Draft Scout Snapshot:DS Rating on 9/1/09: #7 OG, #137/750 Overall, Projected Rd: 5 2009 Senior Bowl Invite...2008: Second team All-WAC...Had off-season shoulder surgery ... returned to the lineup against Western Michigan ... went on to start eight of the 10 games in which he played...2007: Cemented a starting role last spring and became in impact player on the line for the Vandals ... started all 12 games at left guard...2006: Saw action in a backup role...2005: Focused on academics as a non-qualifier as English was not his native language.
Mike Iupati/Idaho football Videos
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Draft Scout Mike Iupati News
02/01/10 - Idaho offensive lineman Mike Iupati has been the hit of the Senior Bowl. He is 325 pounds and has 35-inch arms, giving him a chance to be a tackle in the NFL, even though he played guard in college. He will be long gone when the Dallas Cowboys pick at No. 27. - Charean Williams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
01/29/10 - Mike Iupati has been everywhere this week. Not around Mobile - though he has covered some ground there, too - but along the North team's offensive line. The 6-foot-5, 325-pounder from Idaho has made an impression wherever he's played. "I think he is one of the stars of the week," Mike Mayock, an analyst for the NFL Network, said of Iupati, a consensus All-American pick this season for the Vandals. "He is one of the few people that I could say that could probably start at any of the five positions in the NFL on the offensive line. So I think he's a first-round pick. On tape, he was a first-round pick and he's done nothing but help himself by coming here." Wednesday, Iupati was placed at right tackle and performed well. At Tuesday's practice, he got in some work at guard, the position he played at Idaho. But the Detroit Lions' coaching staff placed him at the all-important left tackle spot, too, just to take a look. "I got beat three or four times (at left tackle)," Iupati said. "But by the end of the day I was doing OK." Throughout Senior Bowl practices this week, Iupati has done much better than OK. Among those paying attention and becoming a fan is North team coach Jim Schwartz. "The thing scouts, general managers and coaches want to see when you step up to this level and go against guys from bigger conferences is if there is an adjustment," Schwartz said. "There hasn't been a whole lot of adjustment for Mike. He's right at home playing against these other guys, who are the best players in the country." - Tommy Hicks, Alabama Live
01/29/10 - One of the great things about events like the Senior Bowl is that players are more willing to open up and talk freely. Such was the case with Idaho’s Mike Iupati. The soft-spoken offensive lineman is shy among the media, and could be the type of pro that may never again talk with reporters once he enters the league. But now, at this event, he’s a star, and he has had to make himself available. And the result has been refreshing. There was a classic moment in which Lions coach Jim Schwartz, who was wrapping up his time on the podium, described Iupati’s “long and flowing locks” and compared the big Somoan to famed male supermodel Fabio. Iupati, who happened to be in the audience, took the compliments in stride and politely smiled at Schwartz, while touching his hair. When Iupati then made his way up to the microphone replacing Schwartz, he drew the loudest laughter of the day. Asked if he preferred to play guard or tackle, Iupati sheepishly responded, “Well I guess tackles make more money, so …” - Jason Feller, NFL.com
01/27/10 - Senior Bowl, Tuesday: Iupati was a bull in one-on-one drills and team play, anchoring against the formidable strength of North Carolina’s Cam Thomas and Purdue's Mike Neal. When taking on Graham outside, however, Iupati showed his inexperience working in space, failing to extend his arms and move his feet to hold the 6-1 Wolverine at bay. The All-American is also not accustomed to coming out of a three-point stance, and the lack of work showed when coming hard off the snap and blocking down on the tackle, but then losing his balance trying to hit a linebacker at the second level. Needless to say, Graham's strength and phenomenal hustle were pretty obvious in Tuesday's practice. Only his 6-1 height may hold him back from getting that first-round slot. Another end generating buzz in Mobile is Arkansas State's Alex Carrington, who has displayed the strength and ability to pressure the outside shoulder of right tackles in practice, which is nothing new to regional scouts watching him the past couple of seasons. - Rob Rang and Chad Reuter, The Sports Xchange, NFLDraftScout.com
01/27/10 - If you're Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, there's a lot to like about Idaho guard Mike Iupati. "Obviously, he's the best player in this game," Linehan said Tuesday, after the Lions' coaches led the North in its second practice for Saturday's Senior Bowl. Linehan laughed as he said that. He was just joking, because he played quarterback at Idaho and began his coaching career there. Got to support the alma mater. But he wasn't far off, either. Iupati might be the best guard prospect in this game. And he plays left guard, where the Lions happen to have a gaping hole. "I've heard a lot of good things about him, and it's holding true," Linehan said. "You really notice him. He can do the double teams. He's powerful. But you see him pull." Iupati is 6-feet-5, 325 pounds. He has the arm length of an offensive tackle -- 35 inches, the longest at the Senior Bowl. He's so athletic that Linehan can see him playing four spots on the line. The Lions have tried Iupati at both guard spots and at left tackle. Iupati said "right guard's just a little bit uncomfortable" and he has no experience at tackle, but coach Jim Schwartz said he wasn't out of place. - Nicholas J. Cotsonika, The Detroit Free Press
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