Alonzo Russell, WR, Toledo: Early Scouting Report
Small school draft prospects always seem to gain steam during as the scouting process develops. A raw but extremely talented wide receiver located in Toledo, Ohio could be the next in line. It is hard to project prospects from conferences with inferior talent but Russell has tools that could project nicely with better coaching at the next level.
Background
Russell will be a RS Senior this year at Toledo who has mysteriously seen a drop in numbers since his freshman year. Russell went through a tough season at Toledo posting a career low 51 receptions and only 770 yards in a conference he should be dominating. He has gained over 2400 yards in his career to go along with 166 receptions and 19 touchdowns. At 6’4 205 pounds Russell has elite NFL size for the position but raw route running and a sub-par junior season may be taking a toll on his draft stock.
Pros
+ Russell possess deceptive straight line downfield speed that catches defensive backs off guard. Multiple times Russell can be seen just running straight by defenders without a shake off the line. He covers a lot of guard with his long strides that makes it look like he’s gliding on the field effortlessly.
+ Thanks to his 6’4 frame, Russell is a red zone threat any time his team is near the goal line. His high class athleticism combined with his size creates a near impossible cover for defensive backs. Just throw the ball up and Russell will come down with it. Against Central Michigan, Russell made an acrobatic catch on a fade route in the end zone that beautifully shows what he can do in the red zone.
+ Russell has very good hands and can make some of the craziest in game catches you will see. He can make all the necessary grabs you want a WR prospect to make. He has solid body control which allows him to adjust to the ball no matter where it’s thrown. This catch here, Russell makes an incredible one handed grab and jogs his way into the end zone. He makes it look so effortless.
Cons
– Russell is an upright route runner who is extremely raw when it comes to running a route tree. This could make people wonder if at the next level that he will only be a straight line deep threat. Russell has the athleticism to make up for bad route running but scouts will need to see improvement in this facet of his game in order to move him higher on the draft board.
– Another concerning tidbit is that he really did not dominate his junior season at Toledo. With a player of his talent he should be torching defenses left and right. A lack of talent at the QB position could be the problem but you would like to see better numbers from someone of his caliber then what he’s done.
Projection for ’15/’16
After a not so impressive junior campaign Russell should bounce back in a big way. He was viewed as a player who could have left last year if he had dominated like he should have. I expect Russell to post career highs across the board and his talent will catch the eyes of many NFL scouts which will correlate in a rise on most draft boards. We could be seeing a lot of Alonzo Russell on SportsCenter this year.