I agree with Mike... A he runs quite a few post and corner routes in his film... The problem with his film is unless he's running the short routes you dont see what route he's running you just see him catching the ball at the end... This kid is the most fundamentally sound wideout out there... As for his camp highlights, he's the only one using fundamentals when he's playing... One thing I really like about this kid, that no other wideout in our class does well is beat the jam... You dont see to many high school players coming in knowing how to beat the jam, but this kid does... His jab step is also a great attribute because he's not a burner but he still finds away to get separation from using his jab step... His jab step and knowledge of beating the jam is two key attributes for any wideout, especially in the college game if you're expecting your freshmen to contribute right away... I'm not dogging any of our wideouts because all of them are good but they are raw... This is kid is probably the most fundamentally ready wideout in the state...
The corner routes he runs in his film are questionable at best. If that's the evidence, I'm calling it way into question. Take a closer look. He basically drifts into the corner. Kendall Thompkins ran sharper corner routes. It's become something where it seems like I'm hating on the kid, but in reality I'm asking people to show me
in evidence the stuff they've started to accept as gospel and repeat across all boards. The funny thing is these are some of the same arguments I made in question of Aldarius Johnson. I was told "he'll be in the L in 3 years." He may have actually had a chance at the L, but he wasn't the level of WR many projected him to be. Cooper is being made into Julio Jones, basically.
As for not being able to see the route he runs, come on, Lauder. Look at the plays. You think he's running a double move and ends up in a straight line when the QB is generally just launching (sometimes on 3 steps) the ball?
I've repeatedly stated he's a talented kid that probably doesn't have to do very much at the HS level to beat the guy (or entire coverage) in front of him. I think this is an issue of "degree of good."
Let's be clear here. What are we all saying? Some are talking of him as the "clear" best WR in the state.
My role here is to question that claim, ask for evidence and state my opinion: he rounds a lot of his cuts, does not accelerate through his breaks (big sign of potential issues as he gets closer to athletes of his level) and generally uses limited routes to be productive (see explanation about not needing more above).
