National Signing Day: Defensive Tackle Noa Merritt Commits To Boston College

Noa Merritt

Hometown: Sparta, N.J.
High School: Pope John XXIII
Position: Defensive Tackle
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 255 lbs.
40: N/A
Twitter: @dasheett

Highlights: Hudl

Rankings: Rivals 2*, Scout 2*, ESPN 3* (74 rating, 94 position, 152 regional, 32 state), 247Sports 2* (2440 composite, 145 position, 61 state). Selected Boston College over claimed offers from Northern Illinois and Western Michigan. Originally verbally committed to Western Michigan. Recruited by Ryan Day and Ben Albert.

Strengths: While Merritt's recruitment only picked up recently, the Eagles coaching staff has had its eye on the New Jersey defensive tackle for quite some time. Originally the staff felt that Noa was a bit undersized, but after watching film of him during his senior year, noted that he added roughly 30 pounds of muscle weight. Merritt's January visit went well and BC offered him. Merritt is a big body and could be the Eagles' answer at defensive tackle. He's also an all-state tackle for Pope John XXIII.

Realistic Outlook: Boston College would benefit from having Merritt redshirt even though the program is extremely thin at defensive tackle. Even at 265 pounds, I'm not sure Merritt has the size to be effective in the Eagles front four quite yet. Hopefully Merritt uses the year to continue to gain muscle and cracks the two-deep either in 2015 or 2016.