Scouting Report: 2021 Florida Gators Commit DE Justus Boone
With the surprise addition of Justus Boone to Florida's DL class on Wednesday night, the Gators are continually rolling in recruiting to start off the 2021 cycle.
Boone is rated as a three-star in the 247Sports Composite Ranking, but ESPN has him ranked as a four-star. Expect Boone to become a consensus four-star by the time his senior season rolls around as his film is impressive, to say the least.
Right off the bat, Boone's size jumps off the screen as he stands at 6-5, 250 pounds, as a high school junior. Boone is quick in his moves and is very agile which allows him to beat opposing tackles with ease.
Strength
Boone gets his hands inside and keeps his pad level lower than his opposing offensive tackle, which allows him to push the tackle out of the way on his way to the quarterback.
He defensive end doesn't feel the need to finesse the tackle, but instead drives right through him with hands and a lower center of gravity through his bull rush. The pocket collapses and the QB is forced to take a sack.
Hand Placement/Power
Boone's hand placement is proficient in this clip, getting his hands between the pads of the lineman as he pulls off a successful bull-jerk move to get to the free football. Boone establishes contact first which gives him the upper hand in getting to the quarterback.
He draws a holding penalty through the jerk move after knocking the tackle off-balance immediately after he creates contact through his bull rush, with the tackle grasping at whatever he can grab while Boone swipes through his hands before cornering back to the pocket.
Off the snap, Boone uses his hands to control the lineman which allows the massive defensive end to quickly disengage to the outside and make the tackle as the running back tries to break it to the edge. With good vision to read the outside run paired with his hand placement, disengaging to create this tackle for loss is easy work for Boone.
Pass Rush
After beating the tackle on a swim move earlier in the game, Boone switches it up and goes inside to get to the quarterback. Boone opens up the tackle outside with his first two steps, and quickly shoots inside on his third step to nail the quarterback while he throws the ball.
While Boone has an easy lane from there, his acceleration at his size is impressive. You want to see him play a bit lower through that lane in case the tackle recovers or another lineman can make contact, in order to maintain a lower center of gravity to create power,, but this rep was easy for the defensive end.
Swim Move
Boone takes advantage of the tackle being off-balance, and he makes him pay by beating him with a swift swim move. Once in the backfield, the 6-5, 250 lb. missile recognizes the play fake and displays quickness by getting to the quarterback before he is able to escape the pocket, resulting in a sack.
The swim move is one of Boone's go-to pass-rushing moves, and he is effective in knowing when to put it to use. If he likes how low a tackle stands in their stance, Boone will quickly utilize the swim move after an initial pop to penetrate the backfield.
With some flexibility, Boone can be a two-gapping defensive end in Florida's defensive scheme, and has polished his deadly swim move to move both inside and over the guard, or in space against the offensive tackle before planting and turning the corner towards the passer.
Final Thoughts
As you can tell, Boone is a well-rounded prospect with the intangibles to succeed in both the run and passing scenarios. In his 11 game junior season, Boone accumulated 54 total tackles and 6.5 sacks, playing against 5A talent which is the highest classification in the state of South Carolina.
Although Boone still bull-rushes quite often, his hand usage is something to note considering he is only a junior in high school. His swim move is his obvious go-to move in which he uses to get off blocks quickly. Once he gets to Gainesville, defensive line coach David Turner will build on this part of his game by adding other moves such as rip and long-arm moves to his arsenal.
This will go down as a solid addition to the Gators 2021 class and I fully expect Boone to have a big senior year to end of his high school career.
