Hello: Luiji Vilain

Photo via 247

Michigan picked up an elite pass-rusher for the 2017 class this afternoon when Alexandria (VA) Episcopal four-star WDE Luiji Vilain chose the Wolverines over fellow finalists Virginia Tech and USC. Michigan's pursuit of the Canadian native dates back to the previous coaching staff; Vilain finally received his offer in March, and Michigan vaulted into the lead for good following an unofficial visit in May.

Vilain is the 14th commit in the 2017 class and the second at defensive end, joining in-state four-star Corey Malone-Hatcher.

GURU RATINGS

Vilain is right on the edge of the top 100 prospects overall. Scout recently moved him up 65 spots in their latest re-rank, making Rivals—which dropped him 91 spots based on his performance at a recent Rivals camp—the outlier among the recruiting services.

Vilain is listed by every site at 6'4" and 238-240 pounds. He should be a weakside end at Michigan and only needs to add 10-20 pounds to be at a playable weight. He could also be utilized early in his career as a standup rusher at strongside linebacker; he's even played some MIKE in camp situations, but his future is on the edge.

SCOUTING

Michigan started its pursuit of Vilain after his freshman season, when he and a couple fellow Canadian prospects hit the camp circuit—the 2014 Sound Mind Sound Body camp served as his coming-out party. By that time, he'd already caught the eye of Scout's Bill Greene at the Pylon 7-on-7 tournament, where he looked and played like an upperclassman:

Vilain already has the body type of a high school senior, and also has the ability to run and change direction. Watching him in action on both offense and defense, it was evident that he understands the game well and is being taught proper technique. It's exciting to imagine him in three years, and he should be a recruit with a tremendous offer list. There is nothing not to like with Luiji Vilain.

Vilain continued to hit up a variety of camps, and the evaluations were universally positive. 247's Steve Wiltfong named him one of the top performers at 2015's Best of the Midwest Combine—"There wasn’t an offensive tackle that was able to regularly block him all day"—and awarded him "Alpha Dog" status as the best player at that summer's RAS Showcase:

The first thing that stands out about Vilain is his hunger. Nobody took more reps.

One of the standouts from last year’s event, Vilain continues to develop physically. As a rising sophomore, one coach at the camp said that a year ago Vilain looked like a receiver with his hand in the dirt. Heading into his junior year, Vilain is filling out physically.

Ranked by 247Sports as the nation’s No. 4 weak-side defensive end and No. 83, Vilain has a variety of pass rush moves in getting after the quarterback. His quickness off the edge is evident, but he’s also strong with his hands.

Rivals' Josh Helmholdt thought Vilain looked so comfortable at DE at Ohio State's Friday Night Lights camp that he gave him an award usually reserved for receivers and running backs:

Smooth operator

DE Luiji Vilain, Ottawa (Ont.) Lester B. Pearson

This award usually goes to a skill position prospect, but on Friday night Vilain was as smooth as any of the guys catching or running with the football. He breezed through one-on-ones, registering easy wins against several offensive linemen who hold Power Five offers. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound defensive end still has room on his frame to add weight. That will help him at the point of attack without sacrificing much, if any, of the explosiveness he shows.

Vilain moved to Virginia before his junior season, and his impressive junior film helped him work his way up the composite rankings to #123 overall heading into this spring. Rivals was especially bullish, moving him up 66 spots to #84 overall in their postseason rerank:

"Vilain has the athleticism and strength to make a difference on every down. He sets the edge very well and is an asset as a run defender. As a pass rusher, Vilain has an extensive arsenal of moves to beat the offensive lineman and get to the quarterback. North Carolina is one of the most recent offers for Vilain." -- Friedman

More camps followed. Vilain showed off his versatility at this year's Pylon 7-on-7, making 247's "Dream Team" while lining up at the MIKE:

LB – Luiji Vilain, Alexandria (Va.) Episcopal – He looks like a prototype as a 3-4 outside linebacker but he was a natural in the middle on the weekend. Vilain can really run and play in space. Add that to his pass rushing ability and he's got great upside as a standup edge rusher.

