With the NFL Draft approaching, I am taking a look back at some memorable recruits who are now likely to be high picks. In this series I’ll touch on memories of the recruits, scouting, projection and fun anecdotes.
NFL prospects Jalen Ramsey and Derrick Henry show how hard it is to project high school players
Welcome to The Crootletter (sign up to get this in your inbox every morning!). I’m Bud Elliott, SB Nation’s National Recruiting Analyst, and in this space I’ll be sharing news, rumors and musings on the world of college football recruiting.
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Evaluating recruits is all about projection. High school boys who might not be finished growing are going to be thrust into a college strength and conditioning program. And one of the troubles is projecting how much bigger they are going to get. Some players gain 50, 60 or 70 pounds of muscle, completely changing who they are.
Part of projecting how much bigger players will become is looking at a player's frame. Two players in recent memory with very large frames relative to their position were cornerback Jalen Ramsey and running back Derrick Henry.
But those positions were not set in stone when they were recruits.
Ramsey, a 6’1, 195-pounder from Nashville who was a freakish leaper with good speed and great length, had a huge frame. Looking at his broad shoulders, I wondered if he could eventually get to 220-plus pounds. And if so, would he end up at safety? He was just broader than the other cornerback recruits in his ridiculous 2013 recruiting class.
And with that potential for growth were some questions about Ramsey’s perceived weaknesses. He was not the best with change of direction. Would he be able to improve that and be effective in off-man coverage if he put on 25 pounds? The thought was that he’d likely start out at corner and potentially grow into a safety.
As it turns out, the exact opposite happened at Florida State. Ramsey started out his career at safety due to a team need, moved to slot corner as a sophomore and to boundary corner as a junior, all while putting on about 15 pounds. The added weight did not diminish his off-man skills, though he still profiles better as a bump-and-run type. Now Ramsey might even go No. 1 overall, to his hometown Tennessee Titans.
What makes a defensive player special is often the ability to play a smaller man’s position at a big size -- 210-pound corners who can run, 250-pound linebackers, jumbo ends who can rush the passer, etc.
And a big linebacker is exactly what many thought Derrick Henry would become. Henry, from outside Jacksonville, was one of the most prolific running backs in Florida high school history. He was also ridiculously sized at 6'3 and 243 pounds. His high school team ran him over and over, and while some worried he was putting too much tread on his tires, the common refrain was that nobody was really bringing him down in his school's tiny classification. He was at times the biggest player on the field. That's something occasionally seen in youth football but not in high school.
But while Henry looked like a 30-year-old man in high school, he also still had room on his frame to add muscle. Many websites, including ESPN, listed his position as “athlete,” as he was viewed as a premier defensive prospect as well, particularly to a 3-4 team like Alabama, where he could play Jack at 255 pounds.
Years later, the NFL Network would compare Henry’s measurables to those of NFL star pass rusher Von Miller.
The extended version of the Derrick Henry/Von Miller mirror measurables pic.twitter.com/23DQRTWNkM
— Jack Andrade (@RealJackAndrade) February 26, 2016
Tight end or H-Back were also frequently suggested options.
Even in high school, Henry was a momentum runner, meaning that he took a while to reach top speed. When teams did manage to stop him, it was usually with penetration in the backfield, forcing him to gather and make a defender miss before he was at top speed. If he continued to grow, would his acceleration become even more of an issue?
But something strange happened: Henry didn't get much bigger at Alabama. He was insistent on being a running back, and while he got stronger and leaned out a bit, he showed up at the NFL Combine at 247 pounds, just four more than he weighed high school.
Both Ramsey and Henry will face similar questions from NFL teams, where weaknesses are magnified, but so far, they have answered the call at every stop in their careers.
