Defensive tackle Phil “Big Snacc” Hoskins will get the opportunity to feast at the next level. He has been picked 232nd overall by the Carolina Panthers in the NFL Draft.

Hoskins joins second year head coach Matt Rhule and an extremely young defensive core in Charlotte. He is the sixth Wildcat to be selected in the draft, sitting beside defensive mates Jamin Davis, Kelvin Joseph, Quinton Bohanna and Brandin Echols, along with offensive tackle Landon Young.

The Toledo, OH. native appeared in 31 games during his time in Lexington, including starts in all 11 outings of the 2020-21 season.

Those contests proved to be critical for his draft hopes. Hoskins eclipsed much of his previous production in his last year playing for Big Blue Nation:

	Tackles	Tackles For Loss	QB Hits
First 20 Games (2017-19)	23	3.5	2
Final 11 Games (2020-21)	30	4.0	5

“Hoskins is an interesting study as a prospect whose playing style doesn’t necessarily match his traits,” NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in his draft profile of Hoskins. “His 83 3/8-inch wingspan (34 3/8-inch arms) will get teams excited, and he has good overall size to go with it… he’s much more consistent at searching for gaps than controlling the action with his hands.”

“He’s nimble and very active in both the run game and as a rusher… his spin-counter is a legitimate weapon in attacking the pocket. If he can get his hands and feet to work in skilled harmony, he might have life as a rotational 3-technique in a one-gapping front.”