Safety

Instincts

• Elite anticipation. Sees the play well before it happens and jumps it with little hesitation

• Very quick to read the blocking scheme and follow the flow of the play

• Needs to watch his leverage. Can get caught looking into the backfield and drift too far out of position

• Slow to read the QB’s eyes and process quickly in coverage 

Play Speed

• Impressive downhill speed

• Pedestrian long speed

• Takes too long to get up to top speed in pursuit

• Unimpressive motor, especially late-game

• Stiff athlete 

Man Coverage

• Elite in man coverage. Great mix of size and speed to cover any archetype of receiver and tight end

• Excellent route recognition to maintain that tight relationship, even without an early jam off the line

• Not deceived by switch releases and complex route combinations. Intelligent cover man

• Needs to work through traffic better against mesh concepts 

Zone Coverage

• Exceptional as the deep third, casting a wide net and covering multiple routes at a time to dissuade downfield throws.

• Aggressive to spring onto a route. Reads the QB’s eyes well and takes away easy opportunities for the offense 

Range

• Covers a ton of ground in coverage to move the QB’s eyes off his assignment. Hard to look off

• Lightning quick getting downhill to break up the play at the line of scrimmage

• Plays sideline-to-sideline with ease 

Ball Skills/Tracking

• Good angle to the catch point, boxing out his man to making a play on the ball

Tackling

• Uses the sideline well to corner the ball carrier

• Poor angles in space with too many misses, resulting in big plays

• Needs to be better balanced when arriving at contact 

Blitz

• Quick burst around the edge to speed up the quarterback

• Works through RBs with ease 

Physicality

• Works through stalk blocks well

• Physical at the line of scrimmage in press-man coverage

• Passive in the run game

• Can be forced off at the top of the route 

Production

• 2024: 16 G, 52 Solo, 82 Tot, 4 TFLs, 0.0 Sks, 6 INTs, 10 PDs

• Career (5 seasons): 55 G, 117 Solo, 188 Tot, 9 TFLs, 1.5 Sks, 13 INTs, 18 PDs 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Texas A&M, Louisville, Georgia Tech, NIU (2024), Ohio State (2023)

• Injury History: None

• Role on 3rd down (Deep FS or box SS): Deep FS

• ST Value: Below average tackler and quickness

• Misc.: Transitioned from WR to LB to S 

Instincts

• Good anticipation of the play, consistently jumping the eyes of the quarterback

• Plays much better at the back of the defense where he can see the whole field as opposed to a box safety, where SCar had him too often, where he typically remained hesitant, slow and too often was exposed for his inadequate athleticism to keep his leverage and maintain the edge

• Slow read-and-react in the run game 

Play Speed

• Impressive long speed when he gets up to full speed

• Good vision after the INT

• Not the smoothest athlete. Slow change of direction for the position

• Slow closing speed

• Backpedal is slow and unbalanced, resulting in blown coverages and losing phase in coverage 

Man Coverage

• Ideal size gives him great versatility to cover bigger receivers and tight ends

• Works through traffic well on run routes

• Good turn-and-run ability deep

• Slow change of direction limits his effectiveness against strong route runners. He cannot be left on an island 

Zone Coverage

• Quick recognition of the route concept and aggressive jumping the play

• Plays with great leverage. Hard to move from his spot and can track his man across the field to make the play

• Good strength to re-route receivers who cross over him

• Great depth on his drops to undercut the route for plays on the ball 

Range

• Good instincts can allow him to get to tough parts of the field in coverage

• Poor downhill speed combined with tentative playstyle results in lots of tackles too far upfield, or not at all. 

