Notre Dame Film Room: 2024 Safety Target Paul Mencke Jr.
Notre Dame is pursuing several talented safeties in the 2024 recruiting class, including Cibolo (Texas) Samuel Clemens standout Paul Mencke Jr. The rangy safety brings an intriguing athletic profile to the field that the Irish staff values heavily.
Let’s take a look at Mencke as a player, and how he projects on the field. There are a lot of tools here to get excited about.
PROSPECT PROFILE
Hometown/High School: Cibolo, Texas / Samuel Clemens
Height/Weight: 6-2 / 180
IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 250 overall recruit)
Upside Grade: 4.5
Offers: Notre Dame, Washington, Colorado, Stanford, Arizona State, Washington State, Iowa State, Minnesota, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Duke, Kansas
FILM ROOM
Here is what Mencke brings to the field.
Size/Frame/Strength - Mencke is an impressive frame that a program would love to develop. He is tall, long and boasts tremendous developmental potential. Down the road, Mencke should be able to hold 205 to 210 pounds without much issue. As a run defender, he is more than willing to throw his weight around. Play strength is an area that must improve for Mencke, who does have a need for more core strength to deliver a blow at the point of attack more consistently.
Athletic Skills - From an athleticism perspective, Mencke is reminiscent of former Irish safety Max Redfield. He has an outstanding blend of straight line speed and short area quickness. Mencke brings a smoothness to the table, showcasing some easy change of direction skills and ability to open up and run. His downhill burst is tremendous. When he declares himself in the run game, he looks like he is shot out of a cannon. Samuel Clemens uses Mencke a lot in two high situations, asking him to work off the hash and play from depth. Mencke’s closing speed is plus, showing the talent to finish plays in space.
Instincts/Technique - Mencke has good play recognition. Once he deciphers a run play, he has zero issue becoming an attack style player and meeting running backs in the hole. That recognition also shows up in pass coverage, where Mencke does a good job to see things develop in front of him and make some plays. Mencke’s angles of pursuit are mostly good, coming in effectively and finishing plays in space. For the most part, the footwork is solid but needs to have more attention to detail to make it even more consistent.
Coverage Ability - Mencke is smooth in his pedal. For a taller safety, he has an easy bend in his hips to remain fluid in that department. He is also smooth when changing direction, having little issue to drop his level and gaining ground quickly in space. Mencke also plays on the offensive side of the football as a wide receiver. That shows up on defense, where Mencke has legitimate ball skills to make plays in the passing game. He closes quickly on the football, showing good eye discipline to be a proactive player.
Run Game - In the run game, he quickly deciphers when it is a run play. There aren’t many examples of him taking on blocks, more using his speed and athleticism to get to spots than to fight off of contact. His tackling technique is solid, wrapping up pretty consistently. The biggest deficiency in Mencke’s game is play strength where he doesn’t have a ton of power to deliver blows as a tackler.
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Play strength is the biggest area of improvement that Mencke will need to improve. He is a willing participant in the run game but lacks the power profile to consistently strike and kill momentum at the point of attack. As Mencke develops physically, he has the profile to play well off of contact and make more plays both as a tackler and to play through blockers at the point of attack.
Mencke needs to improve angles or pursuit more consistently. He makes a ton of plays in the run and pass game but can make things easier for himself at times. There are a lot of athletic skills to work with here. Some attention to detail is needed.
NOTRE DAME FIT
Mencke is the ideal safety in the modern Notre Dame defense. He brings smooth athleticism working from depth and also has the willingness to come down and work in the run game. As he develops physically, he has the talent to fit into either the field or boundary safety. Mencke’s impact in coverage should allow for him to fit a variety of roles on the next level.
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