Notre Dame Commit Profile: Safety Taebron Bennie-Powell
Notre Dame picked up a commitment from Ohio safety Taebron Bennie-Powell. The Lakota West athlete earned an offer from Notre Dame at a summer camp and quickly jumped on board.
Let's take a look at Notre Dame's latest commit in the 2024 class.
TAEBRON BENNIE-POWELL PROFILE
Hometown/High School: West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West
Height/Weight: 6-1, 185
IB Grade: 3.0 (Top 500 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 4.0
2022 Stats: 26 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 interceptions
Recruited By: Chris O'Leary, Chad Bowden
Offers: Notre Dame, Duke, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
RECRUITING RANKINGS
Rivals: 3-star - No. 33 safety
On3: 3-star - No. 46 safety
247Sports: 3-star - No. 66 safety
ESPN: 3-star - No. 67 safety
On3 Consensus: 3-star - No. 504 overall - No. 48 safety
247Sports Composite: 3-star - No. 729 nationally - No. 70 athlete
FILM ANALYSIS
Right now the best part of his game is his ability to come downhill make plays on the ball. Bennie-Powell will need to work at taking better angles to the football, but he's a strong tackler. He can deliver good punishment on the ball, showing good lower body explosiveness for an athlete that right now isn't very big. When he's under control he shows the ability to go low and explode through ball carriers. Bennie-Powell also showed good timing and effectiveness as a blitzer.
From a coverage standpoint, right now Bennie-Powell is at his best when he can keep things in front of him. He has tight hips, so opening up and getting vertical isn't as smooth for him as you'd like. He does shows the ability to be clean with his pedal and then plant and drive downhill, or quickly redirect in order to run with a cross or over route that is crossing his face. Bennie-Powell ran a solid 40-yard dash time at the Notre Dame camp (4.58), but he doesn't show that on film yet.
That could be due to his overall lack of quality technique for the safety position, which is due to him not playing the position at this point. As he gets more comfortable playing on the third level and cleans up his technique he should be able to play to his speed potential. That is something that could help overcome his overall lack of top-level athleticism.
NOTRE DAME FIT
Bennie-Powell spent his junior season playing more as an outside linebacker than he did a defensive back due to the presence of Minich and Ohio State 2023 safety signee Malik Hartford. His game was all about playing downhill and being an effective run defender and blitzer, and that downhill part of his game is where he will fit into the Notre Dame defense. Bennie-Powell will be making a transition to a deep safety position in 2023 for Lakota West, but I could see him being a rover type of player down the road.
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Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers
2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense
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