Analyzing new Arizona football commit Leif Magnuson

Photo by Jacob Snow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Breaking down what Arizona gets in their newest offensive lineman

The Arizona Wildcats landed their 17th commitment of the 2020 class after 3-star offensive lineman Leif Magnuson pledged his commitment. Offensive line coach Kyle DeVan visited and offered Magnuson earlier this week.

This was a rather quick process for the Canadian prospect, as his recruitment has blown up over the last few weeks as we approach National Signing Day on Feb. 5.

Now we take a closer look at what the latest commit brings to Arizona.

Height/Weight: 6-foot-4, 270 pounds

School/Hometown: Bethlehem Catholic (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)

Offers: Boston College, Coastal Carolina, Fresno State, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kent State, North Dakota, South Dakota, Syracuse, Texas State, Utah State, UMass, Washington State

Rankings (via 247Sports): No. 1,410 player nationally, No. 89 offensive guard

Highlights:

Gabe Encinas: This is a pretty good pick up by the staff this late in the cycle.

Despite playing offensive tackle for what appears to be a run-heavy offense at Bethlehem, I think Magnuson best projects as guard based on his skill set and frame. He has great size at 6-4, 270 pounds and the hope is that he can get up to a comfortable 300.

His best attributes come in the form of run blocking. He’s aggressive, gets to the second level, moves well on his pulls and finishes blocks. I am a little concerned with pass protection simply because all but one play in his film above is a run. But given the fact that Mike Leach had offered him back in October while he was still at Washington State, a team that passed on 78 pass of its plays in 2019, I feel a lot better about his outlook as a pass blocker.

The two-deep for the offensive line will be phasing out of the program over the next two years, so Magnuson will be right in the mix for a starting job with coaching under Kyle DeVan.

If offensive line doesn’t work out for whatever reason, I wouldn’t rule out the option for him to flip to defense. His junior year highlights have a lot of defense and I really like him on that side as well.

I have Magnuson ranked as a top-1,200 prospect and the second highest offensive line commit behind Josh Baker. I love his run blocking abilities and seeing the versatility on defense is definitely a big plus for me.

Brandon Combs: Magnuson is a very solid, and underrated, addition.

The first thing that stands out to me is the nastiness he plays with. He is very aggressive and actually has great footwork. He does play a little high when it comes to his pad level, but that can be easily fixed.

The second attribute that stands out to me is his athleticism. He moves very well for someone his size and is legit fast. I mean, one of the plays on his highlights shows him on kickoff coverage. Not only is that intriguing, the surprising bit is he was booking it downfield in a hurry and put someone on his back.

The third part of his game that jumps out is his ability to put people on their back and on the ground. It seems that almost every play on his highlights he pancakes someone.

Magnuson played left tackle for his high school, Bethlehem Catholic, but he projects better as a guard in college. The good news is he isn’t close to being done growing. He will probably grow at least another inch or two and can easily add 30-40 pounds on his frame.

Overall he is polished in some areas and raw in others. This is a great find by Kyle DeVan.

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