL Draft prospects keep that streak alive? In our scouting reports, we look at the credentials of the top Boise State players declaring for this year.
Boise State 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Reports
Caleb Biggers, CB
Strengths: Adequately sized corner who must play facing the action. Drives to the ball out of his plant and shows a closing burst of speed. Fires upfield to defend screen passes and gives effort against the run.
Weaknesses: Must improve his footwork, as he gets twisted and turned moving in reverse. Struggles staying on the receiver’s hip out of breaks. Totaled just one interception over the past two years.
Overall: Biggers displayed improvement over the past two seasons and has enough ability to get looks as a dime back in a zone scheme.
Ezekiel Noa, LB
Strengths: Tough, run-defending linebacker with average height and speed. Stays with assignments, fluidly moves in any direction, and gets into space to make plays. Shows good change-of-direction ability, flows well laterally, and keeps the action in front of him. Remains disciplined with assignments, doesn’t bite on ball fakes, and quickly locates the ball handler. Breaks down well and fights with his hands to protect himself.
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Weaknesses: Displays limited force on the blitz. Lacks pursuit speed. Lack of height causes mismatches in coverage.
Overall: Noa was a tough college linebacker who got the most from his abilities, yet lacks speed and upside. He plays with a special-teams mentality, which is what he needs in order to make it out of camp this summer.
George Tarlas, EDGE
Strengths: Weber State transfer who displayed himself as a solid pass rusher throughout his college career. Intense, chases the action hard, and plays within the system. Fast up the field and displays a closing burst. Forceful and can bend off the edge.
Moves well laterally, displays ability in pursuit, and catches ball handlers from the back side. Bends his knees, plays with terrific pad level, and immediately gets his hands up. Slices inside of blockers and wraps up tackling.
Weaknesses: Lacks bulk and is easily out-positioned from the action. Watched his production drop last season after moving to the FBS level.
Overall: Tarlas is an underrated prospect with the fundamentals to come out of a three-point stance and enough athleticism to stand over tackle. He does a little of everything well enough that could see him be a surprise in camp this summer.
JL Skinner, S
Strengths: Long, fluid safety who plays with an aggressive style. Terrific run defender who quickly diagnoses plays and easily changes direction. Defeats blocks to get to the action and brings ball handlers down at the point of attack.
Effectively uses his hands to protect himself, quickly picks up coverage assignments, and tracks the pass in the air. Has a nice move to the throw and effectively times pass defenses. Forceful, plays faster than his 40 time, and catches opponents in the open field. Explosive hitter. Effective on coverage units.
Weaknesses: Slow flipping his hips to transition downfield. Doesn’t always take proper angles. Has a thin build.
Overall: Skinner was a productive and forceful safety for Boise State, who did a tremendous job defending the run and held his own in coverage. He’s more of a zone safety who occasionally lines up in the box and comes with special-teams ability.
Want more information on Skinner? Here’s our expanded scouting report and draft profile: JL Skinner, S, Boise State | NFL Draft Scouting Report
John Ojukwu, OT
Strengths: Tall, hard-working college left tackle who projects to the strong side on Sundays. Patient in pass protection, keeps his feet moving, and makes great use of angles. Displays outstanding awareness, keeps his head on a swivel, and blocks with a nasty attitude. Fights with his hands throughout the action, turns defenders off the line, and works to finish run blocks. Large enough and tough enough to block down on opponents.
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Weaknesses: Doesn’t sink his butt at the line of scrimmage and gets tall as the play proceeds. Displays little flexibility. Struggles blocking in motion and isn’t effective far from the line of scrimmage. Must improve his playing balance.
Overall: Ojukwu was a durable lineman for Boise State, starting 51 games over the past five years. He possesses size and growth potential but really needs to improve his fundamentals to have any chance of making an NFL roster.
Want more information on Ojukwu? Here’s our expanded scouting report and draft profile: John Ojukwu, OT, Boise State | NFL Draft Scouting Report
Scott Matlock, DT
Strengths: Hard-charging and intense defensive tackle who displays himself as a solid pass rusher. Fires off the snap, keeps his feet moving, and works his hands throughout the action. Consistently gets leverage on opponents, moves well laterally, and pursues plays outside the box to the flanks. Easily changes direction, quick if asked to twist or stunt, and plays through the whistle.
Weaknesses: Easily slowed by blocks. Streaky. Gets knocked around in the middle of the field.
Overall: Matlock is a tough DT who doesn’t back down from a challenge and flashes playmaking ability. He needs to add bulk to his long frame and get stronger to have any shot of making it in the NFL. At the very least, Matlock should get practice-squad consideration this fall.
Tyreque Jones, S
Strengths: Patient and instinctive safety who stays with assignments. Explosive, plays smart, tough football, and lays it on the line. Keeps the action in front of him, quickly picks up coverage assignments, and has a nice move to the throw. Shows good hands for the interception. Fires upfield and gives effort defending the run.
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Weaknesses: Not quick or fluid pedaling in reverse. Lacks great range in center field. Struggles tracking the ball and gets lost in coverage. Lacks a great burst to the ball out of his plant.
Overall: Jones possesses the size, football intellect, and toughness to get consideration as a zone safety.
Tyric LeBeauf, CB
Strengths: Nice-sized corner who possesses terrific size and solid speed. Fluid moving around the field, smooth flipping his hips in transition, and displays a nice move to the ball.
Weaknesses: Lacks quick and smooth footwork in reverse. Hesitant, slow reacting to receivers’ moves, and does a lot of trailing in coverage. Never lived up to expectations and posted just 40 tackles, with nine pass breakups in four years at Boise State.
Overall: From a size and speed perspective, LeBeauf looks like a starting corner on paper. That being said, he was a flash player for Boise State and showed more inconsistency than playmaking ability over the four years he was on the field.