Commitment Analysis: Max Tooley

How He Arrived at BYU

Max Tooley grew up a BYU fan. Last February, the offers started to roll in for the four-star player from Bountiful High School. Last September, he announced his commitment to BYU and was solid through National Signing Day. Despite Utah’s best efforts at the close of the recruiting period, Tooley inked with BYU and will suit up for the Cougars after his LDS mission.

Who He Is

Tooley is the kind of safety prospect that many BYU fans have grown accustomed to. He is in the same mold as Craig Bills, Danny Sorensen, Andrew Rich and the other hard hitting BYU safeties. At 6’2” and nearly 200 lbs, Tooley has the size that he could potentially grow into an outside linebacker role in Provo. For now, though, the plan is to stay slim and become a safety.

Tooley is rangey. He can cover a lot of field due to his excellent speed and football awareness. He is a really, really hard hitter that loves the contact. His highlights are fun to watch because of his ability to break up passes and make his presence known on the field. There aren’t any glaring weaknesses to his ability to play safety at the next level, but he will need to develop his coverage abilities. Obviously, he’s a safety and won’t be asked to go one-on-one with receivers very often, but if he does end up playing some outside linebacker, he will be asked to drop into coverage.

What He’ll Become

Assuming he stays at safety, the best BYU comparison that I can come up with is Andrew Rich. Rich was known for jarring hits and his ability to make tackles. I think that’s what Tooley will become. He’s a similar build to former University of Utah safety and linebacker Brian Blechen. I could see the coaching staff playing Tooley in a role similar to Blechen’s where he plays some safety, coves the tight ends or big slot receivers in nickel defense and also has the ability to pass rush off the edge.

Tooley will be a great player for the Cougars. He will leave on a mission this June and join the team in a couple of years. BYU fans and coaches will anxiously be awaiting his return.

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Jeff Hansen is a Senior Recruiting Analyst for CougarNation.com. Jeff has been covering BYU since 2013. Follow him on Twitter: @rakoto10.