SI All-American Candidate Joshua Burrell Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: Joshua Burrell
Status: SI All-American Candidate
Vitals: 6-foot-210 pounds
Position: Wide Receiver
School: Blythewood (S.C.)
Schools of Interest: Florida State, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Indiana, Penn State, Illinois and Virginia Tech.
Projected Position: Wide Receiver or Move/H-Tight End
Frame: Good chisel in upper-body with noticeable definition in traps, shoulders and arms. Tight torso with defined trunk.
Athleticism: Possesses fair quickness in releases off line of scrimmage. Outstanding hands and natural ability to use his mitts to pluck outside his framework. Flashes a quick upfield transfer in RAC-phase. Very good functional strength. Runs with good power and can take advantage of leaky-yardage tacklers.
Instincts: Solid patience in releases versus off-coverage. Decent stem to execute route as called. Capable of executing double-move concepts versus squat defenders. Good use of hands to swim or chop when coverage turns grabby at the top of his routes. Excellent eye-tracking of football and concentration at catch points.
Polish: Currently used in multiple ways: boundary X, stack receiver in 2x2, field receiver, in-line TE/Y and also on motion. Route tree consists of digs, slants, fades, drags and seams, among others. Strength and ability to use size and concentration make up for decent separation quickness at breakpoints and play speed.
Bottom Line: Burrell is a fascinating prospect due to his potential to line up at multiple spots for an offense. He has good size, and even better functional strength. However, his best assets are his strong hands. While Burrell could be fine as an outside receiver in college, his future may be as a move/joker tight end as the H for an offense.