SI All-American Candidate Deshun Murrell Jr. Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: RB Deshun Murrell Jr.
Projected Position: Running Back
Status: SI All-American Candidate
Vitals: 5-foot-11, 185 pounds
School: Centreville (Ala.) Bibb County
Schools of Interest: UCLA, USC, Penn State and others
Frame: Athletic with good definition in arms and torso. Strong shoulders. Stout midsection with above-average hips, thighs and calves.
Athleticism: Good approach to line with solid quickness to punch through alleys. Speed-cutter who can string together multiple cuts while maintaining his vertical track. Has ability to bounce to edges and suited to be a B and C-gap runner. Runs with enough strength and contact balance to take advantage of leaky-yardage tacklers. Good long-speed to perform chunk runs.
Instincts: Can be somewhat anxious in approach when pressing holes. Disciplined to execute original run concepts when attacking inside. Decisive runner whose patience shows up on edges when he needs to set up lead blocks. Good decision-maker to make appropriate cut off blocks. Has good second-level and open-field vision.
Polish: Works in pistol, shotgun and stacked-I alignments. Also lines up as wildcat QB. Executes mainly gap and man-scheme run concepts with lead and power. Will need to increase mass and strength. Needs to prove he can be reliable in blitz-pickup/pass-protection. Pass game contribution can be expanded.
Bottom Line: At first glance, Murrell looks like a typical speed runner. However, he has solid downhill tilt and runs with noticeable contact balance. He has long speed to make big plays and can bang, bend or bounce among his run tracks. Murrell has a chance to be a 3-down runner at the next level.