Daily Short #117, December 21st, 2017: A Monster - Initial Early Signing Day Thoughts and Breakdowns
presented by the Dental Offices of Wendy Swantkowski, DDS
The Absolute BEST in family and cosmetic dentistry for the Houston-Memorial Area
Now Accepting New Patients --- 281-293-9140
****ALL OPINIONS SUBJECT TO CHANGE once I get my eyes on these players in uniform on a college football field alongside other D1 athletes****
Quarterback
Cameron Rising - Newbury Park (CA) and Casey Thompson - Newcastle (OK)
I don't think that these guys need much of breakdown from me as the board has obsessed with both players through the course of their recruitments. Both players bring different skillsets to the table with Rising having the better arm and Thompson having a better ability to run and move (although Rising shows in some game film that he probably has some underrated wheels himself).
What's important is that both of these two actually came on board. It was in the back of everyone's heads through the whole process that, while it was nice to have the two committed for so long and everyone certainly hoped for the best, that it wouldn't surprise anyone to see of these guys bolt. Both QBs will be early enrollees in the spring, so there will be plenty of words typed about both once they get on campus. Herman said at his press availability yesterday that both will have the opportunity to compete for the starting job from Day 1. Exciting times ahead at the QB position, which is only one insanely positive development coming out of the day.
Wide Receiver
Brennan Eagles - Alief Taylor
From the Daily Short
Everything you could ask for attribute-wise is shown in the 13 minutes of sickness linked above. The ability to separate in such a variety of ways: with his feet and stems off the line of scrimmage, at the route's transition-point with a flash of acceleration, or at the catch-point with beastly physicality. The hands. The simple, pure hands that are big and strong and soft. The aforementioned flexibility through the upper-half of the body to track and adjust to the football and the length and wherewithal to go snatch it. The pure, unbridled speed (I'd peg his 40 as a high school senior somewhere in the mid 4.4s) coupled with effortless change-of-direction (his 3.99 short shuttle would have been the best of all WRs at the 2017 NFL Combine) means Brennan Eagles has it all. He looks poised to become the next Dez Bryant.
Al'Vonte Woodard - Houston Lamar
If Texas signed its next big-time X wideout in Eagles, Woodard will be a terrific complementary Z WR in some future iteration of the Texas offense. I was able to see Woodard live at State 7v7 action and was very impressed with his ability to sink his hips into cuts and explode out.
Tight End
Malcolm Epps - Dekaney
I didn't think there was any chance to land Epps at the start of the season as I believed that Herman's talk of utilizing the TE as a key part of his offense was just that: all talk. However, we saw in 2017 that the scheme actually probably uses the TE too much (at least based on the personnel available). With a game-changing prospect like Epps coming into the program, we could see the use of a TE in alignments that should have been handled by wide receivers in 2017 not be quite as negative-EV propositions and possibly even positive ones. Epps isn't a natural inline blocker and is more in the Jermichael Finley/basketball player "jump ball"-mold of TE than Texas currently has on the roster. Off the cuff, Epps does not strike me as a guy who was recruited to lead-block in split-zone and fit up linebackers in the B-gap. It's just not his game right now. Between Reese Leitao and Malcolm Epps, Texas has two true seam-stretching options and eventual matchup nightmares with opposing linebackers while also having a young player in Cade Brewer who's skill set is a little more well-rounded to handle duties both as a receiving TE and a blocking H-back.
Offensive Line
Junior Angilau - Salt Lake City Easy (Utah)
From the Daily Short
In the run-game, Angilau engages with excellent pad-level, effortless at times, climbing to the second level off of double-teams and engaging linebackers with leverage. He's a beast. If he gets his hands on you, it's over. I've seen him projected as an offensive tackle at the next level and some of that will depend on how his body fills out, but he'd optimally continue to hone his skill-set around what he seems to do best which is getting his hands inside and demoralizing folks as a road-grader. I like him best at guard like he played in high school based on the limited amount of footage available and clips from recruiting camps. (As always, I reserve the right to change my opinions greatly on players I haven't seen live and in-person once I do get that opportunity).
