Linebacker

Tackling

• Big hitter

• Able to plug the gap and stand the ball carrier up at the line

• Excellent pad level when meeting the ball carrier

• Needs to wrap up better in space. Looks to lay out the ball carrier, resulting in bouncing off

• Does not possess a great tackle radius

• Poor agility limits his effectiveness as a tackler in space 

Instincts

• Outstanding anticipation of the play in coverage

• Reads the blocking scheme well to diagnose the play and jump the hole

• Reads the mesh point well

• Sniffs out cutback lanes well

• Plays with great leverage

• Poor discipline in his run fit. Looks to get skinny and pierce into the backfield, allowing a lane for the ball carrier

• Poor pursuit angles 

Play Speed/Agility

• Shows good enough agility when matching tight ends in coverage

• Shows ability to sidestep blockers and get tot he ball carrier

• Takes too long getting up to full speed

• Slow working through traffic

• Very poor balance

• Slow change of direction in space

• Lacks short-area quickness to close on the play consistently 

Blitz

• Solid burst to close on the quarterback

• Good dip around the block

• Limited rush bag 

Play Strength/Block Shed

• Plays with good pad level

• Ideal size for the position with excellent strength at the point of attack

• Cannot be left alone with a tight end. Will bully over them

• Would like to see more active hand use. Needs to refine his stack-and-shed ability

• Needs to sit down in the hole and plug it much better. Looks to knife into the backfield and take himself out of the play

• Poor balanced at the point of attack. On the ground far too much 

Range

• Good read/react ability and good angles allows him to cover lots of ground

• Below-average short-area quickness limits his ability to play sidelines to sidelines

• Poor long speed in downfield pursuit 

Man Coverage

• Works through pick plays well

• Excellent matching the physicality of tight ends

• Not able to turn and run with running backs or quicker assignments 

Zone Coverage

• Good field awareness and depth on his drops to see the routes early and cut them off

• Impressive instincts passing off routes and coming down on dump-offs 

Production

• 2024: 12 G, 44 Solo, 109 Tot, 8 TFLs, 1.0 Sks, 0 INTs, 0 PDs

• Career (4 seasons): 47 G, 184 Solo, 376 Tot, 37 TFLs, 8.0 Sks, 3 INTs 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: South Carolina, Texas, Houston, Tennessee (2024) Arizona (2023)

• ST Value: Good tackler, below average agility, average motor

• Injury History: Ankle (2023), Elbow (2021) 

Tackling

•  Good wrap-up technique. Hard to get away from

• Lots of tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage

• Uses the sidelines well

• Struggles to limit yards after contact

• A bit of a high tackler results in some slip-offs 

Instincts

• Diagnoses the play well. Reads play action well

• Good angles through traffic to the ball carrier

• Disciplined in his run-fit, through he struggles maintaining his leverage through the block

• Good anticipation of the play but can be overaggressive and overrun everything 

Play Speed/Agility

• Maneuvers through foot trash well

• Impressive closing speed

• Good long speed and motor for downfield pursuit

• Does not display ability to elude blocks consistently 

Blitz

• Good burst when he sees a lane

• Poor strength to fight through blocks

• Poor timing. Too timid to commit to the rush in green dogs

• Limited rush repertoire 

Play Strength/Block Shed

• Good stack-and-shed ability

• Gives up several yards before shedding the block

• Smaller frame limits his effectiveness near the line of scrimmage. Struggles to plug the gap and hold it

• Struggles fighting through even running backs 

Range

• Good athlete able to play sidelines to sidelines

• Able to chase the play far downfield

• Poor depth in his drops. Needs to get hips flipped and work up field 

Man Coverage

• Good athlete able to play sidelines to sidelines

• Able to chase the play far downfield

• Poor depth in his drops. Needs to get hips flipped and work up field 

Zone Coverage

• Plays with solid leverage. Not pulled away from his zone by play action or misdirection

• Quick to come downhill and make a play on the ball

• Does not read the QB’s eyes well. Will jump the wrong route and allow open receivers

• Poor field awareness. Does not see routes well. Eyes too often locked in the backfield

• Too quick to leave his zone and chase the QB 

Production

• 2024: 14 G, 42 Solo, 82 Tot, 11 TFLs, 3.5 Sks, 0 INTs, 7 PDs, 0 FFs

• Career (4 seasons): 52 G, 126 Solo, 233 Tot, 33 TFLs, 12.5 Sks, 3 INTs, 21 PDs, 2 FF 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Stanford, Georgia, SMU, Louisville (2024), FSU (2023)

