Don't expect him to be Quenton Nelson as a true freshman. He's a good project for Brent Key, and coming to GT is a very smart move for Mr. Vaipulu.
Played out of position as a left tackle, which is not a shock cuz HS, but did deep snap on special teams so he has some experience at the pivot. He needs to be inside. He has surprisingly good foot speed getting down the field but he is not nimble. Expect him at center, but he needs to be quicker firing off the snap particularly on pass pro, as he does not look natural. I think all he needs on this point is reps, and he will get plenty of reps here.
Does not move his feet enough to be considered a good blocker yet. His go-to move is to shove his opponents and let his arms do all the work. That will not work at the next level. His hand use will eventually become a defining strength, but his legs need to catch up. He lunges way too often, and while you can pancake a slow HS DL by shoving him to the ground, the college linemen (even the DT's) will be past him and in the qb's face. Watch his tape from the Houston regional event. When he keeps his weight back and feet moving, he beats or draws some good DT's. When he lets his hands get too high the DT would push him into the quarterback. When he went for the pancake, the DT was too quick for him and the referee will be reaching for the hankie. Then watch his HS tape again and ask yourself how the blocks would have gone if the opponent was not a scrubby HSer.
Vaipulu does show technique just often enough for you to marvel at what he will become, but don't think he is there yet. Yeah, he has good mental makeup, but he needs to rein it in and focus on moving his feet and keeping his weight back and his hands low. I think there is nothing unfixable about him, but he's going to be a holding call machine and then one day it will all click and he'll be all-conference at center.
