Tonka Hemingway NFL Draft Scouting Report (Scouting Reports)
Scouting Reports

Tonka Hemingway NFL Draft Scouting Report

Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
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Tonka Hemingway, IDL, South Carolina 

Size:

Height: 6027

Weight: 284

Arm: 33”

Hand: 9”

Accomplishments:

Gamecock Toughness Award (2024, 2021)

“Tonka Hemingway is a lengthy and versatile defender with a surplus of experience and strong upside.”

Strengths:  

  • Length and lateral quickness 

  • Good baseline of pass-rush moves

  • Ability to read blocks 

  • Deflecting passes

Concerns:

  • Not a knees-over-toes run defender/plays tall

  • Struggles to parlay rush moves together

  • Size concerns as an interior lineman

  • Athleticism concerns as an edge defender

Film Analysis:

Tonka Hemingway has played in 48 games during his time with the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Conway, South Carolina native was a lowly-ranked recruit who has developed and grown into a multi-dimensional defensive lineman and one of the most consistent defensive linemen in the SEC. 

Against the run, Hemingway was able to fit his hands into defenders well but occasionally struggled to hold his ground. When taking on single blocks, he’s able to quickly diagnose the intentions of opposing linemen and their leverage to shed blocks off the snap. With that being the case, Hemingway’s chest would rise and make him vulnerable. It’s hard to see that working consistently against NFL linemen with the absence of an elite athletic profile.

It's evident by this that Hemingway would best fit in a penetration defense where he’s not asked to two-gap defenders unless playing as a C-gap defender—Hemingway did show a strong ability to get his hands from 2 to 1 and maintain C-gap integrity.

In the passing game, there’s a baseline skill set that’s worth mentioning. Hemingway’s length joined with several different pass-rush moves offers some considerable upside. With this being said, Hemingway struggled to get to counter-moves when his initial attempt would be stopped. He struggled to use power moves or counters to apply pressure to the pocket. The one thing Hemingway does, maybe better than any in this class, is deflect passes at the line of scrimmage. This is an underrated attribute that even secured Hemingway and his teammates a win against Kentucky after deflecting back-to-back passes on 3rd-and-5 and 4th-and-5.

All in all, Hemingway best projects as a developmental, positionless defensive lineman capable of being productive from several alignments and situations. Adding a next level, or two, to his game would reap positive rewards for any organization. Separating himself from his peers in his final season will be crucial to his draft stock.

Prospect Projection: Day 3 — Scheme Specific Contributor

Exposures: Kentucky (2023), Clemson (2023), Vanderbilt (2023), Jacksonville State (2023)

Tonka Hemingway NFL Draft Scouting Report



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