Here we have Paiton Fears, a late addition to the 2019 class just days before early signing period began. We still don't know who the offensive line coach will be but, the way things shaped up, I think he's a starting tackle next season, it just depends on which side they like Donovan Laie on.
Here is the link to his film so you can follow along. http://www.hudl.com/v/2AKE1R 0:05: Quick, gets to his guy and folds him over. He's a violent run blocker at 6-foot-6, 327 pounds. 0:13: Another quick explosive get off the line in a play action that probably would have looked better as a run assuming the back could have gotten around the nose guard. Instead the defensive end stays at home and deflects a pass. 0:22: Another violent block with great pad level to take the defender out of the play entirely. Completely opens up the right side of the field for back to get outside. Showing really good stuff as a run blocker. We see a different quarterback this time. #17 was in before now it's #5 so I'm curious to see how the plays differ between the two. 0:31: Finally we get to some pass blocking. Foot work looks a little odd and choppy, but stays in front of his defender and finishes with a takedown. Quarterback straight up loses the ball, maybe it catches the running back but Fears has his guy out of the play entirely. 0:40: Not a huge fan of the footwork here and I think he needs to have a little bit more balance and control here. On pass block he's using the defenders momentum against them and is able to out power them, but it doesn't look like he's in full control of where the block is heading. That's just going to break the pocket if he doesn't get low, sink his hips and take control. When the defender initiates contact Fears starts to stand upright. 0:50: This is our third quarterback of his film so I'm really curious as to what was happening here. But here he has much better footwork that looks really clean on his kick slide and delivers a blow to the defender that knocks him off balance. A small bend at the hips but overall a solid play while the ball is heading over to his side on a passing play. 0:57: Love this play. Big man is kicking it out wide as the lead blocker. Tight end does a great job of taking on a double team and the wing does a great job of containing the edge allowing Fears to get downfield. He's running about 25 yards downfield just forcing the safety out of the play. Good speed and hustle there from Fears. 1:06: They run virtually the same play here in the same formation and it works just like it did in the previous play. More hustle and speed from Fears getting to the outside and he gets in on the corner for a solid gain. 1:18: Rolling with a counter play here leaves Fears with a lot of responsibility. Folds the end inside to give the running back room to cut back into. Doesn't go anywhere because there's an extra blitzer who gets picked up. I'm not sure that's a great play call if you're out numbered on one side. 1:26: Really like this play from Fears. They're more of a slide block run team, but Fears doesn't see a guy to block and immediately turns up field to create a big lane for the back. 1:35: Really nice job for the offensive line to disguise this screen play. They give the defenders a little piece and then head up field. Fears is leading the charges, lays a guy out and even when the running back is still 10 yards ahead of Fears he is still running downfield. 1:45: Very similar play than the one before. A slide block, doesn't see anyone to create a wall and heads up to the next level for a block. He's showing off a lot of speed and smarts to get downfield. 1:55: Knows the run is coming to his side and just takes his man out of the play entirely and dominates. Let's the defender get to work on the inside, making Fears job easy because he needs to continue to force him inside so the play can go outside. Really nice play. Rumor has it that Fears is still driving that dude. 2:00: Just a sound block on a run play. Up against Independence CC, Last Chance U, slides in, gets a good push and brings his guy outside so the play can go inside. 2:05: The same kind of run slide blocking scheme. He can really create a lane and drive guys back. So we saw a lot of run blocking from Fears, but not a lot of pass blocking. He's a much stronger and bigger tackle and I'm curious to see how he is used as a tackle. I think he could also play guard and be more of a Jacob Alsadek with his size, but I'm very interested to see how his pass protection goes.
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Hey guys! Brandon here answering another question from the you, the readers. The subject? P.J. Johnson's replacement.
