Scouting Journals for Dominick McKinley

Imposing interior defensive line prospect who combines pure power with impressive explosiveness and hand usage at the point of attack. Stature immediately catches your eye. Measures in at 6-foot-5, 280-plus pounds with tremendous length. Jumped an 30 inches in the vertical and ran a sub-5.0 40-yard dash during the summer camp circuit prior to his junior season. Threw 47-foot-11 in the shot put as well during his junior track and field campaign. Plays with outstanding leverage for someone his size. Possesses the ability to anchor at the point of attack. Uses his length effectively in order to gain control of his opponent. Sheds blockers with ease in the run game. Can really dig in and unlock his hips in order to maintain control at the point. Disruptive player who can knife between opponents and live in the backfield. Excellent get off and ability to penetrate off the snap. Finished his junior season with 18 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Not very nuanced as a pass rusher but will come with time and reps. High upside prospect with the potential to develop into an early round draft pick.

LSU signee Dominick McKinley (No. 24) put together the best showing we saw from a defensive lineman at either national all-star game. At 6-foot-5 and over 280 pounds with 34+ inch arms, McKinley is how you draw them up physically. He plays with phenomenal leverage at his size, firing off the ball low and exploding to uproot offensive linemen. The flashes we saw in Orlando validate what we saw from McKinley early on in his high school career, as he has long been a top 50 prospect for On3. The size, athleticism, length and play strength point to a high ceiling if McKinley continues to develop and improves his overall consistency.

Dominick McKinley looked like the top defensive lineman in Orlando. The new LSU commit had some ‘wow’ moments over the course of the week, absolutely detonating on interior offensive linemen on more than occasion. The 6-foot-5, 290 pounder plays with outstanding leverage. He fires off the ball and stays low, getting underneath the pads of opposing offensive linemen and uprooting them in the process. The combination of size, length, flexibility and functional movement skills are highly projectable. When McKinley was at his best over the week, he was essentially unblockable. The Lafayette (La.) Acadiana product ranks as the No. 37 overall prospect in the On300 rankings.