He has the feet to play tackle, no doubt. He has better and more natural feet than Patrick Vahe did coming out and his high school highlights show better attributes to build on than Vahe's did. More flexible hips, equivalent and maybe just a little bit better balance. Angilau appears to have a little bit of a longer wingspan than Vahe and the only area where you'd say Vahe was probably superior as a high school prospect was in the pure power department, but it's close. Vahe came in with what seemed to be a small bit thicker lower body and more of an explosive power base but Angilau seems to have more flexible hips and less stiffness.
Rafiti Ghirmai - Frisco Wakeland
From the Daily Short
Ghirmai's a big bully in the run-game, no doubt. He wants to put your ass in the dirt and has a good motor. That's another checkmark in a big box for him -- motor. He doesn't appear to be a player with fat-boy/off-switch disease. The things that concern you are the crutches he leans on due to playing against much smaller players in high school and being able to depend on his natural size and relative strength. He is going to need to get the holding and the arm-hooking coached out of him quickly at the college level. I was interested to see how his one-on-ones looked from recruiting camps for this reason. With an elevation in level of athlete he's going against -- and with the built-in disadvantage that comes with being an OL in a drill tilted heavily toward allowing DLs to win -- how would he fare?
What I saw were those particular issues accentuated along with a lack of balance while engaged despite the light feet. Again, something he will need to stack up on top of the size, feet, and motor (attribute-wise) before becoming effective at the college level.
Reese Moore - Seminole
It's hard to get too much of a read on exactly the player Moore is going to be in the trenches because he's played TE and DE for his entire career thus far. He's the most intriguing signing in the entire class. He's listed as 6-6, 260 pounds by UT and all I can say is that it is certifiably freakish to see a person of that size move as well as Moore does at such a young age. Signing Day was the first time I'd taken any time to watch his highlights and my initial thought was "Lane Johnson."
Johnson, a former OU Sooner and current NFL All-Pro spun down to tackle after previously showing he was a terrific high school athlete who could play most any other position, including even QB. Moore can't line up under center from what I know, but his HUDL reel does list him as a TE, DE and punter. Wild
He's clearly poised to fill out more as an offensive lineman, and in some instances of his senior HUDL tapes, you can find some snaps of Moore staying inline as a blocker in the run-game both as a TE and as a jumbo-package tackle. He is insanely fluid to the second level and is seemingly just as fast as the linebackers he's playing against at the high school level while being much, much stronger. His balance you can already tell is terrific and the way he adjusts to the football as a receiver shows you flexibility through the hips and into the upper body necessary to set and mirror in pass-pro. In a class full of players with insane upside, it legitimately seems like Moore may have as much as any.
He's certainly the highest-upside offensive lineman Texas will sign in 2018 although Angilau appears more ready to contribute as a true freshman should depth become a grave concern at any point during the 2018 season.
Mikey Grandy (JUCO)
I haven't had the time to watch him closely as the news of his commitment didn't come last night until later in the evening but I'll have a full column on him soon. Clearly, the additional bodies are needed so the add is a huge positive.
Linebackers
Byron Hobbs - Fort Worth Eastern Hills
He's a hybrid-type linebacker who is undersized and will need time to fill out before contributing at the college level. His length and speed as well as his ability to cover in open space makes me sure he'll play the outside B-Backer spot in Orlando's offense. He'll have plenty of time to sit and learn behind Jeffrey McCulloch and Marquez Bimage who didn't play on defense in 2017 but did make some standout plays on special teams. More depth off the edge is always a great need.
Ayodele Adeoye - St Louis, MO (IMG Academy)
From the Daily Short
- first thing that jump off in highlights is a brick-house lower-half like a Clydesdale; as Dustin mentioned in his Instant Analysis piece, Adeoye has tremendous functional strength to tackle through ball-carriers with excellent form that starts with a big pop
- the highlights just have a lot of 'pop' to them in general - in more ways than one; extremely impressive prospect by the eyeball test of virtually anyone who will watch
- very good feet and functional balance to disengage powerfully/violently from second-level blocking attempts from both linemen and lead-blocking fullbacks
- smooth, quick boxing hands that jab and slap to leverage points
- as you continue to watch the highlights, it becomes clear that Adeoye is a perfect fit for the mike or mack position in a Todd Orlando defense; pursuit angles are not his strength; more of a downhill thumping-type than a sideline-to-sideline prowler at the college level; while he looks like he might be the fastest kid on the field in high school, he will not be in college
- still plenty quick, though, and can move laterally inside with efficiency to his gap responsibilities
- a little stiff through the hips in game-tape, not sure I love his immediate change-of-direction ability in space; if forced to play early (which he won't be) concerns may be ability to execute and/or recover quickly from slide and crossover drops in coverage, or, getting vertical (and in the hip-pocket quickly) of fast tight ends streaking up the seam
- however, in watching the few St. Louis Rivals camp series 1v1s in coverage posted by Dustin in his Instant Analysis piece, it's clear that Ayodele can recover with physical length against speedier players and, in those clips, shows that his wingspan is more impressive than anticipated when just watching the game highlights alone
Defensive Back
B.J. Foster - Angleton
- He's the best safety prospect in the nation and the best player in Texas, that should be an "enough said"-type of comment. He's the best DB in the best DB class I've ever seen any college sign ... simply incredible.
Caden Sterns - Cibole Steele
- Headhunter; closes with speed and aggression
- Can bracket over the top and set into the zone and makes a living knifing in to ballhawk on outs and curls; excellent pattern-match skills
- If you don't get enough velocity on those balls, he will jump your route and take it the other way; a natural.
- Explosive through hips and he brings them to tackle, you can see in drills from the Opening Regional camp in Dallas that he's not stiff with the hips though, fluid and flexible to turn and run.
- He'll start out getting looks at corner to start his career at Texas but has versatility to play corner, nickel or safety in the future.
Jalen Green - Houston Heights and D'Shawn Jamison - Houston Lamar
I put these two players together as they remind me of each other immensely. Both are sick and I personally prefer both as pure outside-corner-types. Both are unbelievable athletes who look as good with the football in their hands (hell, maybe better) than they do in coverage as high school players. Both are tremendous, tremendous, athletes. Green is the bigger of the two by an inch, or an inch-and-a-half on first glance so maybe they'll start out with Green working on the boundary with Jamison to the field. Both have elite twitch and read-and-react ability in coverage should come along naturally and easily.
Demarvion Overshown - Arp
In a class jam-packed with three hard-hitting safeties, Overshown might be the guy who likes bringing the wood the most. Not only that, he has the length and speed to cover ground on the back end Every elite program in the country wanted him - Alabama, FSU, virtually the entire SEC, Clemson, Ohio State -- you name a top program, they were all after Overshown.
From the Daily Short
The first thing you notice about Overshown is that his highlights look like acts of on-field homicide (not of the Last Boy Scout-variety, but you get the point). I have never seen a harder-hitting high school safety prospect in my time evaluating players professionally. Ever. Not even Eric Monroe.
He's lanky but has some substance to him, too. His arms are developed and his core is thicker than you might expect. He's flexible through the hips to stay vertical with receivers over the top while turning around to look for the ball. There's been talk on Orangebloods about what position he'd optimally play in college and let me just state for the record that the best answer is the obvious one: SAFETY. Of course.
CB Anthony Cook - Up until Tuesday I was almost sure he was headed to LSU so I haven’t done any work on him. Like Grandy, I’ll do an eval of Cook in a future column.
K Cameron Dicker - Lake Travis and P Ryan Bujcevski - ProKick Australia
I don't generally venture much into special teams thoughts or evaluations as I have no idea how to evaluate a punter or kicker, but I wrote last week about adding another Aussie punter (almost in jest). It was awesome to hear Herman say in his press conference that he has a long relationship with the guys at ProKick. If Bujcevski can be 75% of the punter his cousin was/is for the Longhorns, he Aussie Punter pipeline will become a real thing -- which is yet another awesome development coming out of a monster -- and possibly historic -- early signing period in 2018.
Talk about a monster.
This early 2018 class is some kind of monster.
presented by the Dental Offices of Wendy Swantkowski, DDS
The Absolute BEST in family and cosmetic dentistry for the Houston-Memorial Area
Now Accepting New Patients --- 281-293-9140
****ALL OPINIONS SUBJECT TO CHANGE once I get my eyes on these players in uniform on a college football field alongside other D1 athletes****
Quarterback
Cameron Rising - Newbury Park (CA) and Casey Thompson - Newcastle (OK)
I don't think that these guys need much of breakdown from me as the board has obsessed with both players through the course of their recruitments. Both players bring different skillsets to the table with Rising having the better arm and Thompson having a better ability to run and move (although Rising shows in some game film that he probably has some underrated wheels himself).
What's important is that both of these two actually came on board. It was in the back of everyone's heads through the whole process that, while it was nice to have the two committed for so long and everyone certainly hoped for the best, that it wouldn't surprise anyone to see of these guys bolt. Both QBs will be early enrollees in the spring, so there will be plenty of words typed about both once they get on campus. Herman said at his press availability yesterday that both will have the opportunity to compete for the starting job from Day 1. Exciting times ahead at the QB position, which is only one insanely positive development coming out of the day.
Wide Receiver
Brennan Eagles - Alief Taylor
From the Daily Short
Everything you could ask for attribute-wise is shown in the 13 minutes of sickness linked above. The ability to separate in such a variety of ways: with his feet and stems off the line of scrimmage, at the route's transition-point with a flash of acceleration, or at the catch-point with beastly physicality. The hands. The simple, pure hands that are big and strong and soft. The aforementioned flexibility through the upper-half of the body to track and adjust to the football and the length and wherewithal to go snatch it. The pure, unbridled speed (I'd peg his 40 as a high school senior somewhere in the mid 4.4s) coupled with effortless change-of-direction (his 3.99 short shuttle would have been the best of all WRs at the 2017 NFL Combine) means Brennan Eagles has it all. He looks poised to become the next Dez Bryant.
Al'Vonte Woodard - Houston Lamar
If Texas signed its next big-time X wideout in Eagles, Woodard will be a terrific complementary Z WR in some future iteration of the Texas offense. I was able to see Woodard live at State 7v7 action and was very impressed with his ability to sink his hips into cuts and explode out.
Tight End
Malcolm Epps - Dekaney
I didn't think there was any chance to land Epps at the start of the season as I believed that Herman's talk of utilizing the TE as a key part of his offense was just that: all talk. However, we saw in 2017 that the scheme actually probably uses the TE too much (at least based on the personnel available). With a game-changing prospect like Epps coming into the program, we could see the use of a TE in alignments that should have been handled by wide receivers in 2017 not be quite as negative-EV propositions and possibly even positive ones. Epps isn't a natural inline blocker and is more in the Jermichael Finley/basketball player "jump ball"-mold of TE than Texas currently has on the roster. Off the cuff, Epps does not strike me as a guy who was recruited to lead-block in split-zone and fit up linebackers in the B-gap. It's just not his game right now. Between Reese Leitao and Malcolm Epps, Texas has two true seam-stretching options and eventual matchup nightmares with opposing linebackers while also having a young player in Cade Brewer who's skill set is a little more well-rounded to handle duties both as a receiving TE and a blocking H-back.
Offensive Line
Junior Angilau - Salt Lake City Easy (Utah)
From the Daily Short
In the run-game, Angilau engages with excellent pad-level, effortless at times, climbing to the second level off of double-teams and engaging linebackers with leverage. He's a beast. If he gets his hands on you, it's over. I've seen him projected as an offensive tackle at the next level and some of that will depend on how his body fills out, but he'd optimally continue to hone his skill-set around what he seems to do best which is getting his hands inside and demoralizing folks as a road-grader. I like him best at guard like he played in high school based on the limited amount of footage available and clips from recruiting camps. (As always, I reserve the right to change my opinions greatly on players I haven't seen live and in-person once I do get that opportunity).
