Scouting Report of Newest BC Commit Cole Batson
On Saturday, Boston College football landed a commitment from '21 safety/linebacker Cole Batson. The California native chose the Eagles over Arizona, Maryland, Washington State and a variety of Group of Six schools. But what kind of player is the newest 6'4 recruit. The staff at Sports Illustrated All American, created a comprehensive scouting report of Batson for their Top 1000 ranking system.
Here is how the SIAA staff saw Batson:
Frame: Tall and long frame with wide shoulders. Narrow torso and waist. Athletic lower base.
Athleticism: Also plays WR on offense. Effective space-player with solid movement skills. Good quick-pedal with easy downhill linear transition. Can drive well on underneath routes in coverage and can disrupt catch points with length. Slips around blockers from flanks. Gets a fair hug on ball-carriers to make it tough to escape clutches.
Instincts: Good coverage awareness and zone eyes. Doesn’t panic versus multi-receiver route combinations. Can relate, see 2 go inside and flip eyes to 1 with good break and catch-point timing. Solid mesh-point vision and ball-location skills to work in box versus run.
Polish: Plays a safety/rover-type role and is asked to be rob-player in cover-3 concepts. More man coverage reps versus running backs and tight ends need to be obtained, along with adding more mass and strength. Also will need to improve shed-package to challenge and escape offensive linemen.
Bottom Line: Batson is a versatile prospect who can play receiver, safety, rover and linebacker. He has ideal length, range and is very good in zone coverage. While he could nestle fine in the secondary, Batson has an ideal skill-set for the Sam linebacker role in a 4-3 base structure and should be able to stay on the field in sub.
Make sure to check out SI All American on Twitter for all your in-depth recruiting news and analysis.
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Editor and publisher of BC Bulletin. '06 graduate of Boston College, who has followed the program as long as he can remember. Has been covering the Eagles for the past nine years, giving expert analysis, recruiting news and breakdowns. Also the host of Locked on Boston College, a daily BC podcast that is part of the Locked On Podcast Network. When he is not writing or producing content on the Eagles, he can be found running, skiing, enjoying craft beers, or spending time with his family. You can follow AJ Black on Twitter @AJBlack_BC and our official site Twitter account is @BulletinBC
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