Donovan Raiola

The younger brother of Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola, Donovan is a physical drive blocker with very good upper body strength. He was a mainstay on the offensive line for the Badgers, starting 39 games. Raiola earned Prep Star and Student Sports regional All-American honors as a senior at Kamehameha High School. He was a Regional All-Star choice by Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report and Rivals100.com, adding first-team All-State accolades from the Honolulu Advertiser and Star Bulletin. The team captain graduated with a 3.3 grade point average. After redshirting in 2001 at Wisconsin, Raiola played in five games in 2002, starting vs. Iowa at right offensive guard. He shifted to center, starting every game in 2003, as he picked up All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention. He again earned honorable mention All-Big Ten in 2004 as part of an offensive line that allowed only 22 sacks. Raiola was on the lists for both the Rimington Trophy and Lombardi Award as a senior. He served as team captain, picking up All-Big Ten honorable mention for the third consecutive season. He finished his career with 39 starts in 43 contests.

positives

Lacks muscle tone and has a short and squat body, but does have good natural strength and a low center of gravity to fire off the snap and get under the defender's pads...Has adequate mobility and shows the ability to make adjustments on the move...Has a high motor and plays with good aggression...Smart athlete with a good understanding of all the offensive line's assignments...Shows good pop and explosion with his hands, especially when working in a phone booth...Can step up and cut off some second level defenders...Works well in combination with his guards in pass protection, getting proper hand position and punch to jolt defenders with his upper body strength... Has the lateral agility and kick slide to pick up stunts and blitzes...Takes good angles to widen the rush lanes and demonstrates good knee bend to leverage.

against a strong bull rush, his lack of lower body strength will see him walked back into the pocket. for all of his upper body strength, he will generally try to finesse the opponent rather than fist-fight him. his frame is naturally strong, but looks soft with minimal muscle definition.

Overall, he is a player with decent footwork and a strong punch, but simply lacks consistency. He needs to do a better job of sustaining blocks and must develop better lower body strength to neutralize the pass rush. Late in the draft he might be worth a look, but with his marginal speed and inability to match up vs. nose guards, he looks more like a camp player than a draft prospect.

negatives

Lacks the leg drive and lower body power to prevent getting pushed back into the pocket by a strong bull rush...Has enough speed to get in front on the short pull, but lacks the loose hips and acceleration to run for longer distances...Will over-extend and lunge and is not always on target with his hand punch...Struggles to neutralize faster linebackers when entering the second level...Gets engulfed too often by two-gaps nose tackles playing over his head...Does not have the leg drive to create a new line of scrimmage for the ground game...Does not have the speed to mirror double moves.

raiola has good upper body strength and a strong hand punch, but while he gets good hand placement in closed quarters, his lack of speed causes him to take wild arm swipes to compensate when taking on linebackers in the second level. he has enough quickness to get in front on the short pull, but the further he has to run the slower he seems to get.

Raiola has decent initial explosion off the snap, but needs to hold his blocks longer in attempts to finish. He has adequate lateral agility to move down the line, but not enough to defeat double moves. It is rare to see him get out on traps, but he does make decent body adjustments working down the line. He knows all the offensive line assignments, but for some reason he does not anticipate the defender's movements and is slow to recoil and set his hands.

No injuries reported.

Campus: 5.33 in the 40-yard dash

440-pound bench press

Bench presses 225 pounds 25 times

540-pound squat

350-pound power clean

Ambidextrous

Wears contacts

30/42 Wonderlic score. Combine: 5.53 in the 40-yard dash

3.11 20-yard dash

1.82 10-yard dash

Bench presses 225 pounds 20 times

25-inch vertical jump

7'6" broad jump

4.97 20-yard shuttle

8.17 three-cone drill

31-inch arm length

9 3/8-inch hands.

Attended Kamehameha (Honolulu, Hi.) High School, playing football for head coach Kanani Souza

Earned Prep Star and Student Sports regional All-American honors as a senior

Was a Regional All-Star choice by Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report and Rivals100.com, adding first-team All-State accolades from the Honolulu Advertiser and Star Bulletin

The team captain graduated with a 3.3 grade point average.

Agricultural Business Management major

Son of Wendy and Tony Raiola

Brother, Dominic, was an All-American center and 2000 Outland Trophy finalist who starts at center for the Detroit Lions

Born 12/13/82

Resides in Honolulu, Hawaii. BACK TO TOP PROFILE GAME ANALYSIS PLAYER NEWS PLAYER STATISTICS Expanded & Classic Player Profiles Are OFFICIAL NFL RECORDS by Scout Dave Te' Thomas, NFLScouting, NFLDraftScout.com © Copyright - The Sports Xchange , My Sports Daily . All Rights Reserved Home | Contact Us | About Us | Privacy Policy