Scout.com > Football Recruiting Junior To Watch: Cali DL Mathew Malele Story URL: http://recruiting.scout.com/2/39378.html Greg Biggins SuperPrep.com Mar 8, 2002 Any discussion of the top defensive tackles in the country next year will have to include Carson's (Calif.) Mathew Malele. The talented lineman has been dominating since his sophomore year and he has a chance to be the top defensive player on the West Coast next year. At 6-2, 312 pounds, Malele is a load for opposing offensive lineman to deal with. He's very strong at the point of attack often taking up two and even three blockers on every play. He has good pass rushing skills mixing in a great bull rush with surprising quickness for a player of his size. Malele was a All-State Underclass selection the past two years and earned Student Sports Junior All-American honors last season. At the Nike Camp in San Diego last year, he was rated one of the top three defensive line prospects of the day and earned Top Underclassman of the camp. In the one on one drills, he dominated a pair of All-State lineman in James Bonelli (Notre Dame) and John Parada (Arizona). Scholarship offers have come in from UCLA, Arizona State and Stanford and he's hearing from the rest of the Pac 10 as well as Notre Dame, Tennessee, Wisconsin, LSU and Northwestern. "UCLA and USC are my co-leaders right now," Malele said. "I really want to stay close to home so that's why I like them. I was at UCLA's Junior Day last weekend and I liked it a lot. They confirmed that I had an offer from them and I really liked meeting Coach K (Kezerian), the academic coach. That's the main reason why I like them so much is the academic support. "I'm going to USC's Junior Day this weekend so hopefully they'll offer me too. Stanford, Oregon and Notre Dame are the other schools in my top five but it's early and I plan on taking all five of my recruiting trips so my list will probably change around a lot." Academically, Malele is an honor student and is carrying a 3.8 GPA and has already scored a 900 on the SAT which he'll take again. He'll attend the Nike Camp in Los Angeles but is unsure about the rest of his camp plans. Copyright © Scout.com and SuperPrep.com