The next Mason Graham? Meet Rivals300 Michigan DL commit Alister Vallejo

Sé Fuerte.

That’s the motto Rivals300 Michigan defensive line commit Alister Vallejo and his family have lived by for generations. Translated from Spanish, the phrase means “be strong” — not just on the field, but in life.

Vallejo’s father, Orlando, often recalls a story passed down from his own childhood. During the Korean War, Orlando’s father was drafted into the army. Before boarding the bus and leaving home for the first time, his father pulled him close and gave him two words to carry with him: Sé Fuerte.

Now, decades later, Alister prepares to begin his own journey — roughly 1,300 miles from home.

Family Pride

When Vallejo committed to Michigan in June over Notre Dame and Kansas, his family celebrated with a graphic that read: “Be strong in every challenge, every victory, and every new beginning. Sé fuerte.”

At his commitment ceremony, Mexican and American flags stood side by side. A poster showed him wearing an iconic mariachi charro hat. For Alister, the moment wasn’t just about football — it was about identity.

“There aren’t many Mexican or Hispanic athletes, let alone ones being recruited so heavily,” Alister said. “It’s the few, the proud. It’s something I deeply value. Being Mexican means pride and respect. That’s been instilled in me since Day 1. My dad has always told me to respect myself, others around me, and what I value. I’m proud to be supporting this culture.”

Hard work is also central to the culture.

As Detroit icon Big Sean once put it: “I woke up working like I’m Mexican. That means I work from 10 to 10, then 10 to 10, then 10 again.”

“Our culture is known as workers,” Orlando said. “My dad was a day laborer in Austin when he was in high school. My grandpa would drive him and my aunts to Lubbock to pick cotton. The only way to survive is to work. We’ve always told him, ‘Mijo, hard work will pay off.’

“He wants to show that he’s different and our people are different. That’s a big motivation for him — working hard with high character and class.”

Road to Michigan

Alister worked for everything he’s earned on the recruiting trail.

When he was a fifth grader, Alister told his parents he wanted football to be his future. They fully supported him and did everything they could to facilitate his dream. The turning point came when Alister was introduced to Carlos Chester.

A former player at the University of Houston, Chester had a brief NFL stint before becoming one of the top private defensive line trainers in the country. Chester took a young Vallejo and pushed him to his limits.

“He wasn’t the fastest or the strongest kid, but he put all the work in,” Chester said. “He’s been going full throttle year after year. He’s well-mannered. He has great character. He has a great family. He’s a quiet kid, but he’s grown as a leader, which is great to see. He’s a great student, too.”

Alister eventually blossomed into a blue-chip defensive line recruit. But it took a while.

Prior to his commitment to Michigan, Alister was a middling three-star and was flying completely under the radar. In fact, Michigan didn’t offer until the spring and prior to the turn of the calendar year, Alister held just two major offers.

The Vallejo family couldn’t figure out why. Alister excelled under Chester, he put up eye-popping numbers on the field and he sent out film to coaches across the country.

“It was kind of questionable,” Orlando said. “What more could we do? Guys he was working out with were starting their recruiting processes. It was a little intimidating and frustrating. What were we doing wrong? It took a lot of time. We threw a lot of film out there and put ourselves in front of a lot of eyes. It was a process. It really was.

“We went on junior day visits with friends that got invited. He went to a junior day at SMU with Jerald Mays (Texas Tech) commit. He showed them his film and it was like ‘why aren’t we recruiting you?’ He was sending messages like crazy.”

Chester couldn’t figure it out, either.

“That was puzzling. (Notre Dame commit) Tiki Hola trains with us as well, but everybody’s recruitment is different. He flew under the radar until January. We went on a few trips and got him in front of his coaches. Once they saw him and his film, it was just a matter of time. He’s a one or two clip guy when it comes to his film. For whatever reason, his time came a little later.”

While it was a bit of a winding road, Alister’s path eventually led him to Michigan.

The Wolverines pressed for Alister, who is now ranked as the No. 227 overall recruit nationally, throughout the offseason and ultimately won him over.

“For me, it was the relationships,” Vallejo said. “Just the relationships I had with the people there like Coach (Lou) Esposito. It was the best relationship in my recruiting process. The people there — not just the people I’m going to be primarily involved with — are amazing.”

The next Mason Graham?

If you’re reading this and think this story sounds pretty familiar, it’s because it does. Back in the 2022 recruiting cycle, there was a middling three-star defensive lineman committed to Boise State who was also passed up by elite college football programs — until he wasn’t.

His name was Mason Graham.

Graham, of course, helped lead Michigan to a national championship, established himself as one of the most dominant defensive players in U-M history and was selected with the No. 5 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns in this year’s NFL Draft.

Alister has similar measurables as Graham and is the perfect fit for the three-technique in Michigan’s defensive scheme. Comparisons to Graham from both the staff and the fanbase have been endless.  

“It’s awesome,” Alister said. “It’s a huge compliment to be compared to someone like him.”

Alister didn’t expand much.

While it is an honor to be labeled as the next Graham, he wants to show the world who Alister Vallejo is.

“He doesn’t model his game after anybody in particular,” Orlando said. “There are some similarities between him and Mason Graham as far as height and weight. A lot of people see and notice that. Ali is very strong for his age. He’s only 17, and he’s benching 400 pounds. You don’t really see that. He’s been training with Coach Carlos since fifth grade, so his technique is really sound. To hear those comparisons, though, is definitely a compliment. That dude is a dawg. That’s what Ali is.

“He’s going to try to beat the guys in front of him, and he’s not going to stop until the whistle blows. The comparison is very similar. Ali hears it. There was even an AI photo with Ali and Mason (laughs). It’s pretty cool to see that they are comparing you to the No. 5 pick. You can do that and be better.”

Better than Graham?

That’s a very lofty goal but certainly not one that’s unachievable. With a little hard work, anything is possible.

“People come up to us and ask, ‘what can we do?’ I just say ‘man, this stuff doesn’t happen overnight,’” Orlando said. “You have to put work into it and make sacrifices. Alister made sacrifices at a young age. He learned how to work hard. He realized it takes hard work and sacrifice. There were times he would cry and say, ‘I didn’t get to do this because I was training.’ I would say ‘you wanted this, and you have to be accountable.’

“Now, as he’s gotten older, he understands it and appreciates it. He’s always working out and doing the extra work. Those early sacrifices molded him into who he is today.”

As Orlando put it, the grind is simply part of Alister’s genetic makeup.

That should make him a perfect fit for Michigan’s blue-collar culture. So keep working, Alister, and, of course… Sé Fuerte.