• ST Value: Excellent play speed, good motor, average tackler

• Injury History: Ankle (2023, missed one game), Concussion (2022, missed one game) 

Tackling

• Good wrap-up in space

• Above average tackle radius

• High tackler results in too many yards after contact in short-yardage and goal-line situations

• Will have bad facemasks

• Would like to see him be more aggressive coming down into the hole. Too many tackles further upfield

• Will look to use his shoulder to make the big hit and miss badly 

Instincts

• Good pursuit angles in space

• A little slow reading the blocking scheme and reacting to fill his gap, easy to seal on the edge

• Does not read the mesh point well. Needs to improve seeing the ball through traffic better 

Play Speed/Agility

• Fluid athlete who moves well

• Works through traffic decently well

• Dangerous closing speed when he gets a lane to the ball carrier

• Hits an impressive top speed in downfield pursuit. Can make angles few players at his position can get away with

• Good footwork. Always square to the play

• Unimpressive motor 

Blitz

• Exceptional burst to the quarterback

• Able to wrangle in elusive quarterbacks

• Good speed-to-power for an effective bull rush

• Timing and angles needs work. Tips his hand too early pre-snap

• Poor balanced in his rush. On the ground too often 

Play Strength/Block Shed

• Powerful hands when he uses them

• Looks to get skinny and bend around the block but moves himself out of the gap instead. Needs to sit down and plug the hole

• Can be sealed by tight ends. Simply needs to impose his size advantage much better than he does

• Gives up several yards before shedding the block 

Range

• Exceptional athlete who is comfortable in space

• Able to get sideline to sideline with easy. Good athlete

• Does not possess a hot motor for downfield pursuit

• Slow read and react ability limits his range 

Man Coverage

• Plenty of athleticism to stay with running backs out of the backfield

• Excellent route recognition and reactive quickness to cover tight ends and even some receivers

• Good range to cover out-developing routes 

Zone Coverage

• Good route recognition and quick to come downhill and cut it off

• Good head on a swivel to catch and pass off routes

• Good re-route ability. Physical in the middle and latches on to crossing routes that cross to him

• Reads the QB’s eyes exceptionally well to undercut routes and make a play on the ball

• Needs to be more disciplined. Will abandon his zone following the play and leave open receivers over the middle 

Production

• 2024: 13 G, 54 Solo, 117 Tot, 12 TFLs, 5.0 Sks, 1 INT, 2 PDs, 2 FF

• Career (3 seasons): 35 G, 88 Solo, 184 Tot, 16 TFLs, 5.5 Sks, 2 INTs, 5 PDs, 2 FFs 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Vanderbilt, Georgia, LSU, USF (2024) LSU (2023)

• ST Value: Good speed, average tackler

• Injury History: Torn Labrum (2024) Knee (2023, missed season opener) 

Tackling

• Impressive tackle radius. Able to work across the formation and make the play

• Excellent use of his play strength to work through the block and make the tackle

• Will launch into bad angles and have whiffs in space 

Instincts

• Takes great angles to the ball carrier

• Far too passive in his run fits, especially in short-yardage situations. Needs to jump the gap and plug it

• Can be slow reading the blocking scheme and cutting the ball carrier off

• Poor reading the mesh point. Overaggressive jumping the run, leaving the edge 

Play Speed/Agility

• Decent closing speed when spying

• Hot motor when rushing the passer

• Good subtle movements to elude blocks

• Stiff athlete in space

• Slow maneuvering traffic

• Unimpressive straight-line speed 

Blitz

• Used as a spot edge rusher. Good production.

