6’1” – 194 lbs.
Father Jake played twelve years in the NFL. Originally attended Tulsa, where he appeared in five games as a freshman. Sat out the next season while transferring to Georgia, then stepped into a starting role. Posted 79-5.0-1.5 with five breakups and an interception as a sophomore, 66-2.0-1.0 with two breakups and two interceptions as a junior, and 54-2.0-0.5 with seven breakups and an interception as a senior. Tall, long-limbed, well-built safety who lined up all over the field for the Bulldogs. Takes a lot of snaps as a high safety, but would also shade over and play some off-man or closer to the line on occasion. Very good athlete who has the straight-line speed and plant-and-drive skills to come up and make tackles in the run game or patrol deep zones in coverage. Plays the game with aggression and physicality, flying around the field. Closes very quickly, but also manages to do a good job of breaking down when coming in for open-field tackles. Pretty good open-field tackler with a wide radius; generates pop on contact, although he can lapse into being more of a hitter at times. Also has some ability to work through congestion; has short-area quickness to slip past would-be blockers, but can hold his own when successfully engaged, using his hands well and getting extension with his arms. Covers a lot of ground with quick feet in his backpedal, but doesn’t have the best balance/technique, relying more on his natural athleticism. Raw speed should give him the ability to work in single-high or halves in deep zone, although he was late to make a read which resulted in a touchdown during a game reviewed (Tennessee, 2018). Does manage to transition to driving on a spot quickly, and his on-ball production was actually pretty good. Would have liked to see him playing in man coverage more often; that wasn’t really his role in the team’s defense, but appears to do a good job of placing his hands and flipping his hips to stick with opponents. One of the most underrated defensive backs in this year’s class, he is a superior athlete with explosive movement skills and excellent straight-line speed, traits which he combines with above-average diagnostic skills and impressive open-field tackling ability to make him one of the best downhill defensive backs in the class. While he didn’t play in man coverage or in the box quite as much as some of the other options, he looks like he has the tools for that sort of a role. Pretty polished potential starter who should come off the board on the second day.
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