One thing Charlie Strong has always excelled at is closing strong on the recruiting trail while doing his best work in the final phase of the recruiting season. Strong continued that on Saturday at the Under Armour All-American game when Waco (TX) High defensive back Eric Cuffee announced his intentions to play football for the Longhorns. Cuffee was offered in the spring and appeared to be a shoe in for Texas early on in the process. Cuffee chose Texas over offers from Auburn, Ole Miss, Baylor, TCU, Texas A&M, Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Stanford among many others.
Cuffee was a frequent visitor to Austin this year, and even though he drifted away from the Longhorns at times, the comfort level he established with the program led him back to the Longhorns. Cuffee joins Southlake Carroll corner Obi Eboh as the only two defensive backs in this class, though Texas does still have some big time targets on the radar. The 42nd ranked player on the 2016 HornSports top 50 was part of the Opening camp during the summer, and was also named to the Under Armour All-American team.
Film Analysis:
Cuffee is solidly built at 6’ 190 lbs. He uses that size to bully receivers at the line of scrimmage. Simply put, Cuffee is the most physical defensive backs in the state. A quick look at his film shows multiple clips where opposing receivers are unable to get off the line and into their routes. Cuffee shows solid speed and understanding of the position but he appears to be stiff in the hips which limits some of what he can do. He’s very strong at the point of attack and flies to the ball where his aggression and physicality make him a very good tackler. Cuffee showed off plus ball skills both on the camp circuit and game day this season with the strength and leaping ability to battle bigger receivers in the air. While Cuffee can succeed at corner in zone schemes, we see his highest upside in his ability to fit in at the nickel position as well as either safety spot. From those spots his ability plays up in a read and react mode where he can use physical ability in the box and ball skills in deep coverage.
Final Verdict:
With depth in the secondary a big need, Texas has the makings of a nice class with Cuffee and Eboh. I like Cuffee’s ability at any spot on the field, but I believe his ultimate upside is as a safety/nickel. If he’s open to making a move away from the corner position he can truly be a difference maker in his first year. As a corner his ceiling is a bit limited, but at the safety/nickel position I believe he could be an all conference player drafted in the first three rounds.