Scout's Brian Dohn was impressed by Vilain's arsenal of moves at the New Jersey Opening regional last month:

The No. 16 defensive end in the class was quick off the line of scrimmage, and he demonstrated good balance and flexibility in the drills and also during 1-on-1 reps. He can dip his shoulder and get around the edge, and he was quick on the fake outside and then cut inside. 

That performance, along with Vilain's overall body of work, led to Scout moving him up in the rankings this week:

The Alexandria (Va.) Espiscopal star jumped from No. 203 to No. 138 and he is announcing his choice June 10, and Michigan, Virginia Tech and USC are his finalists.

"A school is about to get a big-time pass rusher off the edge," said Dohn.  "Vilain is quick off the edge, and he also has the athleticism to drop into coverage."

At the same time, Rivals moved Vilain down 91 spots after a subpar showing at one of their camps; frustratingly, there isn't any writeup on Vilain from the camp except the blurb that accompanied his ranking change:

“Vilain is normally a dominant force but that was not the same player at the New Jersey Rivals Camp. He was a little hesitant and when his initial outside speed rush didn’t work there wasn’t much he could do. Vilain, who is announcing his commitment on June 12, is an excellent athlete that could also play in space in college. Michigan, USC and Virginia Tech are his finalists.” - Friedman

That seems like an overreaction based on one camp given all the other reports on Vilain from this spring, but only Rivals knows what they saw—outside reporters aren't allowed at their camps.

The overall picture from Scout's free evaluation is excellent—I started bolding the highlights and realized I was highlighting the entire paragraph:

Evaluation

Vilain is explosive off the edge. He's extremely athletic and very strong. Vilian changes directions well, has great speed and is good in pursuit. He is very good against the run and the pass. Vilain also has a high motor and plays very hard. He needs to continue to work on his technique and develop some moves, but he has a very high ceiling and the potential to become a dominant player at the collegiate level.

Strengths

• Athleticism
• Speed
• Strength

Areas to Improve

• Techniques and Moves

Every high school prospect needs some level of technique work heading into college. Everything else is there for Vilain to be a top-flight edge player. Yesterday, he announced he'll play in the Under Armour All-American Game.

OFFERS

Vilain holds offers from Alabama, Boston College, Duke, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Miami (YTM), Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, UNC, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers, South Carolina, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, UCLA, USC, USF, Virginia, Wake Forest, and Wisconsin.

HIGH SCHOOL

Vilain transferred to Alexandria Episcopal along with two other high-level Canadian prospects. While four-star CB Patrice Rene is firmly committed to UNC, Vilain's Michigan commitment could be a draw for four-star S Jonathan Sutherland, who picked up an offer the same day as Vilain.

STATS

I couldn't find full stats—Vilain's MaxPreps page only has stats for one game (in which he had two sacks) last year.

FAKE 40 TIME

Vilain's Hudl page lists an unverified time of 4.80, which gets two FAKEs out of five.

VIDEO

Junior highlights:

Sophomore highlights and single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Vilain is the second-highest ranked prospect in the class, behind only Dylan McCaffrey, and if anything he looks like someone who could move firmly into the top 100 with a strong senior season. His abliity to get to the quarterback should help him see the field early, possibly as a situational rusher from the SLB position—if that's the case, he'd be competing for snaps with Noah Furbush and 2015 signee Josh Uche. In the long run, Vilain looks like an ideal weakside end, where the competition will be wide open in 2017. Vilain might need a year to add weight depending on which position he plays as a freshman, but I expect him to see the field early on as a situational rusher before becoming a multi-year starter.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Michigan is up to 14 commits in a class that should reach the mid-to-upper 20s. With Vilain and Malone-Hatcher in the class at WDE, Michigan can focus on landing an SDE like James Hudson and perhaps one more end. Other areas of need include WR, TE, OL, DT, CB, and S. Here's the class—which, I believe, will jump to #4 in the composite team rankings when Vilain is added—as it currently stands: