This is a quick review of the film available from Rivals and Scout for a few players that OSU is still recruiting. Let me preface this by saying that I am not a college or high school football coach. But I do like to think that I know a little bit about the game and can at least provide a little insight into the strengths and weaknesses of some of the recruits OSU is after to those who aren't able to see the film for themselves. So with that being said...
Major Wright: The most obvious thing you see when watching Major is that he loves to hit. There are several plays where he flys up and knocks the life out of people. My favorite play is one where there is a toss left and the guard pulls. Major flys up so fast and so hard to take on the lead blocker that he blows the guard back into the running back, who ends up losing a yard or two because of it. He looks like he has grown a few inches from his junior to his senior year...and has also gotten leaner and faster. He can go up and get the ball at its highest point and even shows a few things when returning a pick during the game against Plantation. He and Oliver could become a wrecking crew tandem at safety for years to come.
Martez Wilson: Looks like a man playing amongst boys. His physcial presence is obvious and his ability to rush off the edge is tremendous. Plays on special teams as well and is usually the first player downfield. He is extremely athletic for his size (he tips a screen pass to himself and catches it on his knees). He may be one of the best prospect in the nation based solely on potential. He is nowhere near the best high school player, but his upside is infinite. Take his raw talent and add some technical coaching and you will have a future first-rounder. He is also a heck of a WR, further demonstrating his athleticism. Wilson is bit like Lebron...whereas Lebron is built like a 3 but has the athletic ability to play the point, Wilson has the size to be a DE, but has the athleticism of a safety or corner.
Eric Berry: His Scout film is entirely of him running the option and scrambling as a QB. What you can gather from that is that he is unbelievably fast with great moves in the open field. Watching the few clips available from Rivals of him playing DB, all you really get to see is him running down a ball carrier. Hopefully more film of him on defense will become available, but his speed is apparent.
Anthony Davis: As with Wilson, competition level is a bit of a question because Anthony is just so dominating. He is absolutely huge, but moves suprisingly well for his size. He looks like a man mountain when he comes out of his stance, but has the speed to get to the second level and punish LBs and safeties. Plays with some nasty (think Alex Boone). Tremendous wingspan who will be able to use that when he gets to the next level to become and even better pass blocker. As for run blocking, he is ready for the Big 10 right now.
Ronald Johnson: Focusing on Ronald's defensive highlights, he is a great combination of size and speed...a truly special athlete. He has great hands (most of his defensive highlights show him picking off a pass). Has the hips of a true corner and is able to change speed and direction fluidly. Makes a sick one-handed INT in one Scout clip that you really need to see to believe. He is going to be a contributor early wherever he ends up. Reminds be a lot of Ashton Youboty when he was coming out of high school.
John Clay: Tremendous motor...he keeps his legs charging before, during and after contact. Runs extremely low when breaking the line of scrimmage, making himself a smaller target than a player of size would normally be. Raises up a bit when he gets into the open field to find that fifth gear. Great stiff arm...uses his free hand to punish defenders. Will cut the ball up early on tosses if needed, but does have the speed to get to the outside against his high school competition. Will likely be a between the tackles runner in college. Needs to work on little things like his initial counter step and other things like that.
Rob Gronkowski: Junior highlights show a rather skinny Rob at TE/WR. His QB has a lot of faith in him, constantly throwing into double and triple coverage and expecting the tall and athletic Gronkowski to make a play. Great hands when the ball is in the air...make no mistake that Rob is not the old school OSU TE who was nothing more than a glorified tackle. Rob has great hands and the frame to add enough weight to be both a decent blocker and an outstanding receiver. His blocking technique in these clips needs a lot of work, but hopefully he has improved that since his junior year. He reminds me of a younger, skinnier Todd Heap.
Brandon Lindsey: Again, watching junior highlights there is a noticeable size difference between what you see on film and what is listed in the databases. Obviously he must have put on some size, because in these clips he looks no bigger than Nate Oliver. Pursues the ball well and tackles hard. In the limited highlights available, looks great as a running back as well. After watching some senior clips on Rivals, you can tell that he has definitely grown, both physically and as a player. Work well in traffic when defending the run. In my opinion, would benefit greatly from working with Butch Reynolds, as he does not look to be the fastest player I have seen on film.
Devon Still: Plays right tackle on offense, where he certainly would be considered a project (although once again these are junior highlights). Absolutely destroys a kid on a trap block in one clip, throwing a forearm shiver into the kid's sternum and knocking him back about three yards. Defensively, he is a little more advanced. Very soft-spoken in the Rivals interview, but shows a great motor. I see him as a potential DT with the size he shows in these films. He does well taking on two and sometimes three blockers. He is a bit of a late bloomer who will only get better with advanced coaching. The jury is still out on where he ends up, but I like him on defense, sepcifically at DT.
Joseph Barksdale: Interesting production of his Scout highlight film (the opening is a green screen with the words "Big Joe Barksdale" scrolling across, which takes about 30 seconds). The Scout film shows him doing drills at the SA combine, which are rather tough to watch as he just blows by kids. Watching game film, he needs to bring his game down a bit, meaning he plays a tad high. Has a variety of moves which work well at the high school level, but will probably need to become a better bull rusher, considering his size and strength. Doesn't always show the best motor and can be taken out of plays when a big OL comes up and just punches him in the mouth. Very raw but has the tools necessary to become a force at the next level.
Derrick Morgan: Does not look as big as the 260 listed on the Rivals clips, but again these are likely junior highlights. Has a great motor and looks similar to Martez Wilson, minus the freakish athleticism (the clip where Morgan bats down a bubble screen is the kind of play Wilson would pick and take to the house). Hits like a truck but sometimes leaves his feet behind him. Getting players like him, Barksdale, Still or Jeremiah could take OSU into a new era of DTs who are all over 6-5...which would be a nightmare for any QB who isn't equally as tall.
Leonard Hankerson: I may be in the minority, but if you check his thread, I said a long time ago that I thought Hank was one of the better WRs in the country. His film reminds me a bit of Patrick Turner's, who ended up playing as a true freshman at USC. Not as big as David Ausberry but plays very similar...he looks taller than the 6-2 listed (just noted Scout has him at 6-3). Very soft hands, although he sometimes lets the ball get into his chest rather than catching it out in front. Certainly not a Deonte Thompson-type burner, but better than average speed for a WR his size with great vision and feel for running in the open field. Uses his strength to get seperation against smaller DBs. Strong enough to easily run through arm tackles.
James Scott: Another one of my favorites on film...if this kid doesn't remind you of Antoine Winfield, I don't know who will. He may only be 5-9 or 5-10 and 165 lbs. but this kids will pound on you from the opening whistle until the final gun. Tackles extremely low and uses his momentum and feet to hit through the ballcarrier. Finds his way past blockers exceptionally well. His one interception is fun to watch (if you are not a coach) because he picks it off in his own end zone and probably runs around for a good 30 yards before finally bringing it out, eventually bringing it back to around his own 40 yard line. I really love watching this kid play.
Major Wright: The most obvious thing you see when watching Major is that he loves to hit. There are several plays where he flys up and knocks the life out of people. My favorite play is one where there is a toss left and the guard pulls. Major flys up so fast and so hard to take on the lead blocker that he blows the guard back into the running back, who ends up losing a yard or two because of it. He looks like he has grown a few inches from his junior to his senior year...and has also gotten leaner and faster. He can go up and get the ball at its highest point and even shows a few things when returning a pick during the game against Plantation. He and Oliver could become a wrecking crew tandem at safety for years to come.
Martez Wilson: Looks like a man playing amongst boys. His physcial presence is obvious and his ability to rush off the edge is tremendous. Plays on special teams as well and is usually the first player downfield. He is extremely athletic for his size (he tips a screen pass to himself and catches it on his knees). He may be one of the best prospect in the nation based solely on potential. He is nowhere near the best high school player, but his upside is infinite. Take his raw talent and add some technical coaching and you will have a future first-rounder. He is also a heck of a WR, further demonstrating his athleticism. Wilson is bit like Lebron...whereas Lebron is built like a 3 but has the athletic ability to play the point, Wilson has the size to be a DE, but has the athleticism of a safety or corner.
Eric Berry: His Scout film is entirely of him running the option and scrambling as a QB. What you can gather from that is that he is unbelievably fast with great moves in the open field. Watching the few clips available from Rivals of him playing DB, all you really get to see is him running down a ball carrier. Hopefully more film of him on defense will become available, but his speed is apparent.
Anthony Davis: As with Wilson, competition level is a bit of a question because Anthony is just so dominating. He is absolutely huge, but moves suprisingly well for his size. He looks like a man mountain when he comes out of his stance, but has the speed to get to the second level and punish LBs and safeties. Plays with some nasty (think Alex Boone). Tremendous wingspan who will be able to use that when he gets to the next level to become and even better pass blocker. As for run blocking, he is ready for the Big 10 right now.
