SI All-American Candidate Tavierre Dunlap Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: Tavierre Dunlap
Status: SI All-American Candidate
Vitals: 6-foot, 196 pounds
Position: Running Back
School: Del Valle (Texas) High School
Schools of Interest: Considering Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Colorado and others.
Projected Position: Running Back
Frame: Tall relative to position with narrow, yet muscular build. Room to add mass throughout, particularly chest and trunk.
Athleticism: Balanced athlete with good burst and long speed, verified by well above average times in track and field. Runs a bit high but proves elusive despite higher center of gravity than most, with ability to get to top speed relatively quickly.
Instincts: Patient runner with subtle quickness and bounce. One-cut style built for spread/modern football with some finishing power when he plays behind his pads. Acceleration in the open field may be best trait with ability to make initial defender miss a close second. Vision and no-nonsense style makes for efficiency.
Polish: Steady production in the Lone Star State with one-cut style and decisive north-south efficiency coaches love. Comfortable working in tight quarters or in space, including as a pass catcher with natural hands and body control to make plays after the catch. A lower center of gravity and pressing the hole more consistently will only enhance strengths.
Bottom Line: Dunlap has the frame and athleticism, along the skillset, to project as a three-down back built for modern college football. With a bit more mass and lowered pad level, he could even project as a workhorse type with a one-cut style and efficiency attacking inside or out. The quickness and long speed are present enough to tab him as a multi-year starter in a modern offensive scheme.