To be honest, Johnson is going to be tough to replace. He was a freak athlete, a good mix of size, speed, and athleticism. And it's not just Johnson Arizona is missing, Dereck Boles is also gone. However, Myles Tapusoa will do just fine at Boles' nose tackle spot. Back to Johnson. Currently the 'Cats have redshirt senior Finton Connolly and redshirt freshman Nahe Sulunga currently on the team. The 'Cats also have newcomer Trevon Mason, who is a mountain of a human being. It is worth noting that Sulunga could also move back to defensive end if needed. This leaves the transfer market for Arizona to find another lineman. There are three guys that I can see Arizona adding. The first is BYU transfer Tevita Mo'unga. The Southern California native is talented and has flashed it often. The only problem is his health. His career in Provo has been plagued by injuries and has kept him off the field. The talent is there and would be a great pickup if Arizona lands him. He finished his career with the Cougars with 26 tackles and 1 TFL in 23 games. The second player is also a former BYU player, Wayne Kirby. Kirby transferred to BYU from Oregon and did not see any action with the Cougars. He did play in 9 games as a freshman in Eugene. He had 11 tackles, a fumble recovery, and 2 PBUs. He has good size (6'3", 320 lbs) and would be another good pickup. Finally we reach Zach Abercrumbia. The transfer from Rice is smaller than Kirby and Mo'unga, sitting at 6'2" and 286 lbs. However, he was very productive in his time for the Owls. He finished his career with Rice with 117 tackles, 11.5 TFL, 3 sacks, a forced fumble, and 3 fumble recoveries. Again, would be another solid option for Arizona. Again, these are three that I see Arizona getting involved with the 2019 season. All would be great additions, but it would still be hard to replace Johnson's freakish abilities. So we've seen some movement over the last few weeks when it comes to the transfer portal. In the past month we've seen Nathan Eldridge, Antonio Parks, Sammy Morrison, Anthony Mariscal, Kurtis Brown, Branden Leon and Jamie Nunley leave the program. PJ Johnson also opted to declare for the NFL Draft. There's maybe a couple of guys I could see leaving from now until the end of spring, but we'll just wait to see what happens there. Now Arizona is at 80 scholarships by my count, and that gives Arizona some room to add some guys for 2019. I don't think Arizona signs any additional high school guys for the 2019 class, and any additions would come from the graduate transfer route I imagine. Offensive and defensive line you could certainly look for someone to add. If they can somehow find a high level receiver, that would be pretty ideal as well. A lot of positions are loaded up on juniors right now. Offensive line, linebackers and defensive line had a good chunk. Meanwhile receiver is loaded with freshmen. A position of need is certainly corner in terms of depth for the future. Running back looks like a good core but will need some more production to come in from the younger guys. Yet another small senior class, which has kind of been the norm under Rich Rodriguez where guys just don't make it all four or five years through the program. But nonetheless, this is where Arizona stands in terms of scholarships. We’re onto Josh Donovan, who I thought would have started at tackle until Payton Fears committed. He is also apparently moving to guard which I think might be best for him.
Let’s go http://www.hudl.com/v/2AsEwR 0:04 - The first thing you notice is his size. Running a little jet sweep he locks his defender up across the field. Looks like some sloppy footwork and probably gets away with some holding too. 0:16 - Great footwork here. End tries to go inside, realizes it won’t work and tries to flip it outside but Donovan’s just such a big body. Good hand placement and finishes with a throw down. 0:32 - Shows good run blocking here. Hands and feet look fine and drives the end down. 0:44 - One-on-one OL/DL drills do no good for offensive linemen but pretty much maintains controls of the block the entire time. Looks like he plays a little too high, needs to drop his hips, but gets away with it. This is where I’m starting to think that guard is a better fit for him, although we’ll see what the new OL coach thinks. 0:50 - Similar to the very first play, looks like when he a play is going outside he gets very grabby. A flag is thrown right at him on this play and that is definitely a holding call coming back. 1:02 - Donovan forces the end to go wide knowing they’ll never make it to the quarterback in time. The defender falls 8 yards behind the line of scrimmage and isn’t even close to the pocket anymore. I don’t know the official term, but I’d like to call it zoning when a tackle just controls that side of the line and forces guys to go around to avoid getting walled up. 1:10 - So more zoning here. Donovan knows the play is going to other side so he the end is just wasting his time trying to go around the outside. 1:21 - The end is clearly tired of going straight up into the block so attempts and spin, gets a bends too much and that’s an easy fold for Donovan 1:33 - Looks like he reaches a little at first but corrects himself, drops his hips and takes this guy wide again. Poor dude is trying so hard to get off the block and goes with another spin only to be folded again. 1:43 - So this team seems to know that Donovan isn’t the quickest and they’re attacking him with speed. Outside the edge isn’t working so they try inside. It almost works, Donovan gets out wide and the end has some space to get inside but Donovan is able regain control and secure a legal takedown to take him out of the play. 1:50 - Donovan is so good at controlling his space. Look how much space is between him and the guard now as he takes his guy out of the edge. A blitz between him and the guard would be deadly but teams don’t seem to do that. It’s a good piece to have. I’m curious to see how Arizona’s offensive line shapes up with so many new, experienced guys there as well as an entirely new coach. Jalen Curry has wrist surgery if I remember currently, so his senior film was limited. We’ll be taking a look at his junior film where he put up insane numbers.
