Spotlight #1: Vanderbilt CB Casey Hayward
Spotlight #2: Alabama MLB Dont’a Hightower
1st quarter
14:50: Hayward blankets a guy, pass incomplete behind him.
13:15: Hightower sticks his nose in on a pile.
12:30: Alabama safety Barron with back to back nice coverage plays.
12:03: Hayward sticks his nose in on a tackle on a check down for a short gain.
11:19: Alabama left tackle Barrett Jones on a hold.
8:35: Hayward thrown against in the end zone, good coverage, out of bounds, inaccurate on the pass anyway.
7:36: Hightower taken down on a cut block.
6:03: Hightower gets in on a tackle for a short gain.
4:23: Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick with an awesome tackle. He’s had some coverage issues this year, but I think he’d make a hell of a safety at the next level.
3:46: Alabama nose tackle Josh Chapman on a combined tackle for a loss on a quarterback run, huge stuff.
2nd quarter
14:48: Mark Barron with a huge tackle. He’s having a huge game so far.
14:08: Hightower gives chase in the backfield on an option pitch.
12:46: Hayward goes around a block, puts a nice tackle on a ball carrier in space.
9:23: Hayward explosive into the backfield for a tackle for loss on a Trent Richardson screen. Richardson is not a guy who goes down for a loss all that often, especially with only a cornerback tackling him. Awesome play.
8:34: Hightower misses a tackle on a big play, lets the receiver gets big yards after the catch and doesn’t have the speed to recovery.
7:15: Hightower able to run down the fullback in the open field, but not before allowing a 1st round on a medium gain.
6:47: Hightower thrown on again, complete.
5:39: Hightower with a poor effort on a play.
3:40: Hayward in on another tackle in the open field.
1:50: Alabama receiver with an illegal block in the back on Casey Hayward on a running play.
1:30: Hayward with another tackle on an outside run by Trent Richardson.
1:15: Hayward with tight coverage on a tight end. He’s covered tight ends on occasion all night and he’s played very well despite their size advantage.
0:32: Hayward allows a completion on an out route. Well thrown ball, nice catch, solid coverage, but not enough.
0:21: Alabama quarterback looks Hayward’s way, nothing open, decides against it after a fake.
3rd quarter
14:43: Hightower in on a short tackle.
14:05: Mark Barron on a tackle for loss. Guy’s a stud. Can’t wait to spotlight him. He looks very improved from last season and might be the best safety in the country, unless you consider Kirkpatrick a safety.
13:24: Hightower delivers a big hit to close on a short catch.
5:49: Kirkpatrick allows receiver to get open deep on a double move, but it’s just overthrown. He’s had issues in coverage all year. If I were to rank them now, Morris Claiborne, Casey Hayward, Stephon Gilmore, and Dre Kirkpatrick would be the order of the top 4 cornerbacks in this class. Kirkpatrick would be the best safety in the country if I were counting him there. After him, it’d probably either be Mark Barron and then Markelle Martin. This is all very preliminary, however.
5:12: Hightower with a nice pressure and hit as the quarterback throws, Mark Barron with a pass deflection on the play as well.
4:28: Hayward in on a tackle for loss on Richardson after he breaks a few. This is the 2nd time Hayward has brought Richardson down for a loss tonight. Very few players ever do that, especially not cornerbacks. Love Hayward’s technique, toughness and attitude against the run. His motor never sets off.
3:06: Alabama center Williams Vlachos with 3, count them 3, 2nd level blocks on a screen that goes for a first. Vlachos is probably a 2nd or 3rd rounder and the 3rd best center in this class after Mike Brewster and Peter Konz for Ohio State and Wisconsin respectively up in the Big 10.
0:37: Hightower brings a guy down from behind on a nice tackle.
4th quarter
14:48: Barron with another huge tackle. Most impressive player on the field tonight and Casey Hayward has been pretty damn impressive.
14:17: Barron on an explosive tackle for loss on a screen.
0:00: In no particular order, Stephon Gilmore, Dre Kirkpatrick, and Morris Claiborne are the consensus top 3 cornerbacks in this class. I’ve watched all 3 and I’ll watch more, but to this point, Casey Hayward has impressed me more than any of those 3. Dre Kirkpatrick was in this game and he struggled at times. He’s consistently struggled with double moves this season. He’s got poor hips and doesn’t change speed well. He’s more straight line fast than anything. He’s a big, physical, rangy player and an excellent tackler, but probably belongs at safety at the next level.
Hayward isn’t as big as Kirkpatrick at 5-11 195, but he plays bigger. He brought down Trent Richardson in the backfield on assisted twice tonight and showed a great motor on run plays. He doesn’t take plays off and he’s got great technique, explosiveness and tenacity against the run. On top of this, he allowed 1 completion all game and it was on a perfect throw and an awesome catch. And it wasn’t like Alabama struggled to pass the ball. AJ McCarron was 23 of 30 for 237 yards and 4 touchdowns with no picks. He just couldn’t complete anything against Hayward except for that one time and most of the time didn’t even look Hayward’s way.
Hayward played well against South Carolina as well, limiting Alshon Jeffery to 2 catches and also picking off 2 passes. He has 5 picks on the season in just 7 games and 13 in his career. He also has 26 tackles, 3.5 for loss, and 2 pass deflections on the season. He’s very good in all facets of the game and should be a first rounder, though he’s underrated. I’ll continue work breaking down the cornerback class and have final rankings later, but Hayward should be pretty high.
However, Hayward wasn’t even the most impressive player on the field. That would go to Alabama safety Mark Barron. I wasn’t even spotlighting Barron, but he made so many impact plays on this game as Alabama’s defense was able to pitch a shutout. The 6-2 220 pound safety can play free safety and strong safety and has looked much improved this season after the potential 2011 day 2 pick returned for his senior season. He has 33 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 1 pick and 4 pass deflections in 7 games and could sneak into the first round in this weak safety class.
Now onto the Alabama defender I was actually spotlighting, Dont’a Hightower. Hightower was a rising prospect early this season as he was finally healthy for the first time, but he’s actually slipping a bit of late and I can see why. He just didn’t have a huge impact. He’s a big guy, 6-4 260, but he just didn’t stand out in this game. He has some nice plays, but it wasn’t enough. He struggled in coverage, he missed a few tackles, he didn’t look all that fast, and considering his injury history, I’d have a hard time using more than a 3rd rounder on him. Of course, I’ll watch plenty more of Alabama in the future so that’s not final.
Football Fan Spot 