Thomas Toki is one of the top interior linemen in the nation, and is receiving interest from major programs across the country looking to add him in the Class of 2015.
Toki attends Mountain View (Calif.) St. Francis High School, and is projected to play defensive tackle at the next level. He has tremendous size, standing at just 5'11 but weighing 308 pounds as a high school junior. Toki is considered a four-star by Scout, Rivals and ESPN, while 247sports considers him a three-star.
ESPN is highest on the recruit, rating him as the 19th-best tackle in the Class of 2015, but all four services have him among the top 25 players at his position, The 247sports composite, which aggregates the ratings of all four major recruiting services, considers Toki a four-star, rating him as the 18th-best defensive tackle in the country and the 27th-best player in the state of California.
Toki holds offers from Arizona State, Oregon State, UCLA and Washington State. He can be found on Twitter @toke_toki.
Scouting by Derrell Warren, West Coast Recruiting Analyst (@yssd):
On film, Toki moves around the defensive line a bit for his high school team. He’s primarily a nose tackle, but lines up at the 3- and 5-technique positions as well. At the college level, he might function best as a shaded nose tackle (lined up over the shoulder of the center) in a one gap scheme. I really don’t envision him doing much two-gapping based on his projected size.
Toki has good burst -- he’s often the first defensive lineman to come out of his stance and initiate contact with opposing linemen. At times, he gets a bit high and leaves his upper body exposed. A lot of this seems to be a function of him attempting to side-step the center and get into the A-gap.
Now, Toki does have some trouble changing direction. He most likely won’t make a ton of plays outside of the box.
Toki is an interior disruptor who makes plays in the backfield due to his up-field burst. He'll often come off the ball, take a lateral step, and dip his shoulder into the gap and use a club move to clear the offensive lineman.
Toki has explosive strength. Often time on tape you see him jolting blockers with his initial punch. Although he has very active hands, at times would like to see him transition into counter moves a bit quicker. He uses an assortment of rip, club, and swim moves to defeat blockers off the snap. I'd just like to see him activate his counter-moves a bit quicker instead of getting hung up on blockers who are able to withstand his initial power.