Quickly before we begin I just want to point out one thing so that you can notice it too. Curry is a big time body catcher. You want a receiver with strong hands that will secure the pass, then quickly tuck it away. With Curry I noticed all but two plays where he lets it come into his chest and then secures it. If you go back to Thomas Marcus’ film from his senior season, you’ll see a lot of great catches and notice the difference. Alright let’s begin. http://www.hudl.com/v/28bbCF 0:09 - Quick get off, nice hesitation to get by the defender, finishes off with speed for the touchdown. Pretty routine play from Gunnell to Curry it seems. 0:22 - Another quick get off where he’s getting up field as soon as the ball is snapped. I want to give him credit for running his route beneath the linebacker to get into space rather than being greedy going down field and having Gunnell throw it in traffic. Cuts all the way across the field and almost gets caught but goes in for a score. 0:44 - Again, the get off is incredible. Hits the corner with a two step and accelerates downfield. Comes down with it in the corner of the end zone. 0:55 - Tried to break down the receiver but trips up. High throw from Gunnel but I’m impressed that Curry was able to grab it. I feel like most receivers there aren’t expecting that bad of a pass from that short of distance. Finds some room to run and here you see some explosiveness to get through and split the two defenders for a score. 1:10 - End zone fade, one of my least favorite plays in football, but Curry comes down with it after the corner played excellent coverage. Good jump and strong hands by Curry there. 1:20 - Nickel corner is containing the edge and corner is backed up almost ten yards. Catches at the LOS and runs over a guy for a score. 1:30 - I’ll take a good blocking play. Feels which side the corner is trying to go and shifts his weight to keep the corner away. 1:40 - Good old tunnel screen, just put the ball in his hands and he’ll make a play. 1:50 - Pretty good get off the line, burns past the corner and a terribly under thrown ball by Gunnell but Curry tracks it down and comes down with it. Overall when I watch his film he’s like a stretched out Shun Brown. I don’t think he’s the huge 6-3 target that will be hauling in jump balls, but he’s a guy that can get separation on downfield route to burn you down the side or across the middle. His best work is when he gets the ball within the first three yards and has room to run. Alright, we’re on to our second film breakdown, this time with Derrick Clark. Scroll down if you want to see Kane Bradford’s film breakdown.