• Very strong hands for effective push/pull moves against OTs

• Good strength to bull his way through the initial punch and get to the quarterback 

Play Strength/Block Shed

• Good hand use and use of space to elude the block and make a play on the ball carrier

• Plays with good pad level at the point of attack

• Does not possess ideal length for quick stack and shed. Can be pushed around if OL get a latch on him

• Would like to see him be more aggressive plugging the gap. Too many tackles upfield

• Needs to anchor down in the gap much better. Too easily moved off his spot 

Range

• Good angles and decisive player when he sees the lane

• Slow foot speed limits his ability to play outside his immediate area

• Good read/react ability but struggles to get back into position after play action and misdirection. Simply does not have the athleticism to cover the entire field 

Man Coverage

• Should strictly be assigned to tight ends. Cannot be left on an island with running backs in space 

Zone Coverage

• Smart in coverage to cover switch releases well

• Good field awareness to see routes developing behind him and cutting them off to move the QB’s eyes

• Needs to make sure he’s not pushed around at the top of routes

• Slow breaking on the ball

• Tunnel vision with eyes in the backfield will cause him to drift away from his zone 

Production

• 2024: 14 G, 37 Solo, 60 Tot, 11 TFLs, 6.5 Sks, 0 INTs, 2 PDs, 0 FFs

• Career (3 seasons): 43 G, 56 Solo, 89 Tot, 19 TFLs, 12.5 Sks, 0 INTs, 3 PDs, 1 FF 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Texas, Alabama, Clemson, Ole Miss (2024) Vanderbilt (2023)

• ST Value: Below average speed, good motor, good tackler

• Injury History: None

• Misc: Lots of reps at EDGE

• 3-4 scheme linkely best for him to make best use of his versatility 

Tackling

• Quick burst to the ball carrier

• Efficient tackler in space

• Not a hard hitter. Struggles bringing down physical ball carriers on his own 

Instincts

•  Good instincts to follow the flow of the play and plug the hole

• Great angles to the ball carrier

• Disciplined player not drawn up by play action and misdirection 

Play Speed/Agility

• Very light on his feet

• Quick change of direction

• Lacking top-end straight-line speed in pursuit 

Blitz

• Limited experience but good bend around the corner

• Limited rush repertoire. Leans heavily on his athleticism 

Play Strength/Block Shed

• Slow working off the block

• Not as elusive as he should be in space

• Inactive hands allows for easy latch 

Range

• Good lateral agility

• Excellent motor to work to the boundary consistently 

Man Coverage

• Will struggle to stay with RBs out of the backfield due to lackluster footspeed 

Zone Coverage

• Closes in on the ball quickly

• Reads the eyes of the QB well

• Good field awareness to locate and swallow up crossing routes

• Will struggle covering tight ends. Simply overpowered at the catch point 

Production

• 2024: 12 G, 90 Solo, 136 Tot, 9 TFLs, 4.0 Sks, 2 INTs, 3 PDs, 1 FF

• Career (3 seasons) 38 G, 109 Solo, 163 Tot, 12 TFLs, 5.0 Sks, 2 INTs, 3 PDs, 1 FF

• One-year starter 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Washington, Penn State, Iowa, Minnesota (2024) Oregon State (2023)

• ST Value: Lots of ST experience. Great motor, good tackler

• Injury History: None 

Tackling

• Good wrap-up technique

• Thumper

• Good tackle radius

• Not a reliable tackler 1-on-1 in space 

Instincts

• Impressive feel for the position. Rare to see him out of his spot.

• Sees the play develop early and reacts well

• Pursuit angles are poor at times

• Can be a little passive at times, letting the play come to him 

Play Speed/Agility

• Hot motor throughout the game

• Average change of direction. Can be exposed a bit in space 

Blitz

• Lackluster burst limits his effectiveness

• Not a bendy rusher 

Play Strength/Block Shed

• Does well to elude the block

• Thick frame. Able to stuff the run lane

• Active hands to stack and shed 

Range

• Covers a lot of ground in coverage with the ball in the air

• Does not possess great footspeed in pursuit

• Not many plays made near the sidelines or downfield 

Man Coverage

• Struggles to stay locked to quicker assignments and running backs 

Zone Coverage

• Excellent awareness and field vision

• Passes off routes nicely

• Good eyes in the backfield to read and react to the play 

Production

• 2024: 13 G, 57 Solo, 82 Tot, 8 TFLs, 2.0 Sks, 1 INT, 1 PD, 3 FFs

• Career (5 seasons): 61 G, 131 Solo, 229 Tot, 17 TFLs, 4.5 Sks, 4 INTs, 7 PDs, 5 FFs 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Oklahoma, LSU, Texas A&M, Clemson (2024) USF (2023)

• ST Value: Good motor, below average speed

• Injury History: None

• Misc: Georgia Tech Transfer (2023), Charlotts Transfer (2024)