A highly decorated offensive tackle coming out of high school, Chilo Rachal would be the first to tell you that 21 games as a starter in three years at Southern California is not much of a resume for professional teams to evaluate.

Family issues forced the junior to enter the 2008 NFL Draft, despite urging from the USC coaching staff to return for one more season. Rachal's mother was diagnosed with a stomach tumor and is still awaiting insurance approval for treatment, necessitating Rachal's decision to jump to the NFL.

Head coach Pete Carroll said Rachal informed him that he would make himself available for the NFL draft. Carroll was disappointed he did not consult him before making his decision. Rachal did not apply for a pre-draft evaluation, knowing he was planning to turn pro regardless of their evaluation.

At Dominguez High School, Rachal earned 2003 Super Prep and Prep Star All-American honors. He was a member of the Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, Lemming Top 100, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West honor-able mention, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Orange County Register Fab 15 second- team and All-CIF Southern Section first-team squads.

The All-CIF Division III, Los Angeles Times All-Southeast/South Coast Lineman of the Year added Long Beach Press-Telegram Dream Team first-team and All-Conference honors as a senior offensive lineman, despite playing in only four games due to a knee injury. He was rated the 12th-best offensive tackle in the country, ranked 12th overall on the Super West 60 and 11th on the California Top 100 lists by Rivals.com.

Rachal enrolled at Southern California in 2004, spurning scholarship offers from Arizona State, California, Michigan, San Jose State, UCLA and Washington. He competed as an offensive guard and tackle, but underwent left knee arthroscopic surgery in mid-September that kept him away from practices until October.

In 2005, Rachal appeared in all 13 games as a reserve offensive guard. He saw most of his action on special teams with the field goal/placement units. He earned Sophomore All-American and All-Pac-10 Conference second-team honors in 2006, starting every game, except vs. Washington, at right offensive guard. He was part of a young line that paved the way for an offense that generated 391.8 yards and 30.5 points per game.

As a junior, Rachal picked up All-American and All-Pac-10 Conference first-team honors despite missing three games after he suffered right knee ligament damage in the Washington game. He posted 80 knockdowns when healthy, leading the way for an improved rushing attack that averaged 197.2 yards per game, compared to 128.0 yards the previous season.

Talking about his son's decision to forgo his final season at Southern California, Charles Rachal said he thought family medical issues influenced his son's decision. "I think it played a considerable role because he loves his mama," he said. Charles Rachal said he did not expect his son to change his mind. "He's right around the corner from his degree," he said.

Positives: Solid build with broad shoulders, wide chest, thick thighs and calves and long arms. … Plays with good initial quickness and strength, coming out of his stance sharply while keeping his feet moving. … Versatile blocker with experience at guard and tackle. … Productive on both run and pass blocks, showing the foot speed to get out and attack second-level defenders. … Shows good body control on the move and is alert to picking up stunts, as he has the loose hips and lateral agility to quickly recover. … Has adequate football intelligence and learns plays with minimal reps. … Hustles and works to finish, playing with good aggression. … Has a solid base, keeping his feet while showing proper knee bend when redirecting. … Stays on his feet and is able to avoid piles while sustaining his blocks. … Has good balance in the short area, generating pop and explosion when assisting the center in pass protection. … Adjusts smoothly on the move and gets good fits on run blocks, as he works hard to sustain and finish (will block until the whistle). … Understands position and is quite active with his hands to lock on, using his arm extension to turn and wall off his man. … Shows a good feel for pressure on the pulls and traps. … Has the strength to blow a lethargic defender off the ball, as he gets into his man quickly. … Forceful striker with good pop and explosion coming out of his stance. … Good incline blocker who consistently drives and steers defenders away from the play. … Uses his hands to redirect and understands how to neutralize stunts and blitzes. … Gets good production on the short pulls, as he runs under control, doing a nice job of anticipating and adjusting to the linebacker's moves at the second level. … Shows good retreat agility and kick slide while jolting and punching with power in pass protection. … His short-area kick slide, hand usage and punch are very effective in his pass set. … With his short pass set, he does a good job of locking on and anchoring, sinking his weight well to redirect and change direction to mirror the pass rusher. … With his lateral agility, he can gain advantage on the scoop-and-reach with his first step. … Knows how to grab and latch on to a defender with big hands and will explode on the rise to shock defenders, creating movement to neutralize the bull rush. … Shows patience waiting for plays to develop (will let the defender come to him rather than overextend). … Can adjust to stunts and reach block, playing with good leverage and pad level, as he uses his leg power and hand punch to lock out and control vs. the inside surge. … Has natural strength and uses his size well to land on targets in the short area. … Play with good knee bend, showing flexibility when sinking his hips.

Negatives: Needs to refine his drive-blocking skills (team generally emphasized a pass-oriented attack), as he gets his legs a little too narrow when trying to trap and pull. … Will lose his balance when he gets high in his stance and is more comfortable in a two-point stance. … While he doesn't do it often, he will sometimes lunge into the opponent, losing balance and leverage. … Has a good leg base, but takes too long to bounce back when knocked down. … Shows good lateral agility, but needs to keep his feet when working in space (susceptible when defenders attack his legs). … Needs to improve his hand punch (has good strength), as he shows some good hitting ability upon contact, but is not a consistent striker when he lets his hands get outside his frame. … Has had several knee issues that need further medical evaluation.

Compares To: KRIS DIELMAN-San Diego. … Rachal is going to need a year or so to develop, but he has very good foot speed and quickness on pulls and traps. He seeks contact working into the second level and, despite a rash of knee problems during his career, he still is capable of exploding off the snap and blowing the defender off the ball. Maturity is going to be a big issue, but someone could find a nice prospect, if they are willing to be patient and mentor him for a year or two.

2003: Only played in four games his high school senior year due to left knee problems.

2004: Underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery to remove cartilage prior to the Colorado State game (9/11).

2006: Sat out the Washington State game (10/29) after spraining his ankle the previous week vs. Washington (10/22).

2007: Suffered right knee ligament damage vs. Washington (9/29) that forced him to sit out the next three games vs. Stanford (10/06), Arizona (10/13) and Notre Dame (10/20). … Missed most of the week of practices leading up to the UCLA game (12/01) with a flu/stomach virus. … Left practices on 12/16 complaining of soreness in his right knee (diagnosed as a second degree sprain).

Attended Dominguez (Compton, Cal.) High School, playing in just four games as a senior due to a knee injury. … Earned 2003 Super Prep and Prep Star All-American honors. … Was a member of the Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, Lemming Top 100, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West honorable mention, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Orange County Register Fab 15 second-team and All-CIF Southern Section first-team squads. … The All-CIF Division III, Los Angeles Times All-Southeast/South Coast Lineman of the Year added Long Beach Press-Telegram Dream Team first-team and All-Conference honors as a senior offensive lineman. … Rated the 12th-best offensive tackle in the country, ranked 12th overall on the Super West 60 and 11th on the California Top 100 lists by Rivals.com.

Sociology major. … Born 3/15/86. … Resides in Compton, California.