Nifae Lealao to Stanford: Cardinal Land 4-Star DE Prospect

Stanford landed an elite defensive end with Sacramento's Nifae Lealao. 

The 6'5", 282-pound defensive end is a physical specimen who could also prove to be an asset to the basketball program. 

Rivals.com's Adam Gorney brings us the news of his commitment:

Andy Drukarev of Rivals.com Tweeted this picture of Lealao and his family after the commitment:

Lealao already has rare size, but he still has the room to add good bulk to his frame. He also has the athleticism to go with the size.

He is light on his feet and has a great burst off the line. This is going to allow him to be a factor in many aspects of the game from his first down on a college field.

He has definitely been terrorizing his high school opponents.

In his junior season, this Capital Christian School student recorded 87 tackles, six sacks, four blocked punts, three blocked field goals, two pass deflections and a fumble recovery. 

Given all this, it should be no surprise that in its composite rankings, 247Sports lists him as the 97th-best recruit in this class. It lists him as the sixth-best strong-side defensive end, and the ninth-best recruit in the class from the state of California.

Lealao still has to learn how to keep his pads down and use his hands. He can come in too high when attacking blockers, and he has yet to learn how to quickly shed them. However, with some good coaching, he should make big strides in these areas.

Despite this, he will be an instant difference maker. He is strong enough to hold the edge against the run, and he can disrupt the pass game, even if he doesn't get penetration, just with his height. 

Lealao is also on record as saying he would like to play basketball. So if there is such a thing as getting good value from a scholarship offer, this applies. 

The sky is the limit for this elite recruit.