He has the feet to play tackle, no doubt. He has better and more natural feet than Patrick Vahe did coming out and his high school highlights show better attributes to build on than Vahe's did. More flexible hips, equivalent and maybe just a little bit better balance. Angilau appears to have a little bit of a longer wingspan than Vahe and the only area where you'd say Vahe was probably superior as a high school prospect was in the pure power department, but it's close. Vahe came in with what seemed to be a small bit thicker lower body and more of an explosive power base but Angilau seems to have more flexible hips and less stiffness.
Rafiti Ghirmai - Frisco Wakeland
From the Daily Short
Ghirmai's a big bully in the run-game, no doubt. He wants to put your ass in the dirt and has a good motor. That's another checkmark in a big box for him -- motor. He doesn't appear to be a player with fat-boy/off-switch disease. The things that concern you are the crutches he leans on due to playing against much smaller players in high school and being able to depend on his natural size and relative strength. He is going to need to get the holding and the arm-hooking coached out of him quickly at the college level. I was interested to see how his one-on-ones looked from recruiting camps for this reason. With an elevation in level of athlete he's going against -- and with the built-in disadvantage that comes with being an OL in a drill tilted heavily toward allowing DLs to win -- how would he fare?
What I saw were those particular issues accentuated along with a lack of balance while engaged despite the light feet. Again, something he will need to stack up on top of the size, feet, and motor (attribute-wise) before becoming effective at the college level.
Reese Moore - Seminole
It's hard to get too much of a read on exactly the player Moore is going to be in the trenches because he's played TE and DE for his entire career thus far. He's the most intriguing signing in the entire class. He's listed as 6-6, 260 pounds by UT and all I can say is that it is certifiably freakish to see a person of that size move as well as Moore does at such a young age. Signing Day was the first time I'd taken any time to watch his highlights and my initial thought was "Lane Johnson."
Johnson, a former OU Sooner and current NFL All-Pro spun down to tackle after previously showing he was a terrific high school athlete who could play most any other position, including even QB. Moore can't line up under center from what I know, but his HUDL reel does list him as a TE, DE and punter. Wild
He's clearly poised to fill out more as an offensive lineman, and in some instances of his senior HUDL tapes, you can find some snaps of Moore staying inline as a blocker in the run-game both as a TE and as a jumbo-package tackle. He is insanely fluid to the second level and is seemingly just as fast as the linebackers he's playing against at the high school level while being much, much stronger. His balance you can already tell is terrific and the way he adjusts to the football as a receiver shows you flexibility through the hips and into the upper body necessary to set and mirror in pass-pro. In a class full of players with insane upside, it legitimately seems like Moore may have as much as any.
He's certainly the highest-upside offensive lineman Texas will sign in 2018 although Angilau appears more ready to contribute as a true freshman should depth become a grave concern at any point during the 2018 season.
Mikey Grandy (JUCO)
I haven't had the time to watch him closely as the news of his commitment didn't come last night until later in the evening but I'll have a full column on him soon. Clearly, the additional bodies are needed so the add is a huge positive.
Linebackers
Byron Hobbs - Fort Worth Eastern Hills
He's a hybrid-type linebacker who is undersized and will need time to fill out before contributing at the college level. His length and speed as well as his ability to cover in open space makes me sure he'll play the outside B-Backer spot in Orlando's offense. He'll have plenty of time to sit and learn behind Jeffrey McCulloch and Marquez Bimage who didn't play on defense in 2017 but did make some standout plays on special teams. More depth off the edge is always a great need.
