Overview

Position: LB

College: Cincinnati

Class: Senior

Age: 22

 

Measurables

Height: 6’4 1/2″

Weight: 239 lbs.

Arm length: 31 7/8”

Hand size: 9 1/2″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.62 sec.

10-yard split: 1.60 sec.

Vertical jump: 39.0”

Broad jump: 125.0”

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: 7.02 sec.

Short shuttle: 4.34 sec.

 

Strengths

Excellent overall size. Very effective scraping down the line to tackle inside. Very strong extending and shedding when offensive linemen reach him on the second level. Strong absorbing blocks on impact and taking on blocks in general. Shows power getting offensive linemen to the ground when shedding. Uses his hands to keep blocks off his frame on the second level. Very good vision to track the ball-carrier through a pile and will shuffle in position to tackle. Steps in front of ball-carriers for square-up tackles at the second level. Comes in hard to tackle as the backside defender. Quick reaction time getting inside to tackle. Aggressive tackling in the backfield after coming in off the edge. Plays with tremendous overall effort. Great overall hustle and pursuit. Aggressive wrapping up to finish gang tackles. Keeps outside contain stringing out runs to the perimeter. Very good acceleration and closing speed in sideline pursuit. Great tracking ability on runs to the edge. Accurate delivering a big hit from the side in sideline pursuit. Patient staying at home versus trick plays as the backside defender. Experience blitzing from the edge. Smooth and quick straight-line inside move to get around a running back in pass protection. Saw plenty of snaps in overhang alignment. Excellent play recognition on quarterback rollouts. Controlled tracking the quarterback to the perimeter. Big and smooth in zone coverage. Quick in the backpedal at his size. Tremendous burst breaking forward in coverage. Aggressive breaking on throws in front of him and wrapping to disrupt at the catch point. Showed he can stick with tight ends underneath in man coverage. Very effective as a quarterback spy.

 

Weaknesses

Would like to see him try getting immediately through or around a block to the ball-carrier at times. Could be quicker breaking down to tackle in the backfield. Average pure strength tackling at his size and doesn’t bring down opponents immediately at times. Average agility moving laterally to tackle on the second level. Needs to be more controlled as a wrap-up tackler in space. Needs to be more aware finding and getting on opponents in zone coverage. Can have more discipline and awareness dropping in zone coverage with his eyes on the quarterback and routes working behind him. Basically a straight-line rusher and lacks moves off the edge.

 

NFL comparison

Leo Chenal

 

Conclusion

Overall, Golday is a strong linebacker with great size and effectiveness tackling on the second level and working inside. Improvements are needed in coverage, but Golday could benefit from fewer snaps aligned in space at the next level.

 

Big Board ranking: #100 | Positional ranking: #8