Watch: Vols Signee Marley Shines on Both Sides of the Ball in Season-Opener
Several Tennessee signees are just beginning their senior football seasons in states like North Carolina. Athlete Kaemen Marley is one such player, and he made the most of the opener with a two-touchdown performance on the offensive side and a big night on the defensive side of the ball. You can watch his highlights from the season-opening win in the video above.
Marley, recruited as an athlete by Jeremy Pruitt's staff could impact on either side of the ball once he arrives in Knoxville later this year. It is likely he gets his start at wide receiver, but he could play as a hybrid-safety or linebacker for Tim Banks's defense.
Below is his SI All-American evaluation:
Frame: Tall and relatively long with broad shoulders. Lean muscle throughout the frame with room to add mass to the upper half.
Athleticism: Long strider with lower-body power and elite leaping ability. Runs with upright style. Quick enough to make the first defender miss with a stutter move while powerful enough to run through or over the next tackler. Extremely natural ball skills and field awareness.
Instincts: Just a football player. Lines up at running back, wide receiver and defensive back with considerable success from a production or flash standpoint. Oftentimes the best athlete on the field and proves it with the ball in the air on offense or defense with effortless range and ball tracking. Attacking defender with hammering physicality on defense.
Polish: Impact player in all three phases with a controlled, decisive approach regardless of assignment. Natural play-making ability and hands out of the backfield with vision and great power after the ball is in his hands. Subtle, yet effective quickness as a route runner and as cut-back runner from depth.
Bottom Line: Marley is a do-it-all athlete at the prep level with flash plays in at least three positions. He appears most effective with the ball in his hands as a running back or H-back, with strong vision, physicality and instincts on offense. He has the size and athletic base to develop into an offensive hybrid coordinators manufacture touches for in the running and passing game. Even before he hones in on any one particular role at the SEC level, he’ll be hard to keep off the field in college.
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featured image via Fayetteville Observer- Paul Church