Greg Hoyd III is a consensus three-star outside linebacker prospect in the 2014 class. He has scholarship offers from several power-conference schools, including Washington State, NC State, Duke and Utah. He’s also received interest from the likes of Arizona State, Stanford, Oregon, Penn State, Michigan and Nebraska.
Greg Hoyd III recruit scouting report: Physical linebacker
Tom Hauck (Student Sports Photos)
Hoyd, whose father played at Ole Miss, helped his stock heading into 2013 with a strong junior year at Vista Murrieta High School in California. He finished 2012 with 94 tackles -- 10 of those for a loss -- and a pair of interceptions to go with four forced fumbles.
He is 6’2, weighs 210 pounds and has been clocked running a 4.62 40-yard dash. Hoyd is regarded as a three-star prospect by all of the major recruiting services; Scout is the most optimistic of the bunch, ranking him 47th among all outside linebackers. He is regarded as the 57th-best player at his position by 247Sports and the 114th-best player at his position by ESPN.
You can follow Hoyd on Twitter here.
Derrell Warren, West Coast Recruiting Analyst: Hoyd III is a linebacker recruit with a big, sturdy, frame. Listed on some services at around 215 pounds, he should eventually top out in the 245 pound range, considering his broad shoulders and long arms leave plenty of room to pack on additional muscle.
The hallmark of Hoyd III’s game is his physicality. His strong hands allow him to knock blockers back when engaging them at the point of attack. He fills gaps extremely hard and also has the vision to find the ball carrier in tight spaces. He’s an explosive wrap tackler who doesn’t seem preoccupied with the highlight hit. Instead, he drives his frame through the ballcarrier rarely surrendering yards after contact.
At this stage, would like to see Hoyd II become more adept and slipping blocks, especially when offensive linemen are attempting to reach him out in space.
Hoyd III can be a bit mechanical in his movements. Sometimes can be a beat late when asked to scrape along the line of scrimmage and or flip his hips and get out into space. This hinders his ability to cover faster, quicker running backs on wheel routes or out in the flat. He is at his best operating close to the line of scrimmage and playing downhill.
On film, Hoyd III plays both strong-side and middle linebacker for his high school team. He probably projects best to the interior in a 34 scheme at the next level. Although, his effectiveness at setting the edge on run downs at SAM linebacker could be used in either alignment