Ball Skills/Tracking

• Locates the ball early with good tracking and adjustment. Does well to not make the catch harder than it needs to be

• Needs to watch the grabbing for DPI on calls 

Tackling

• Good wrap-up when he catches up to the ball carrier

• Horrid angles to the ball carrier. Cannot be trusted 1-on-1 in space

• Struggles limiting yards after contact 

Blitz

• Slow burst through the gap

• Slow seeing the lane on green dogs 

Physicality

• Elite play strength

• Strong redirecting receivers

• Effective in goalline and short-yardage situations

• Would like to see him be more aggressive crashing the LOS in the run game. Far too hesitant

• Lazy working off the stalk block downfield. When he finds the motor, no one can block him 

Production

• 2024: 13 G, 57 Solo, 88 Tot, 3 TFLs, 0.0 Sks, 4 INTs

• Career (3 seasons): 37 G, 166 Solo, 244 Tot, 4 TFLs, 0.0 Sks, 6 INTs, 11 PDs 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Kentucky, LSU, Oklahoma, Akron (2024) Florida (2023)

• Injury History: Hamstring (2023), Right Arm (2023)

• Role on 3rd down (Deep FS or box SS): both and nickel CB

• ST Value: Poor tackler, poor motor, poor play speed

• Misc.: 3-year starter 

Instincts

• Smart player always looking to make the big play

• Good angles to the ball carrier

• A bit overaggressive and can be deceived with play action or meshpoint deception

• Can get caught looking into the backfield, resulting in the occational blown coverage 

Play Speed

• Tons of speed to his game. Explosive

• Good change of direction. Can flip his hips and make a play on the ball in the air 

Man Coverage

• Exceptional in his mirror. Can stay with most assignments

• Simply not able to cover tight ends with his current play weight

• Struggles to maintain phase with his man while locating the ball 

Zone Coverage

• Processes well. Good field vision and wareness of routes that develop behind him

• Aggressive jumping routes underneath

• Needs to be more disciplined. Too easily drawn out of his space 

Range

• Good instincts and speed to cover the deep middle third 

Ball Skills/Tracking

• Natural hands when he can get to the ball

• Tracks the deep ball well, though will lose leverage on the receiver trying to make the big play

• Short wingspan. Will lose the jump ball more often than he wins it 

Tackling

• Struggles to bring down more physical ball carriers

• Poor technique. Looks to go low, resulting in some bad whiffs

• Will fly right by the play

• Not a reliable open-field tackler 

Physicality

• Aggressive getting downhill

• Not afraid to lay a hit

• Small frame

• Can be completely outmuscled at the catch point 

Production

• 2024: 15 G, 41 Solo, 69 Tot, 4 TFLs, 0.0 Sks, 5 INTs, 7 PDs

• Career (4 seasons): 50 G, 131 Solo, 212 Tot, 9 TFLs, 1.0 Sk, 6 INTs, 23 PDs

• 4-year starter 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, Ohio State (2024) Notre Dame (2023)

• Injury History: Left Knee (2024), Elbow (2023)

• Role on 3rd down (Deep FS or box SS): Can play all over. Experience everywhere

• ST Value: Good speed, average motor, poro tackler

• Misc.: Born in Harare, Zimbabwe

• Clemson Transfer (2024) 

Instincts

• Reads his keys well for early break on the play

• Allowed to roam the field pre-snap and make instinctual plays often

• Follows the QB’s eyes well to guide him to the ball

• Needs to stay more patient holding his leverage in coverage 

Play Speed

• Quick change of direction.

• High motor player

• Good long speed in downfield pursuit

• A little slow out of his backpedal to break on the pass 

Man Coverage

• Notable confusion when facing complex route combinations will result in losing phase and blown coverages

• Grabby

• Weak jam at the line

• Overaggressive jumping the play results in him losing phase often 

Zone Coverage

• Plays middle third decently well. Good range across the field to get to the catch point and affect it

• Overaggression can be exploited with play action and misdirection to take him out of his zone. Poor field vision and awareness of the routes around him

• Needs to display better instincts here. Too often caught with eyes in the backfield, allowing easy receptions in his zone, often behind him. Plays much better as a deep coverman when he can keep the entire play in front of him

