Highlights & Evaluation: Louisville LB Commit Darrian Tomlin

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football program is getting another in-state prospect to stay home, as Darrian Tomlin has given his verbal pledge to play for the Cardinals.

Here is Louisville Cardinals On SI's full evaluation:

Prospect: Darrian Tomlin
Position: Linebacker/Running Back
Measurables: 6-foot-2, 217 pounds
School: Versailles (Ky.) Woodford County
Top Offers: Kent State, Miami, Toledo
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): N/A

Darrian Tomlin's Junior Year Highlights: HERE (Hudl)

Frame: Thanks to a growth spurt over the last year-plus, Tomlin's base frame is much closer to what you'd expect from a linebacker at the college level. He'll absolutely have to continue putting on weight, but he's got good height, a great wingspan, and a wiry muscle build.

Athleticism: Given his relatively wiry frame, Tomlin has some pretty good open field speed when he gets a full head of steam. As far as his footwork and overall agility, it's about average. His north-south burst is decent, albeit a little inconsistent. Demonstrates some solid play strength, which obviously has the chance to improve as he builds weight.

Instincts: While he's a 3-4 outside linebacker in Woodford County's scheme, he likely projects as an off-ball linebacker at the college level. He always keeps his eyes on the quarterback when dropping back in zone coverage, though his reaction time to throws or when playing downhill could be a little better. He's actually pretty good in man coverage for a linebacker, at least against short and some intermediate routes, primarily because of his ability to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage and get them off their route. As a pass rusher, he's flashed a pretty good first step off the line, but is a little too inconsistent with it. Whether in coverage or as a pass rusher, some of Tomlin's best work comes in crucial moments - such as on 3rd and 4th down, or on the goal line.

Polish: When lining up as a pass rusher, Tomlin lines pretty far out, usually as a five tech or even a seven. His bend here is about average, and he does need to work on lowering his pad level if he does want to ball some on the ball in college. He can blow through chip blocks thanks to how well he uses his hand, otherwise he doesn't have a super deep pass rush toolbox. In comparison to his efforts in pass coverage, while his hips can be a tad stiff at times, he actually moves fairly well from side-to-side. He's also a pretty good tackler, thanks in part to his wingspan.

Bottom Line: Overall, this is a developmental pickup for Louisville that does have some upside. There's obviously a good amount of aspects to his game that Tomlin has to clean up, but he his ceiling as a coverage 'backer could be pretty high. It all depends how he performs during his senior year following his growth spurt.

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