Film Room: Michigan OL Commit Giovanni El-Hadi Wants To 'Punish' Opponents

When El-Hadi made his commitment, he was a relatively under-the-radar prospect. But the more analysts, and college coaches alike, saw of El-Hadi, the more they loved his game.

"El-Hadi is a guy you love on film, but when he went down in-person and our guys got to see him at the Future 50, his stock went up even higher," said Helmholdt. "When you only watch film, it’s like a judge trying to decide a case without all the evidence. When you get that full picture of everything that’s going on that seeing a guy in person provides you, you can get a lot better perspective, a more clear perspective on who they can be at the next level.

"And, El-Hadi just checks so many boxes across the board — size-wise, athleticism-wise, strength-wise. I always think back … one of the best initial punches I’ve seen from an offensive lineman is [former Michigan OL] David Dawson, and while I don’t know that Giovanni is quite at that level, I’m always impressed when I turn on the film and see how powerful his initial punch is. But, he complements that by being very light on his feet. He has that athleticism to handle a defensive lineman crossing his face on a stunt and be able to stick him there.