Player Profile: Daniel Bituli
Daniel Bituli is one of the top outside linebackers in the country and one of the best overall players in the state of Tennessee. The Vols are extremely fortunate that he has committed to become a Volunteer.
Photo by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District. Courtesy of creative commons.org.
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Biography
Daniel Bituli is from Nashville, Tennessee, and plays for Nashville Christian School. He is a member of the class of 2016, and he plays outside linebacker. He possesses the athleticism to play a variety of positions on both sides of the ball, but he will likely be an outside linebacker at the collegiate level as well.
Rankings
247Sports: No. 15 OLB and No. 169 overall player in the class of 2016
Rivals: No. 22 OLB
ESPN: No. 154 in ESPN300 for class of 2016 prospects
Offers
Bituli had offers from the following SEC schools: Auburn, Florida, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee. He has a total of 13 offers, including some from notable programs like Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Oklahoma. However, after an unofficial visit to Knoxville, he decided that he wanted to be a part of Big Orange Country and he committed to come play for the Volunteers.
Film Review
Bituli is an all-around incredible player. He has good size at approximately 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds. He is a player that plays with a certain edge or a chip on his shoulder. When he goes out on the field, he is looking to do his job and hit someone. This edge, along with his great hustle and positional discipline, allows him to consistently find his way to the ball and make plays. He is a very effective blitzing linebacker by combining his size, speed, and strength to blow past offensive linemen and get into the backfield. Although he is not the prototypical ‘coverage’ linebacker, he has shown the ability to drop into zone coverage against running backs and tight ends and be successful.
Any defense, and any football team in general, would love to have a guy like Bituli put on their jersey and play for them. He possesses a wealth of talent and intangibles that simply cannot be taught. Vols fans should be very excited for him to begin his career on Rocky Top next season.
Edited by Nathan Odom
Adam is the Assistant Sports Editor for the Tennessee Journalist and a Junior at UT. Most of his free time is spent watching sports, listening to good music, and enjoying life. If you wish to contact him, you can email him at amillike@vols.utk.edu, follow him on Twitter, @AdamMilliken14, or find him at https://www.linkedin.com/pub/adam-milliken/109/a89/a32.
