Recruit Breakdown: Chase Winovich

Ceiling: 8               Ranking: 6               Floor: 4


School: Thomas Jefferson (Clairton, PA)

Size: 6'4" - 220 lbs.

Composite: 3 Star, #41 OLB

247: 3 Star, 87, #48 OLB

Rivals: 3 Star, 5.7, #29 OLB

Scout: 3 Star, #28 OLB

Favorites: Michigan (Commit)

Other Notable Offers: Arkansas, Boston College, Florida St, Illinois, Miami (FL), Michigan St, Northwestern, Ohio St, Oregon, Pitt, Virginia Tech, West Virginia

Strengths
Wraps up well on contact. Good fundamentals when tackling, wraps up and keeps feet driving. Long arms and good wrap make him very good at tackling from the side. Good athlete and good speed for his size and position. Ideal height for SAM. Very explosive north/south, more of a downhill player than sideline-to-sideline. Aggressive to the ball, never gives up on a play.

Weaknesses
Often stands up to high after the snap of the ball when off the LOS. Will need to learn to use his hands when blitzing and taking on blockers. Often leans too much on athleticism and doesn’t hold spot when taking on blockers, though he is capable of using athleticism to sidestep them. Also takes some fairly poor angles, but has the speed at the high school level to make up for it; will need to adjust at the next level. Tackles well fundamentally but lacks a pop at contact; not a violent hitter. Needs to sometimes learn to get squarer on the ball carrier to prevent getting carried forward. This will be helped if he can improve on breaking down before taking on ball carriers, especially in the open field, he’s still a very straight line player.

Comments
Winovich is a very downhill, linear player at this point. In Michigan's defense he will mostly be just off the LOS, which helps him. He is not yet adept at diagnosing plays and mirroring the play in front of him. He still doesn't have the technique to stay square to the LOS for plays between the tackles, so being at an OLB position will be a great benefit to him. He will have to bulk up a bit and get thicker in the legs. He is a very lanky player, even at a decent playing weight for a HS LB. Needs to learn to do a better job setting the edge on the outside and utilizing his body and technique to either force plays back inside or keep his outside arm free and take away any run to the outside. He relies too much at this point on his superior athleticism, speed, and long arms at this point. He is a good athlete though, and he doesn't give up on plays. Has a quick first step to get off the line, around the edge, or slash through the line on blitzes. He can chase down players from the backside of the play if they delay getting to the outside, and he uses his long arms to swipe and grab at the QB even if he is getting pushed by and the QB steps forward. Very fundamental tackler, wraps up well and gets into the waste of the ball carrier. Doesn't provide a lot of pop with his hip, but sufficiently wraps up and drives to prevent ball carriers from getting extra yards.

I wish his tape showed him dropping in coverage. I think he has the straight line athleticism but may not have the hip movement to be great at that. Definitely has the length and speed to hang with TE or get out and cover the slot or screens from the SAM position.

Projection
Definitely and OLB at the next level. His tape didn't show him dropping in coverage at all, and he'll have to work on how to use his eyes and hips when dropping into zones. He needs to add bulk, so he'll likely redshirt. Can be a standout on special teams early, as he has good straight line speed for his size and wraps up well, can tackle in space. Needs to get better at breaking down as the athletes around him get better, at which point when he starts getting up in weight and technique, his optimal position is one that allows him to be very downhill. I don't foresee him scraping from sideline-to-sideline, he's best coming off the edge or downhill.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Football Fundamentals: Twins Passing Concepts

Football Fundamentals: 2x2 and Mirrored Passing Concepts

Football Fundamentals: The Tite Front Defense