The Football Brainiacs

All images via 247sports.com

In this edition of the Blind Tape Test, we asked Sooner legend Brian Bosworth to take a look at 2015 linebackers: Jordan Griffin, Malik Jefferson, and Anthony Wheeler.

Player Recruiting Background

Most of you are familiar with Malik Jefferson and Anthony Wheeler. Both hold an OU offer and Jefferson was obviously in Norman this past weekend. Wheeler has also visited OU in the past. He seems to be high on OU and Texas, and has at least considered committing sometime before the season starts. Meanwhile, Jordan Griffin is the lone player of the three without an offer from Oklahoma.

Jordan Griffin hails from Eric Striker’s old high school, Armwood, in Seffner, Florida. We first talked about Jordan here. This is what we wrote about him back in April, when Coach Kish went by to see him:

There is a chance the Sooners could be going back to Armwood, Eric Striker’s HS, for another LB. Coach Kish stopped by to see bone-crushing ILB Jordan Griffin. The coaches haven’t had a chance to see Griffin work out just yet, but I’ll be honest with you, IMO, Griffin is a kid worthy of an offer on film alone. He might not be exactly what OU is looking for in terms of length (he’s 6’0″ – 6’1″), but his football IQ jumps out on film. He can play downhill, drop, start/stop, and he will strike you in the open field without regard to his life or yours. And to top it off, he’s a blue-collar kid that will put in the work.

Last time we checked with Griffin, he had not heard from OU in a while.

*The Blind Tape Test (like the blind taste test that was popular in the 80’s with Coke and Pepsi) is where we give a former player or scout film to watch on a few recruits, and ask them to give us a brief evaluation of those players. We do not give the evaluator any information about the players in terms of their offers or recruiting background. The evaluator knows little more than the size of the player. It’s all about the tape and what they see. This is not intended to be an exhaustive evaluation.

Anthony Wheeler – VIDEO

“This young man has a large and excellent frame, but he can be very lumbering at times with his footwork. He reads and reacts slowly, and his false steps and heavy/slow footwork further handicap him. He appears to need time to develop his football IQ, as he currently does not read the play and react to it quickly enough.”

“Wheeler plays a bit like he is in a tunnel. And that lack of vision and foot speed at the beginning of the play will keep him from making plays at the next level, as he will just get caught up in the wash or create large lanes for the quick hitting offenses in today’s college game. He will need time and coaching to get him caught up to the speed at the college level. I see this him right now as a developmental player that will need the proper coaching to be productive at the D-1 level.”

Malik Jefferson – VIDEO

“This young man looks like he can be powerful impact player.  Offenses would need to account for his presence while he is on the field. He displays great football instincts that are highlighted by his impressive closing speed. I was impressed with his range; particularly his ability to play big in small spaces while remaining under control, while at the same time showing great closing speed in big spaces. He engages the offense in a north/south approach instead of waiting on the play to develop first. This makes him quite disruptive to offensive schemes and tough for blockers on the edge.”

“He shows good upper body strength in taking on blockers and getting off blocks quickly to make plays. He does need more coaching on discipline while leveraging his blockers, so he does not get into trouble at the next level when bigger, stronger lineman engage. He tends to play a little high in his stance inside the tackles, so he needs to work on playing lower and being better at taking on blockers below the waist. However, when he does get cut he does not stay down long…which shows me a highly competitive attitude.”

“Malik also shows a great ‘football emotion’ which can say a lot about his leadership qualities and the expectations he has for himself. He expects to make every play. He lacks some of the ‘football techniques’ while playing inside the tackles — i.e. footwork, false steps, taking on blockers instead of avoiding, or reading the play instead of reacting to what he sees — but this could be coached if a team wants him as an inside backer. He could have a great impact on the outside in drop coverage and as an outside rusher due to his speed and ability to play in space.”

“He has all the tools a young player could hope for coming out of high school, and the ingredients a college coach would want to help shape him into an impact player that could be a game-changer. He does need some coaching, but I see nothing but upside with this player if his work ethic is strong.”

Jordan Griffin – VIDEO

“This young man plays the inside backer position the way an inside backer should play. He is a Thumper, Head Hunter, Disrupter and plays north/south even if he is going east/west. He wants to hit the offense as hard as he can, frustrate the QB as much as possible, and disrupt the passing game by just being in the right place at the right time. He is an opposing coaches worse nightmare. He not only reads the play as it develops, but he tracks the ball, receiver, QB, blockers, and running back until the play is made…usually by him.”

“He has very quick feet, great closing speed, and great anticipation. This shows a very high football IQ and an instinct that cannot be coached. Like most high school kids, he does need coaching though. He’ll need further development on his footwork technique (false steps, taking on blockers more effectively, etc.), but he does keep his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage and regularly plays in the opponent’s backfield.”

“I see this young man as a BIG TIME impact player in the very near future if his head is on right. This young man is a play-maker and should only get better at the next level as he gets bigger, stronger, and faster. He looks like the leader in the middle, which is where he belongs.”

Ranking 

1a. Malik Jefferson

1b. Jordan Griffin

3. Anthony Wheeler

Ed. note: While the Boz scored Malik a little higher than Jordan, the difference was so marginal that we felt it was fair to assign them with the 1a/b ranking you see above.