SI All-American Candidate Malik Rutherford Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: WR Malik Rutherford
Projected Position: Wide Receiver
Status: SI All-American candidate
Vitals: 5-foot-9, 165 pounds
School: Hialeah (Fla.) Champagnat Catholic
Committed to: Georgia Tech
Frame: Diminutive. Below-average width in shoulders and chest. Skinny arms. Lacks mass throughout lower body. Plenty of room for weight, though limited overall size potential.
Athleticism: Elite quickness and overall body control. Wastes little to no motion while changing direction in open field. Sudden in and out of cuts. Boasts home-run long speed, though lags behind true burners. Good hand-eye coordination.
Instincts: Tracks ball well downfield. Hands catcher; capable of going outside body for difficult catches. Extremely dangerous ball-carrier in space. Routinely makes multiple defenders miss, creating running lanes that otherwise wouldn’t exist.
Polish: Gets very good release off LOS, though lacks versatility. Raw route-runner; needs to add nuance to breaks to fully exploit quickness advantage. Mostly attacks vertically downfield or laterally via screens. Not a blocker.
Bottom Line: Rutherford possesses an eye-popping combination of initial quickness, wiggle and long speed. Must get stronger to see field consistently for Georgia Tech, but may ultimately settle in as gadget player regardless. Ceiling of high-impact slot receiver who doubles as dangerous return man.