Link is below to follow along http://www.hudl.com/video/3/7467937/5ba5be2fdfd8c5099cb0c5dc 0:04 - Quarterback does not do a good job of disguising a zone read, Clark reads the run and shoots to the edge. Once he hits the line of scrimmage he squares up and goes for the hit stick. I’d prefer a clean wrap up as that’s been a problem but with Arizona but can’t blame a high high school kid for wanting the highlight tape 0:13 - Looks like they’re trying to send a fake blitz, maybe trying to get the QB to panic a little, but I like this play because he gets lateral and then closes the inside off knowing another defender has the outside closed too. 0:21 - Comes in over the tackle, gets a good push, gets his eyes into the backfield and beats the tackle with the hesitation to blindside the quarterback after feeling the pressure. Nice pursuit there. 0:31 - Here we see him drop into coverage, feels where the QB’s eyes are going, quarterback stops creeping up and we see some speed to close in at the line of scrimmage. 0:43 - Drops into coverage again, gets to the ball after three teammates collide and can’t come down with a pick. Clark grabs the deflection and takes a return. 1:00 - This is a good play where he immediately recognizes what’s happening and flies to the screen on his side. Especially at the high school level where kids are greedy to have a clear shot at the quarterback, he knew exactly where the play was going after he went untouched off the edge. 1:10 - Reads the handoff, finds the gap and fills it. Pretty textbook play. 1:20 - This poor right tackle gets beat again. Pocket collapses from all sides and Clark comes from behind for the tackle. 1:33 - Nothing crazy here. Just following the flow of the play which is Clark is very good at. 1:41 - The Red Sea literally parts for him to have a clean shot. Forced the QB to hand it off as the end also had a clear shot too. Clark moves in on the tackle. 2:30 - I skip here because there wasn’t too much in between. I really like this play. Just sums up what you’re getting with Clark. Smart and gets to the ball. Clark might be undersized, I’ll guess he’s at 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, so he’ll need his skills to really make up for that. Smart, productive player in high school that I’m interested to see develop. What is going on my people? Gabe coming at you with a new idea I recently thought of that I’m hoping y’all like. Currently cranking out 65 hour work weeks so this is going to be a slow implementation as we head towards National Signing Day but we’ll get it done.
I want to essentially break down each signees film, and then when we start getting into the 2020 class, I’ll break down the high priority guys as well. For now I’m still debating on if I want to do 2 minutes of film, the first 10 plays or maybe my favorite 10 plays from their film. Just depends on how long their film is I suppose. Anyways, here is my breakdown of Kane Bradford’s film. I don’t think it includes all games but here we go. Follow along with me. http://www.hudl.com/v/2AYTtw 0:04 - Lines up over the center and keeps eyes in the backfield to diagnose the read option. Initially reads running back, but disengages and gets lateral to tip the pile over behind the line. 0:15 - Straight up beats a center with speed after a slightly wide snap to the left. Center was probably in rush to get the ball off and move to his left to block Bradford which is why the snap went left. Bradford shoots through and the quarterback is lucky he scooped it up one try. 0:25 - Bradford is dominating this poor center. Out leverages and powers him back four years and disrupts the run. 0:40 - Gets double teamed and literally knocks this center out with a stiff arm. He’s reaching quite a bit here but must have had some luck with feet getting tangled up. Sees the QB, spins out of the block to disengage and brings him down. 0:50 - So now you’re starting notice how much speed he has off the line, centers are whiffing when he’s lined up over him and trying to get into the backfield. Disrupts the play nicely. And inside the 10 yard line a stop like that is huge. 1:10 - Running a stunt here, his teammate gets through which leads Bradford into a double team almost. His teammate takes the running back out and Bradford stays home in the middle to make the tackle. That’s good like synergy. 1:22 - Nothing crazy here. Just filling gaps and comes up with a tackle. Bradford is a surprisingly lean and athletic tackle that definitely needs to add on weight. Listed at 6-foot-5, 280 pounds, he definitely looks like he can pack the weight on. I’m really interested to see how he develops. Hey everybody! Brandon here answering a question from a reader about the chances of Keyshawn Johnson Jr. playing next season.
This is a question I get regularly and I can say I'm 60-40 that he won't be playing this upcoming sesaon. He has been on campus for about a year now and it seems that he has been enjoying the fraternity life. Throw into the mix the fact that he hasn't played football in over 2 years and I just don't see it. Now I could be 100% wrong on this. He has said in the past that he would be playing in 2019 and that could be very true. Hard work and dedication can allow him to easily get into game playing shape. I will be interested to see how the overall situation plays out but for the time being I'm staying with my "I'll believe it when I see it" mentality. |