Reply #40: Vontaze Burfict

[JonLP24]

I like what I see out of him. I thought I kept hearing the announcers say "perfect" until the showed his name.


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Burfict has an outstanding blend of size, speed and quickness. He has rare athleticism for a 235-pound middle linebacker. Has a prototype build for a Division I inside linebacker prospect, with great height, bulk and long limbs to pack on additional muscle. Gets a great forward jump on the ball and is explosive filling downhill. His ability to run through the cutoff block with power or slip it with deceptive lateral quickness separates him from other great linebacker prospects. He's very difficult to block in traffic and loses little speed or power when sifting laterally. Game seems to slow down for him. Brings a solid base with square shoulders and great power to the point of attack, but he's far more than just a short-range run plugger. For a thick linebacker, he flashes good change-of-direction quickness and smooth hips when pursuing in space. Turns and chases down ball carriers to the sideline with good angles and speed. Shows strong tackling skills, soundly wrapping up and driving through ball carriers with great force. A fierce hitter and great blitzer. He's a complete linebacker, possessing good hips, turns and athleticism in coverage. His pad level will be a problem at the next level. Can get upright, expose his body to the cutoff block and struggle to escape quickly enough once he's engaged. Needs to work on getting to his coverage drops quicker and on reading his keys against both the run and pass. Takes too many false steps that are masked by his redirection quickness. Burfict is ready to make an instant impact for a college program, and he has the build to continue developing physically through a weight-training program. He's a future college stud.
http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=57263&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncf%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fplayer%3frecruitId%3d57263

Other sites have him as the top ranked player at his position(so does ESPN) and the #9 recruit(ESPN has him as #16)