Ayodele Adeoye - St Louis, MO (IMG Academy)
From the Daily Short
- first thing that jump off in highlights is a brick-house lower-half like a Clydesdale; as Dustin mentioned in his Instant Analysis piece, Adeoye has tremendous functional strength to tackle through ball-carriers with excellent form that starts with a big pop
- the highlights just have a lot of 'pop' to them in general - in more ways than one; extremely impressive prospect by the eyeball test of virtually anyone who will watch
- very good feet and functional balance to disengage powerfully/violently from second-level blocking attempts from both linemen and lead-blocking fullbacks
- smooth, quick boxing hands that jab and slap to leverage points
- as you continue to watch the highlights, it becomes clear that Adeoye is a perfect fit for the mike or mack position in a Todd Orlando defense; pursuit angles are not his strength; more of a downhill thumping-type than a sideline-to-sideline prowler at the college level; while he looks like he might be the fastest kid on the field in high school, he will not be in college
- still plenty quick, though, and can move laterally inside with efficiency to his gap responsibilities
- a little stiff through the hips in game-tape, not sure I love his immediate change-of-direction ability in space; if forced to play early (which he won't be) concerns may be ability to execute and/or recover quickly from slide and crossover drops in coverage, or, getting vertical (and in the hip-pocket quickly) of fast tight ends streaking up the seam
- however, in watching the few St. Louis Rivals camp series 1v1s in coverage posted by Dustin in his Instant Analysis piece, it's clear that Ayodele can recover with physical length against speedier players and, in those clips, shows that his wingspan is more impressive than anticipated when just watching the game highlights alone
Defensive Back
B.J. Foster - Angleton
- He's the best safety prospect in the nation and the best player in Texas, that should be an "enough said"-type of comment. He's the best DB in the best DB class I've ever seen any college sign ... simply incredible.
Caden Sterns - Cibole Steele
- Headhunter; closes with speed and aggression
- Can bracket over the top and set into the zone and makes a living knifing in to ballhawk on outs and curls; excellent pattern-match skills
- If you don't get enough velocity on those balls, he will jump your route and take it the other way; a natural.
- Explosive through hips and he brings them to tackle, you can see in drills from the Opening Regional camp in Dallas that he's not stiff with the hips though, fluid and flexible to turn and run.
- He'll start out getting looks at corner to start his career at Texas but has versatility to play corner, nickel or safety in the future.
Jalen Green - Houston Heights and D'Shawn Jamison - Houston Lamar
I put these two players together as they remind me of each other immensely. Both are sick and I personally prefer both as pure outside-corner-types. Both are unbelievable athletes who look as good with the football in their hands (hell, maybe better) than they do in coverage as high school players. Both are tremendous, tremendous, athletes. Green is the bigger of the two by an inch, or an inch-and-a-half on first glance so maybe they'll start out with Green working on the boundary with Jamison to the field. Both have elite twitch and read-and-react ability in coverage should come along naturally and easily.
Demarvion Overshown - Arp
In a class jam-packed with three hard-hitting safeties, Overshown might be the guy who likes bringing the wood the most. Not only that, he has the length and speed to cover ground on the back end Every elite program in the country wanted him - Alabama, FSU, virtually the entire SEC, Clemson, Ohio State -- you name a top program, they were all after Overshown.
From the Daily Short
The first thing you notice about Overshown is that his highlights look like acts of on-field homicide (not of the Last Boy Scout-variety, but you get the point). I have never seen a harder-hitting high school safety prospect in my time evaluating players professionally. Ever. Not even Eric Monroe.
He's lanky but has some substance to him, too. His arms are developed and his core is thicker than you might expect. He's flexible through the hips to stay vertical with receivers over the top while turning around to look for the ball. There's been talk on Orangebloods about what position he'd optimally play in college and let me just state for the record that the best answer is the obvious one: SAFETY. Of course.
CB Anthony Cook - Up until Tuesday I was almost sure he was headed to LSU so I haven’t done any work on him. Like Grandy, I’ll do an eval of Cook in a future column.
K Cameron Dicker - Lake Travis and P Ryan Bujcevski - ProKick Australia
I don't generally venture much into special teams thoughts or evaluations as I have no idea how to evaluate a punter or kicker, but I wrote last week about adding another Aussie punter (almost in jest). It was awesome to hear Herman say in his press conference that he has a long relationship with the guys at ProKick. If Bujcevski can be 75% of the punter his cousin was/is for the Longhorns, he Aussie Punter pipeline will become a real thing -- which is yet another awesome development coming out of a monster -- and possibly historic -- early signing period in 2018.
Talk about a monster.
This early 2018 class is some kind of monster.
