NFL Draft Profile: Cory Trice, Cornerback, Purdue Boilermakers
Cory Trice
Purdue Boilermakers
#23
Pos: CB
Ht: 6030
Wt: 206
Hand: 0968
Arm: 3238
Wing: 7700
40: 4.47
DOB: 5/30/2000
Hometown: Hopkinsville, KY
High School: Christian County
Eligibility: 2023
One Liner:
Trice possesses a rare combination of arm length, size, and strength at his position, but agility and speed limitations prevent him from earning a top 100 grade or projecting as a scheme-diverse prospect.
Evaluation:
Trice offers an excellent combination of size, mass, and arm length for a cornerback. He has a size advantage over many receivers and knows how to maximize his physical advantage. Trice is physical in press coverage, delivering well-timed and stiff punches that stun receivers and delay their releases. There are several examples of Trice smothering routes or engulfing receivers early in their stems. He’s patient in press to counter foot fire releases and avoid declaring his hips early. Trice’s physicality continues downfield as he squeezes or eliminates routes along the sideline. However, this sometimes leads to pass interference calls. Trice only drew four flags in 2022, but that number could increase significantly against NFL receivers. Trice attacks the ball at the catch point and uses his long arms to contest jump balls. In zone coverage, he’s quick to recognize and close on underneath routes when reading the quarterback’s eyes. He lets his instincts run wild in zone, which leads to pass breakups and blown up wide receiver screens. While Trice doesn’t always flow downhill to the football with aggression and struggles to defeat wide receiver and tight end blocks, he rarely misses tackles. The Kentucky native breaks down before engaging the ball carrier and tackles low to avoid stiff arms or bouncing off players. Trice is a long strider who covers ground quickly but lacks the high-end speed to deal with true vertical threats. He’s not a twitchy or sudden athlete and lacks the agility and change of direction skills to mirror receivers. Trice struggles to stay attached at the top of comeback routes, and receivers gain a step of separation against him coming out of cuts. The redshirt senior occasionally surrenders outside contain against the run and has no pass rush plan as a blitzer. He’s only played 500 or more defensive snaps in a season once in his college career. Trice is at his best when allowed to get his hands on receivers early in their routes. He prefers to play man coverage in a half-turn to make transitions smoother and hide a high backpedal. He has experience lining up on the field and boundary sides of plays but primarily plays along the boundary. The converted safety recruit might benefit from a shift back to safety at the NFL level. At the very least, he’ll offer special teams upside on the kick coverage, punt coverage, and field goal block units as a rookie.
Grade:
4th Round
Background:
Cory Trice, from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, is an excellent athlete on the field and an excellent student off the field. From 2019-2021, he was an Academic All-Big Ten. On the field, he has started several games and has put up excellent stats. In 2020, he has over thirty tackles with twenty-seven solo tackles. Trice went to Christian County High School and was Class 5A District 1 Player of the Year. Born May 30, 2000, Trice is pursuing a Master’s Degree In Technology Leadership and Innovation after already earning Majoring in Communication.
