Jaylon Lane scouting report: Interception machine at cornerback

Nacogdoches (Texas) cornerback Jaylon Lane is one of the most highly-coveted prospects in the state of Texas, regardless of position.

The 6’1, 177-pounder is rated as a consensus four-star prospect and ranked as the No. 22 cornerback nationally, the No. 28 player in the state of Texas, and the No. 194 player nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Lane has more than 30 offers from around the country, including invitations to play at Arizona State, Arkansas, Boise State, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and UCLA, among others.

At the Houston NFTC in early April, Lane declined to participate in most of the testing portion, but did have a vertical jump of 36.1 inches. There are no 40 times for him and he does not appear to participate in track.

What jumps out on film with Lane is his ability to turn opportunities into interceptions, a talent that could eventually earn him a great deal of money. On those plays, Lane doesn’t just put himself into position to make plays, he uses his vertical leap to high point the football and his overall athleticism to make diving catches.

Perhaps opponents would be better advised in 2014 not to target him nearly as much -- the risks of doing so are clearly high.

Lane does show good speed on one clip taking a proper angle in pursuit to catch an opponent in the open field and save a touchdown, but the concerns with him center around his top-end speed, his reactive quickness in short spaces, and his ability to recover from being beat early. In those areas, Lane appears to be a less than elite prospect with no strong 40 times or shuttle times to change that perception.

Still, his offer list speaks for itself and there are a great number of excellent defensive coaches on that list who apparently believe that he can play cornerback at the next level. It may have to be at the boundary spot where he can use his size and ball skills against the opponent’s taller receivers and in a worst-case scenario, he could make the move to safety, where he has enough size, but would need to add some strength to more effectively run the alley in run support.

In fact, Lane may need to add some strength to ensure that he’s effective in press coverage in college.

Overall, Lane lacks elite physical skills, but makes up for them with an excellent vertical leap and strong ball skills.