• Needs to read the QB’s eyes better to steer him to the play. Too often drifts away from the action 

Range

• Always in or around the play

• Quick getting downhill

• Breaks well with the ball in the air 

Ball Skills/Tracking

• Passive with the ball in the air

• Too easily boxed out. Needs to attack the ball much better

• Slow to locate the ball in the air

• Poor angles to the ball 

Tackling

• Heavy hitter

• 2% missed-tackle rate in 2023

• Bad angle in space

• Needs to be stronger at the point of contact. Too easily slips off the ball carrier

• Poor pad level at the POC 

Blitz

• Good instincts to see path to the quarterback and take it, even if he is not on a designed blitz 

Physicality

• Aggressive coming down to the LOS and plugging the gap in the run game

• Works off blocks well to make the play

• Needs to be more disciplined sealing the edge

• Not physical at the LOS in man coverage to disrupt routes consistently

• Pushed off at the top of routes 

Production

• 2024: 3 G, 8 Solo, 13 Tot, 0 TFL, 0.0 Sk, 0 INTs, 0 PDs

• Career (3 seasons): 28 G, 53 Solo, 90 Tot, 4 TFL, 0.0 Sks, 1 INT, 5 PDs 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: West Virginia, Bowling Green (2024) Michigan, Maryland Iowa (2023)

• Injury History: "Long-term injury" (2024)

• Role on 3rd down (Deep FS or box SS): Deep FS

• ST Value: Great speed and tackling 

Instincts

• Disciplined player who is hard to deceive

• Inconsistent leverage in coverage

• Slow to read the blocking scheme and will be sealed from the play

• Slow to process the flow of the play and run himself away from the ball

• Not a great anticipatory player

• Slow read-and-react. Tunnel vision 

Play Speed

• Can get caught flat-footed in coverage

• Slow recovery speed when beat off the line 

Man Coverage

• Good trail technique to make plays on the ball

• Solid mirror with good physicality off the line of scrimmage

• Bites on double moves for big gains 

Zone Coverage

• Patient in coverage to blanket switch releases

• Struggles to consistently maintain correct leverage. Slow to break on the route and will turn hips the wrong way

• Slow to read the QB’s eyes means he is often late to the ball when playing center field in cover 3

• Caught looking into the backfield. Needs to be more vigilant of routes crossing into his zone 

Range

• Rangy athlete who can stay in phase on long-developing plays/routes

• Does not eat up tons of ground with the ball in the air. Slow to break on the ball 

Ball Skills/Tracking

• Does well to get head turned and locating the ball

• Great use of his size and length to win jump balls

• Not strong enough at the catch point

• Overaggressive angles to the ball, allowing for big plays after the catch 

Tackling

• Slips through the line decently well to make plays in the run game

• Uses the sidelines well to corner shiftier ball carrier

• Poor angles to the ball carrier in space

• Weak tackler. Struggles to limit yards after contact

• Completely incapable of taking down physical ball carries like tight ends 

Blitz

• Needs find better paths to the quarterback. Too often caught up in traffic 

Physicality

• Seals the edge decently well

• Can be overpowered by tight ends in the run game. Needs to be more active in his shed

• Can be pushed off at the top of the route

• Hesitant to get dirty around the line of scrimmage. Too often lets the run pay come to him

• Does not possess the physicality to plug gaps at the goalline

• Struggles to work off stalk blocks and can be pushed far upfield 

Production

• 2024: 14 G, 52 Solo, 77 Tot, 4 TFLs, 0.0 Sks, 1 INT, 3 PDs

• Career (3 seasons): 43 G, 127 Solo, 197 Tot, 6 TFLs, 0.0 Sks, 6 INTs, 17 PDs 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Clemson, Alabama, Texas, Florida (2024) South Carolina (2023)

• Injury History: Shoulder (2024)

• Role on 3rd down (Deep FS or box SS): Both...neither

• ST Value: Return experience