While Nebraska wasn’t able to pull out a victory over Iowa in the Heroes game last Friday, the Huskers were able to win a battle on the recruiting front, as Largo, Florida safety Brandon Drayton verbally committed to the Cornhuskers. Drayton gives the Huskers 16 commits thus far in the 2016 class, and he joins Dicaprio Bootle and Greg Simmons to give Nebraska three commits from the state of Florida. Nebraska scouting continues to reach coast to coast as one of Mike Riley’s goals.
Other Offers
Drayton committed to the Huskers over 15 FBS offers, including tenders from the hometown Miami (FL) Hurricanes and the #4 Iowa Hawkeyes. While he is committed to the Cornhuskers, Drayton has announced that he will be taking one more visit to Indiana. Indiana has been diligent in recruiting Drayton’s high school the past, signing two Largo High prospects in their 2015 class.
Eye Test
Drayton is listed at 6’2″ and 172 pounds on his Rivals profile. Drayton has been getting serious looks from schools as a wide receiver by some schools, and its easy to see why with his body type. Drayton is a tall, lanky safety that is all arms and legs at this point in his development. Drayton has a fantastic frame to build on, as he can easily add 20 pounds while maintaining his speed. Drayton will probably need a redshirt year to get into the weight room and add strength; but by the time he is filled out he should be 6’2″ and in the 195-200 pound range. In other words, he will be the perfect size to play safety in Mark Banker’s defensive scheme.
Strengths on Film
The first thing that stands out when watching Drayton on film is his versatility. Drayton is used all over the field on defense. He lines up as a traditional deep third safety, an outside linebacker, and even an inside linebacker in short yardage situations. Drayton excels in all three roles, demonstrating impressive football IQ and instincts to go along with his natural athletic gifts. This versatility will serve him well at the collegiate level, as it would allow Nebraska to use him at both safety positions or even as a nickel back if needed.
The second thing that stands out when watching Drayton’s film is his speed. Drayton is a glider on film. His long strides allow him to effortlessly keep up with receivers in coverage and break on passes by the quarterback. Drayton’s speed combined with his length allows him to cover a ton of ground in the back third of his defense, making him a perfect fit to play the free safety/eraser role in Nebraska’s defense. Drayton’s speed will also help him get on special teams units as well. He would be a tremendous gunner on Nebraska’s punt team.
The third thing that stands out when watching Drayton’s film is his willingness to get involved against the run. People may look at Drayton’s 170 pound frame and be worried about his ability to defend the run; but I can tell you right now that run defense wont be a problem for this young safety. Drayton is tremendous when defending the run. He comes down from his safety position like he was shot out of a cannon and delivers some tremendous shots to opposing ball carriers. Drayton likes to land the knockout shot, but he also shows solid tackling form, especially when going up against bigger running backs.
The final thing that stands out when watching Drayton’s film are his ball skills. There is a reason why Drayton was coveted by some schools as a wide receiver. He shows tremendous hands and timing when the ball is in the air. Drayton is tremendous when going after 50/50 balls. He uses his superior length and leaping ability to outfight the opposition for the football. Drayton’s ability to not only defend, but take the ball away, will be greatly appreciated by Husker fans who saw Nebraska defensive backs intercept just eight passes this season.
Room for Improvement
The first thing that Drayton needs to work on is taking better angles when defending the run. As I stated earlier, Drayton has tremendous speed that allows him to cover a lot of ground quickly; but it also allows him to get away with taking some bad angles to the ball carrier. The speed of the game will kick up a notch when Drayton arrives on campus at Lincoln, and he wont be able to run down opposing ball carriers unless he consistently takes the correct angle. This is something that is pretty easy to correct once he gets on campus, so he should be able to fix this flaw in his game relatively quickly.
The second thing that Drayton needs to work on is his short area burst and quickness. Drayton is a long strider when he runs, and like most long striders he can struggle when forced to make sudden changes of direction. This leads to him getting caught off balance when attempting to tackle ball carriers in open space, and leads to him struggling at times in one on one coverage on shorter pass routes. Drayton really needs to dedicate himself to agility and footwork drills to correct this area of his game, or he will struggle against the quicker receivers in college football.
The final thing that Drayton needs to work on is simply adding more good weight to his frame. While it isn’t impossible for a safety to play college football at 170 pounds and do so at a high level, it certainly isn’t easy. Drayton needs to add at least 15 pounds to his frame to make him a more physical presence both in coverage and when defending the run. The extra weight and strength will also help him remain healthy over the course of a 12 game college season playing Big 10 style football.
Final Take
While he isn’t as highly touted as fellow Nebraska safety commit Marquel Dismukes, Brandon Drayton is a high quality safety prospect that fits the mold of a Nebraska safety under Mark Banker. One of the main things the new staff was looking for in defensive back recruits this year was speed and length, and Drayton has both of those in spades. Drayton is a little raw at this point and Nebraska is planning to bring in at least one JUCO safety, so I believe a redshirt season is likely. Once Drayton does get on the field I expect him to be an immediate contributor on special teams and will challenge for the starting free safety job by his junior season.
College Comparison: Miami (FL) Safety Jamal Carter
Pro Comparison: New England Patriots Safety Duron Harmon
Hudl Link: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3941094/highlights/286971375/v2
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