Analysis: Vols Land High Ceiling Athlete in Charles
With the 2020 football season in full force, most attention for the Tennessee program has been focused on the field. The Vols are looking to rebound from a tough loss at Georgia when the Kentucky Wildcats come calling on Saturday. Still, as much as the coaching staff is focused on their upcoming opponent, one of the requirements and greatest challenges of being a college coach is keeping an eye toward recruiting. The Vols are looking to add some of the final pieces to their 2021 class and begin to lay the foundations of the 2022 class. Even with the 2020 season not costing players a year of eligibility, defensive back is still a need for the Vols in their 2021 class, as they could lose multiple players to graduation or early declaration to the NFL. Corner specifically has been a point of emphasis for the Vols in their 2021 class, and they added another interesting prospect to the class in Chestatee (Gainesville, GA) athlete Christian Charles.
Charles is a 6’1” 190-pound athlete that plays primarily at quarterback for Chestatee, though many schools have been recruiting him as an athlete. The Vols and their staff, headed by defensive back gurus Jeremy Pruitt and Derrick Ansley, see Charles as a versatile defensive back. While Charles could plug in physically all over the defensive backfield for the Vols thanks to his height and length, Pruitt and Ansley are looking at him as a corner. Pruitt prefers big corners, both in terms of height and having a thick, muscular frame. This allows the corners in Pruitt and Ansley's defense to be more physical with opposing receivers at the line of scrimmage, jam them, knock them off routes, disrupt timing patterns, defeat blocks in the screen or running game, and matchup more effectively with big receivers downfield. Charles has great height for a corner at 6’1”, and he has a long, rangy frame with very long arms. This should allow Charles to not only matchup with big receivers on jump balls, but those long arms allow him to reach around receivers to knock down balls without interfering with them. Charles has a wingspan that will allow him to get into the body of receivers immediately and knock passes down when in coverage regularly. It is also worth noting that while Charles possesses the height and length Pruitt and Ansley covet, he has a frame that can easily carry another ten to fifteen pounds of muscle, making him more physically imposing as he develops.
Much of the report on Charles is entirely projecting his skills to the corner position, as he has played the vast majority of his snaps in high school as a quarterback. Still, in his time as a signal caller for Chestatee, Charles showed often on film what kind of dynamic athlete that he is. Charles runs a sub 4.5 forty-yard dash, but he looks on film that he may be faster in pads than on the track. Charles clearly shows an extra gear that he can call on when needed. He is a smooth athlete that has a long, gliding stride. Even when Charles pours on the extra burst, calling on all of his speed, he still does not appear to be straining. He absolutely possesses the speed to turn and run with SEC receivers when asked to cover on an island. The quickness and change of direction that Charles shows carrying the ball will also translate to playing defense. He has quick feet and loose hips. He can be an evasive runner, and he shows impressive acceleration out of cuts. These should remain true even when he is playing defense. Charles is also a surprisingly physical runner on film for his build. He is capable and willing to run into and through contact as a ball carrier, powering through defenders with authority. Again, that willingness to embrace physicality shows Charles should be a corner that will attack blocks and ball carriers with hard tackles.
Charles is a gifted athlete with an ideal build and physical skillset for the Tennessee defense as a corner. That said, he will be a bit of a project as he is transitioning from quarterback to corner. That isn't to say that Charles would be unable to make an early impact. As an accomplished passer in his own right in high school, Charles understands passing concepts from the offensive perspective. That is knowledge that should directly translate to the mental aspect of his game playing out at corner. Another advantage that Charles has is that arriving at Tennessee without having played much corner, Pruitt and Ansley won't have bad habits to break. The two defensive back specialists will be able to begin teaching technique to Charles how they want it done, the young athlete a blank canvas for them to work with and develop. Charles answers a need for Tennessee, and if he can pick up what he is being taught quickly, could find himself in Tennessee's defensive back rotation early. The Vols have landed an exceptional athlete in Charles with a high ceiling and a knack for making big plays, with the physical traits that they strive to find in defensive backs. Charles chose the Vols over offers from Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Duke, Washington State, Indiana, Vanderbilt, Army, Air Force, and Navy.
