Highlights & Evaluation: Louisville S Commit Keontay Toomer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Another impact defensive back is opting to take his talents to the Louisville football program, as Keontay Toomer has given his verbal pledge to the Cardinals.

Here is Louisville Cardinals On SI's full evaluation:

Prospect: Keontay Toomer
Position: Safety
Measurables: 6-foot-1, 175 pounds
School: Indianapolis (Ind.) Ben Davis
Top Offers: Cincinnati, Illinois, Pitt, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.8700 (856th)

Keontay Toomer's Junior Year Highlights: HERE (Hudl)

Frame: Toomer has a great positional base frame on him. Height is above average for a safety (and for a defensive back in general), and he appears to have a plus-wingspan. He is very much on the wiry side, but does seem to have plenty of room to add weight and muscle.

Athleticism: Despite his seemingly slight frame, Toomer is a high level athlete. He's got great north-south burst and good sustained open field speed, as evidenced by his reported 4.49 in the 40-Yard Dash. Also has a reported 38-inch vertical, which would have been tied for fifth among safeties at this year's NFL Scouting Combine. Lateral footwork/agility is about average.

Instincts: From watching Toomer's film, it was very clear early on that he is a phenomenal asset against the run. He plays downhill exceptionally well, as he has good reactionary timing with his breaks on the ball carrier (which bodes well in pass coverage, too), takes good pursuit angles and has great closing speed. In fact, he could almost be regarded as a secondary edge setter with how aggressive he is against outside runs. Toomer has flashed good blitz timing vs. inside runs, but he isn't as aggressive here as he is when playing the outside. Regardless of his exact defensive assignment, Toomer is an absolutely merciless hitter, and he seldom has a tackle attempt where he doesn't bring the hammer and try and drive ball carriers into the ground.

Polish: Toomer primarily lives in the box as a strong safety, but he has taken some reps as a middle third free safety, as well as in the slot at nickelback. He's mostly a fundamental tackler despite how hard of a hitter that he is, although he does tend to lead with the shoulder or dive at a player's legs a bit too much. While he's a tremendous run-stopping asset, his efforts in pass coverage could use some fine tuning. He can sometimes be a bit clunky when playing downfield pass coverage (mostly because of average lateral footwork), and is average at limiting separation in man coverage. That being said, he does have some solid recovery speed, and his wingspan helps him make plays on the ball.

Bottom Line: Overall, this is a good and very underrated pickup for Louisville. Toomer a natural to play strong safety at the next level, and could fit well at STAR in the Cardinals' scheme. He'll have to bulk up some and continue progressing in pass coverage, but he could earn a meaningful role in the safety rotation by his sophomore season.

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