Ronald Johnson: Focusing on Ronald's defensive highlights, he is a great combination of size and speed...a truly special athlete. He has great hands (most of his defensive highlights show him picking off a pass). Has the hips of a true corner and is able to change speed and direction fluidly. Makes a sick one-handed INT in one Scout clip that you really need to see to believe. He is going to be a contributor early wherever he ends up. Reminds be a lot of Ashton Youboty when he was coming out of high school.
John Clay: Tremendous motor...he keeps his legs charging before, during and after contact. Runs extremely low when breaking the line of scrimmage, making himself a smaller target than a player of size would normally be. Raises up a bit when he gets into the open field to find that fifth gear. Great stiff arm...uses his free hand to punish defenders. Will cut the ball up early on tosses if needed, but does have the speed to get to the outside against his high school competition. Will likely be a between the tackles runner in college. Needs to work on little things like his initial counter step and other things like that.
Rob Gronkowski: Junior highlights show a rather skinny Rob at TE/WR. His QB has a lot of faith in him, constantly throwing into double and triple coverage and expecting the tall and athletic Gronkowski to make a play. Great hands when the ball is in the air...make no mistake that Rob is not the old school OSU TE who was nothing more than a glorified tackle. Rob has great hands and the frame to add enough weight to be both a decent blocker and an outstanding receiver. His blocking technique in these clips needs a lot of work, but hopefully he has improved that since his junior year. He reminds me of a younger, skinnier Todd Heap.
Brandon Lindsey: Again, watching junior highlights there is a noticeable size difference between what you see on film and what is listed in the databases. Obviously he must have put on some size, because in these clips he looks no bigger than Nate Oliver. Pursues the ball well and tackles hard. In the limited highlights available, looks great as a running back as well. After watching some senior clips on Rivals, you can tell that he has definitely grown, both physically and as a player. Work well in traffic when defending the run. In my opinion, would benefit greatly from working with Butch Reynolds, as he does not look to be the fastest player I have seen on film.
Devon Still: Plays right tackle on offense, where he certainly would be considered a project (although once again these are junior highlights). Absolutely destroys a kid on a trap block in one clip, throwing a forearm shiver into the kid's sternum and knocking him back about three yards. Defensively, he is a little more advanced. Very soft-spoken in the Rivals interview, but shows a great motor. I see him as a potential DT with the size he shows in these films. He does well taking on two and sometimes three blockers. He is a bit of a late bloomer who will only get better with advanced coaching. The jury is still out on where he ends up, but I like him on defense, sepcifically at DT.
Joseph Barksdale: Interesting production of his Scout highlight film (the opening is a green screen with the words "Big Joe Barksdale" scrolling across, which takes about 30 seconds). The Scout film shows him doing drills at the SA combine, which are rather tough to watch as he just blows by kids. Watching game film, he needs to bring his game down a bit, meaning he plays a tad high. Has a variety of moves which work well at the high school level, but will probably need to become a better bull rusher, considering his size and strength. Doesn't always show the best motor and can be taken out of plays when a big OL comes up and just punches him in the mouth. Very raw but has the tools necessary to become a force at the next level.
Derrick Morgan: Does not look as big as the 260 listed on the Rivals clips, but again these are likely junior highlights. Has a great motor and looks similar to Martez Wilson, minus the freakish athleticism (the clip where Morgan bats down a bubble screen is the kind of play Wilson would pick and take to the house). Hits like a truck but sometimes leaves his feet behind him. Getting players like him, Barksdale, Still or Jeremiah could take OSU into a new era of DTs who are all over 6-5...which would be a nightmare for any QB who isn't equally as tall.
Leonard Hankerson: I may be in the minority, but if you check his thread, I said a long time ago that I thought Hank was one of the better WRs in the country. His film reminds me a bit of Patrick Turner's, who ended up playing as a true freshman at USC. Not as big as David Ausberry but plays very similar...he looks taller than the 6-2 listed (just noted Scout has him at 6-3). Very soft hands, although he sometimes lets the ball get into his chest rather than catching it out in front. Certainly not a Deonte Thompson-type burner, but better than average speed for a WR his size with great vision and feel for running in the open field. Uses his strength to get seperation against smaller DBs. Strong enough to easily run through arm tackles.
James Scott: Another one of my favorites on film...if this kid doesn't remind you of Antoine Winfield, I don't know who will. He may only be 5-9 or 5-10 and 165 lbs. but this kids will pound on you from the opening whistle until the final gun. Tackles extremely low and uses his momentum and feet to hit through the ballcarrier. Finds his way past blockers exceptionally well. His one interception is fun to watch (if you are not a coach) because he picks it off in his own end zone and probably runs around for a good 30 yards before finally bringing it out, eventually bringing it back to around his own 40 yard line. I really love watching this kid play.
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