Thanks should be inserted here to Jaivon Jeffers, who has done a magnificent job in his short time of being a Red Raider fan at providing us with top secret footage of the future. 

Obviously, this is a Harrison Jeffers highlight film, which doesn’t bode well for the defensive prospects.  However, their level of play still has a considerable distance to travel in reaching serviceable.  I’ll share some of my thoughts on what I see from individuals as group evaluation is of no relevance in this case.  Many of these guys will probably never see the field at the Big 12 level, and are simply participating for love of the game, which we should all be appreciative of.

Offense

RB Harrison Jeffers – Nothing has created a buzz of this magnitude on the Llano Estacado since Cabeza de Vaca’s bison robe.  Bennie Wylie has already teased us by classifying Jeffers in the Michael Crabtree Category as the two most talented players he’s seen come through his program.  That’s pretty lofty.  I’ll hold off on those kind of impact comparisons until I see it translated on the field out of respect for Crabtree.  With that being said, there is something special about this young man and I’ll do my best to describe what I see on film.  As a former high school OL, I discovered that some RBs were easier to block for than others.  Your assignment was always right where he was supposed to be just like on the drawing board with an advantageous angle.  It didn’t take much of a block to spring the guy to the next level.  Sometimes just standing between the defender and the RB was sufficient as evidenced by the efforts of some of the OL in the video.  Patience is a virtue for a RB and the great ones know how to set up defenders for blocking purposes.  Emmitt Smith was the best I’ve ever seen at this trade and he rushed for 3,000,000 yards in the NFL despite not breaking 4.6 in the 40.  James Gray was the best I’ve seen at the skill to come through Tech.  Jeffers reminds much of Gray except with the coveted extra gear and quicker feet.  It’s tough to say what Harrison looks like on the other plays, but in the subject highlight film, you never see him make a bad cut.  Vision is his strongest asset.  Possessing a thick, strong build and track star speed, Jeffers gets in and out of his cuts quickly, which allows him to gain leverage on defenders  and accelerate through arm tackles.  This young man will be special.  Mark it down.

LT Terry McDaniel will work out as a fine option for us down the road.  At this point in his young career, McDaniel does a little too much standing around and playing with his pad level too high, but he’s got sufficient footwork and the long arms to be a solid pass protector.  Our run blocking schemes are typically tailored to our OL strengths, so he’ll be perfectly capable of allowing DEs to get upfield and serve as a sliding brick wall in the run game. 

LG Lonnie Edwards will be considered a good guard before his time is done and doesn’t look goofy when running in the open field, suggesting he has the requisite athletic ability for Big 12 football.

LG Chris Olson looks better than what I expected.  I’ve been concerned about his aggressiveness from his limited gametime, but I don’t see any issues in the few snaps on this film and he moves around somewhat fluidly.  Right now, he’s probably a safer starter than Edwards.

C Justin Keown isn’t the athlete that Stephen Hamby was, but he’s much stronger and will hold up better at the point of attack.  I see some potential as a one-on-one blocker in the run game, which can completely transform your entire offense from the center position.  Nice prospect.

C Blake Emert has a long ways to go before he’ll be ready to contribute.

RG Deveric Gallington is a brick shithouse being powered by a Caterpillar engine for an ass when he does things right.  However, he’s all over the place right now with fundamentals, which is to be expected for a true freshman transitioning from the DL.  Gallington is a better athlete than what you think and could end up being the best guard in this bunch, if he takes to Matt Moore’s coaching.

RT Mickey Okafor should be better than he is, but he’s not.  Okafor appears to be suffering from extreme lapses of concentration mixed with slight glimpses of quality starter.  Consistency will be his hurdle.  I question that his athletic ability is a good as what’s been relayed to me.

RT Joe King will surpass Okafor on the depth chart, if his work ethic is solid.  Being a true freshman, he’s not near as strong yet, but is leagues ahead athletically.  Another good, young prospect.

OL Thought

I am extremely impressed at the lack of suckiness overall in this group.  Emert and Okafor both seem to have some limitations, but everyone else should develop into a quality starter.  McDaniel, Gallington and King are a hell of group to sign in such a small class.   

Defense

The front 7 play throughout this film makes my eyes burn like a case of the Filipino clap.  I pray to the 6 lb, 8 oz Baby Jesus that these are our walkons.  It’s a high school team out there and I can’t find many of the players on our roster.  The ones I do recognize have tempered my enthusiasm with regards to their future contributions.  Britton Barbee is the only one whose play could be argued as respectable, but not really.  The game of football is Pig Latin for Sam Fehoko right now, and I don’t see how he ever starts here, but should be a solid kamikaze-type special teams guy.   The secondary is tough to gauge, but they seem perfectly capable of arm tackling and piss poor run support.  

Summary

Probably can’t really take too much from this film except Jeffers is fast and hard to tackle, while the OL prospects seem well-suited for dominating inferior competition.