Friday Night Files: Eli Sutton

On occasion, as football fans, the opportunity arises to watch not just two excellent teams square off against one another, but excellent individual players face off. When Whitehaven (Memphis, TN) came east to play Brentwood Academy (Nashville, TN), it was one of those situations. Whitehaven arrived with a trio of linebackers that will all likely start in the SEC in 2020. The Eagles countered that with a roster littered with talent, particularly in the 2021 recruiting class. Still, despite all the players the Eagles have, the strength of their team was the offensive line. That unit is coached by former Vol, ten-year NFL veteran, and Super Bowl Champion, Scott Wells. It is a unit that is technically sound and that plays extremely hard. Much of Wells’ technical acumen and grit show up when watching his unit, and he has contributed to the success and attitude of the group. Anchoring the line for the Eagles is one of the most highly-rated players in the state of Tennessee in the 2021 class, four-star offensive tackle Eli Sutton.

Analysis of Sutton to this point in his career has been a bit polarizing. Some analysts rave about his size and length, while others feel they could hinder him if he fails to get stronger or plays without good leverage. It seems that most opinions fall in one extreme or another, and as such, Sutton is one of the most interesting prospects to evaluate in person in the 2021 class. While the Eagles play some excellent teams in their classification in Tennessee, the best overall defense on their schedule was likely Whitehaven. The Tiger defense is built around their impressive linebacking corps, but they have talented players at all the levels of the defense. After watching Sutton against such a stout unit, the evaluation of him is clear. Sutton is going to be a left tackle at the next level, and he is going to be an excellent one.

The first thing that comes up when dealing with Sutton is his size. As a junior in high school, the young man stands at six feet eight inches tall and weighs in around two hundred eighty pounds. That is a long, lean athlete. Sutton has long arms as well, even for his size, which means he can engage defenders without allowing them to get into his body. That frame allows him to create space and utilize his quickness to stay in front of opposing pass rushers. Though he weighs in at two hundred eighty pounds, Sutton looks to be trim for his size and position. It is reasonable to think that a college strength and conditioning program will be able to put twenty to twenty-five pounds of muscle on Sutton’s frame, though as he continues to grow and play his senior year that number will likely need to be less. Sutton is never going to be a hulking road grader of a tackle, but he doesn’t need to be. He has elite quickness for his position, excellent length, and good strength. As long as he plays with leverage and good technique, Sutton will be more than capable of being an asset in a Power Five running game.

Playing with technique is another point that needs to be made about Sutton. His detractors often point out that exceptionally tall and long offensive tackles can get themselves into trouble if they play with a bad technique of play too high. While this is true, it is difficult to see why it is being attributed to Sutton, as the young man as a junior is already an absolute technician. In pass protection, Sutton has impeccable footwork. He plays low in his stance, moves well, and keeps himself square with the pass rushers he faces. In an entire game against perhaps the best defensive unit he will face this season, he never appeared off balance once. His quickness means that he gets into his drops in protection and moves lightly on his feet, with a grace that belies his size. Upon that sound foundation, Wells has taught Sutton how to utilize those long arms with outstanding hand placement and punch. Sutton keeps pass rushers at bay with his reach and can punch and push an off-balance, overzealous rusher entirely out of a play with ease. Technically and athletically, Sutton looks at home in space on the end of the line. He is comfortable and appears to be a natural, prototypical left tackle for the next level.

While he shines in pass protection, Sutton is also a good run blocker. For a player of his size, technique in the run game is also incredibly important, perhaps more so than in pass protection. The age-old lineman adage of, “Lowest man wins,” can become problematic when you are as tall as a standard door in a home. Still, Wells shows up again, as Sutton consistently stays low and gets underneath opposing defensive ends. Sutton threw a key block on the game-winning touchdown run for the Eagles when he was able to get underneath his man and turn him out, helping to create the alley for his back. Additional weight will aid Sutton as he develops as a run blocker, and his technique will be critical to his success, however, he has been coached at an exceptionally high level in high school. He already understands the importance of technique for him in the running game, and when he arrives in college it will be as a very polished tackle with few bad habits to break. Sutton is already an elite pass protector and his athleticism makes him a force getting out to lead block for sweep plays or screens. Physically and technically, he has all that you can ask for out of a cornerstone left tackle.

The final piece of the puzzle for a lineman, though, comes in his mentality and the way he approaches the game. It takes physical and mental toughness to take the pounding in the trenches, but the special players there are the ones that begin to enjoy it. Let’s face it, it takes a special kind of mindset and crazy to line up every play, knowing that you are about to endure a small car crash with the enormous human being across from you and to keep doing it. Late in the game, battered, sore, hot, tired, bruised, and bloodied, it takes a unique type of person to break the huddle smiling at the thought of the next snap, driving your opponent into submission. That is a mental and physical toughness that separates good athletes from great linemen. Again, Wells shows up in his players, as in the second half, with a starting quarterback and running back done for the game, the Brentwood Academy offensive line took over. Sutton and his teammates were challenged by their position coach at the half, and they rose to the occasion. They opened holes for their runners, they gave solid protection to their quarterback, and when it looked like the game was over, their mentality of staying tough and focusing on the task at hand came through as their team followed them to a massive win.

Eli Sutton is not just one of Tennessee’s top in-state targets for the 2021 cycle, he will be one of the top targets in the nation. Sutton is a player that can come in and anchor an offensive line. He will be asked to gain some weight and muscle mass, but a fair portion of that will come as he has another full season in high school to grow. His technique is already elite, and he possesses physical attributes that cannot be taught or developed. Beyond all of the physical tools, he also has the grit to rise to a challenge and be a leader. After watching him in person, Sutton left the impression that he could be a program altering tackle. He has a further year to develop and will be a player that is visited a few more times in high school, but Sutton’s recruitment should be something that every Tennessee fan observes with keen interest.