Kennedy Brown’s Recruiting Rankings
Orangebloods: DIAMOND (800k+)
Rivals Industry: National (10), CB (2), Texas (3)
Rivals: National (15), OT (3), Texas (3)
247: National (28), OT (3), Texas (4)
ESPN: National (2), OT (1), Texas (2)
Scouting Strengths
* A dominant player at the point of attack in the running game.
* Not exactly elite feet, but moves pretty effortlessly on his feet. Just a natural mover as a player.
* Long arms helps compensate for shortish-tackle frame.
* Plays with tremendous balance.
* An absolute finisher of blocks. He plays to get guys on the ground.
* Plays with really good pad leverage. Seems very well coached.
* Would seem to have a high basement. At worst, he feels like a really strong multi-year starter.
Scouting Weaknesses
* Tweener tackle/guard prospect physically. There’s no way to get around the fact that he is built a little more like DJ Campbell than Kelvin Banks.
* While I think he has good feet for pass blocking at the next level, I’m not sure he has elite left tackle feet, which would mean he lacks elite height and footwork.
* Doesn’t seem to be used on the move in the running game a bunch and there’s no sense of whether he’s good in space, even if he possesses very good feet. It’s kind of surprising not to see a guy with his agility to not be used more in the screen game or in more counter-action.
* His talent is a little more evolved than a lot of his peers. He’s not as raw as someone like Ismael Camara. Maybe not quite the ceiling, but a higher basement.
Former UT Player He Most Profiles Like…
D.J. Campbell (2022-2025)
Playing Time Projection
My natural instinct is to say that he’s a guy that could likely be ready to contend for a starting job somewhere along the offensive line by his second season on campus, likely following a redshirt year. The fact that his basement as a player seems fairly minimal, especially if he projects as more of a guard over the long haul, with his development. He’s going to need to diversity his blocking game a little from they focus on at Kingwood because there’s very little to his assignments beyond firing off straight ahead in the running game or pretty basic pass protection skill when he’s not going downhill. It’ll be an early to test to put him in situations in space that will ask more of him than I see on his high school film. Considering the financial fee associated with his recruitment, anyone that signs him will have some real urgency to get him on the field in year two (thinks Texas in 2025 with Brandon Baker). I can close my eyes and see him as a decent starter in year two, a plus-starter in year three and a candidates honor by year four at the latest.
Financial Breakdown
1.5 million seems like a given. 1.75 million feels likely. 2.0+ million is possible. It’s a lot of cash and in signing him, you simply have to be prepared for some likely sunken developmental costs in year one. It is what it is. The question comes down to whether by the time you’ve invested 3-4 million on him in the first 24 months, are you getting a player that is going to be truly paying off the costs by the end of year two… Kelvin Banks did… D.J. Campbell most certainly did not. If you think you’re going to end up with a player closer to Banks… you pull the trigger. If you think he’s more Campbell, I think you’re going to have more hesitation. Ultimately, it comes down to whether you’re open minded to a sub 6-4 tackle playing on the left side? Not everyone is. Yet, at the end of the day this kid looks like a fairly certain future Sunday player. It’s more of a matter of what round are we talking about with his physical upside.
Orangebloods Coverage
- (3/25) The Rumor Mill: Diamond OL updates, and Texas’ move for Brock Williams
(3/19) Truths and Lies: Texas playing footsy with the nation’s No. 1 edge?
- (2/20) War Room Nugget
- (2/5) War Room Nugget
- (7/28) Kennedy Brown Sounds Off
