The Football Brainiacs

Image via Scout.com

Not long ago Oklahoma picked up two 2015 DE commits in the same week, Tyrell Jacobs and Kenneth Mann. We asked our friend Dashone Dunomes to tell us what he thought Tyrell. Dashone is a former St. Augustine LB who knows the players and the landscape of Louisiana football, and more specifically New Orleans football, very well. He comes from a family full of prominent Louisiana coaches and ball players, and has been around the game his whole life. Having seen Jacobs on numerous occasions, and with his understanding of how Jacobs compares to other Louisiana talent, we were very interested in getting his insight.

OU has made a big recruiting push lately into Louisiana, and we anticipate that only increasing in the coming year/s. In fact, OU has already made a number of 2016 offers in the state, including one to Jacobs’ teammate, CB Kristian Fulton. Additionally, OU recently had stud DL Rashard Lawrence come up to Norman for a visit. And why shouldn’t OU heavily recruit a state that gave Oklahoma players like Frank Alexander, Rufus Alexander, or Nic Harris? 

Louisiana is a state routinely loaded with talent. Most studies have shown that statistically, Louisiana and Mississippi produce more NFL talent per capita than any other state. And unlike states such as Oklahoma or Alabama, Louisiana only has one high major college football program in the state. Justin Reid is a perfect example of an incredibly talented player that LSU likes as a player, but the numbers just don’t work right now. And what really makes a state like Louisiana standout is that they are known for producing DL talent, which is something that has been sorely lacking in Texas as of a late (though we’re starting to see a reemergence). 

We hope to bring y’all more and more insight from Dashone in the future. We feel having a native from ‘the boot’, who has extensive knowledge of football and the area is going to be important moving forward as OU continues to recruit the state of Louisiana.

Tyrell Jacobs:

Jacobs is a rising senior defensive lineman for Rummel High School in Metairie, LA. Jacobs recently committed to the Oklahoma Sooners and decided to shut down his recruitment in its entirety. He has starred for the Raiders defense during the past two seasons. He is talented enough to play any position along the defensive line; however, he is destined to play defensive end in the Sooners’ 30 front (3-4) defense.

Insight on Jacobs:

I’ve had a chance to follow Jacobs’ career for a couple of years and have seen him play a number of times. Jacobs has grown two inches over the past year and has also added some much needed weight. He measured in recently at 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds. This is far cry from the thin, lanky sophomore I met two years ago. In addition to his evident physical features, the Sooner commit also has fine tuned his game to become one of the top linemen in Louisiana for 2015. And I think we can all agree, you aren’t going to find many states in the union that produce defensive line talent like that of Louisiana. So when I say he’s one of the top defensive linemen in the state, I don’t say that lightly and it shouldn’t be as such.

When you first look at him, Jacobs is really lean for a kid his size. But he has physical side to him that can’t be undervalued. Tyrell has really quick feet and possesses that coveted high motor, something you just don’t always get from linemen. During his junior year of high school, he made a habit of tracking down ball carriers from his defensive tackle position. He is relentless in his pursuit of the ball carrier despite not always being in position to initially make the play. You can be as athletic as you want but, if you’re not coachable  then you’re not going to improve. In spending time with Jacobs and talking to his coach, you get the sense that he’s got a great attitude and wants to be coached.

The scary thing about Tyrell is when you get a look at him right now, you’re looking at a version of him that hasn’t been in the weight room recently. He lost four months of valuable time in off-season strength conditioning due to a shoulder injury. Heading into the fall Jacobs has to get back in the weight room and get stronger, because playing on the line in New Orleans is a grown man job and full time task.

Jacobs has tendencies that will need to be ironed out before he gets to Norman, and they start with his technique. As I mentioned earlier, Jacobs has really quick feet and will rely on his speed more often than not. This, unfortunately, allows more talented linemen to get into his body; thus taking him out of the play. Using better hand technique will allow Jacobs to become an even more of a disruptive force his senior year and beyond.

As I mentioned earlier, OU wants Jacobs to play the 4i alignment (inside shoulder of the tackle) and control the B-gap. At Rummell he lines up in a 2-gap control, and he obviously does well. His ability to hold up in the trenches is crucial to the success of the linebackers behind him and their ability to make plays on the edge. Which really gets to the heart of what he brings to Oklahoma.

OU struggled in the run game last year, in part, because of their undersized defensive ends. Jacobs is going to grow into a long 280+ lb athlete that is accustomed to eating up blocks like chicken wings if need be, but he’s got the feet and quickness to be a disruptive player if the coaches want to unleash him against the run or in pass rush situations.

Bottom Line

Jacobs plays with great leverage, but putting all his tools together will ultimately determine his success at the next level. He is still raw, but what high school defensive lineman isn’t? His body frame still has a lot of room to grow and add mass without sacrificing speed. He’s really the ideal player in OU’s current scheme. He has a great attitude, frame, athleticism, and what he’s missing is exactly what Jerry Montgomery teaches so well…technique. I expect Jacobs to have a great senior year at Rummel barring any injury or unforeseen setbacks.