Signing Day Capsule: Rivals250 cornerback Jordan Young
Checking in
Name: Jordan Young
Class: 2021
Position: Cornerback
Height/Weight: 6-foot-1, 185 pounds
Location/School: Tampa (Fla.) Gaither
Ranking: 178th-ranked prospect | 17th-ranked cornerback | 30th-ranked senior in the state of Florida
Committed to: Florida Gators
Why Young picked the Gators
"That's my dream school and it meant a lot to me. They are DBU out there and I grew up a Florida fan. My dad is a die-hard Florida fan, so it's always been my dream school and it's all I knew."
Film Room
Young checks in with intriguing size for his position, and makes use of it by showcasing a physical brand in the secondary, especially when providing run support. He does a nice job of disengaging off blocks and is accustomed to playing press-man and winning battles at the line of scrimmage. He needs to do a better job of wrapping up his opponent rather than lunging forward, but you have to like his willingness to get his nose dirty as a DB. He's aggressive when shedding blockers and possesses that swagger you want from a cornerback.
There are times when Young is somewhat upright when operating in his backpedal, but he's still fairly technical overall. He does a nice job of mirroring his opponent off the line but also playing under control and not overcommitting. Whether it's dissecting a run play or shadowing a pass catcher, Young impresses with his ability to read and react. He does a good job of exploding off his back foot and then gets downhill in a hurry.
Young has no problem running step-for-step with receivers, but I think he can improve in terms of flipping his hips and maintaining body control when doing so. I think some of that can be credited to sometimes not sinking his hips enough in his backpedal.
In addition to swarming the secondary, Young possesses big-play ability as a return man. He accelerates well in the open field and is a smooth playmaker overall. He does a nice job of timing his jump once it's time to make a play on the ball, but then you have to account for his ability as a ball carrier as well.
Young has a reputation for not giving receivers much breathing room, possessing the size and change of direction to cause fits. There is true versatility here as well, as Young could see time at cornerback, safety and STAR. He will likely start in the cornerbacks room with Torrian Gray, but I could see Young filling in all over the secondary.
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