Quincy Vasser of Navarro (TX) Junior College committed to Charlie Strong ant the Texas Longhorns. The Navarro defensive end was previously committed to Georgia, but has been in contact with the Texas staff throughout the past couple of months. Vasser joins Navarro teammate Tristan Nickelson as the second junior college prospect in the recruiting class, and the twentieth commit overall. Vasser also held an offer from Maryland and had interest from some of the bigger name programs including Florida, Florida State, and USC.
The benefit of commitments from junior college players is that they are usually ready to contribute immediately. Vasser could fill a hole at the strong side end when Cedric Reed departs after this season.
In two seasons at Navarro, Vasser recorded 76 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks. Vasser will join Charles Omenihu and Louis Brown at the defensive end position, but might have the versatility to play inside some at Texas. Unless a surprise candidate emerges, the Longhorns should be set to close up shop on the defensive end position in recruiting.
Film Analysis:
Vasser looks like a classic strong end at 6’4 265 lbs. and can contribute in odd or even fronts. He also has the potential to add weight and play inside situationally.
Vasser doesn’t have the elite first step of a star pass rusher, but he plays with good leverage and hands, while holding up well at the point of attack. He’s a better player against the run, but flashes some technique with an inside rip and bull rush to pressure opposing quarterbacks.
Against the run, Vasser plays with good gap discipline and sets a proper edge so that he isn’t washed inside on zone run plays. Vasser shows good lateral pursuit down the line and looks to be a sturdy tackler. Vasser’s long arms allow him to control the matchup when he gets good hand placement and also make him adept at knocking down passes when he can’t get to the quarterback. His ability to turn and run in pursuit didn’t appear very much on film, but he showed the ability to move fluidly and has good body control.
Final Verdict:
After spending the last month’s building a solid foundation for the program, Charlie Strong is looking to the junior college ranks in search of stop gap options and key depth. Vasser should be available to enroll in January and will have a full spring of practices and workouts in front of him.
While he doesn’t have the pass rush skills you’d like to see out of a defensive end recruit, his ability to play the run are strong and he can be taught pass rush technique. He should be in the mix next season for the starting defensive end job, and even if he doesn’t win it, he would be valuable depth and should be in the rotation right away.
From what we’ve seen from Coach Strong and Coach Rumph I think Vassar will be used situationally in run downs and come off the field or slide inside on passing downs. His ceiling looks to be that of an all-conference performer who could be a mid to late round draft pick.
