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The newest Longhorn commit might be the archetype for the new offensive lineman under Joe Wickline at Texas. Elijah Rodriguez pulled the trigger on a commitment to Texas in the last hours of the 2014 recruiting season. The Cy-Creek (Houston) offensive lineman is a Longhorn legacy whose grandfather played at Texas under Coach Royal and has an impressive look about him. Rodriguez, who was once a Colorado commitment, chose Texas over offers from Arizona State, Florida State, and LSU. Ranked a two star player by Rivals, his commitment certainly won’t move the needle in the recruiting rankings, but Joe Wickline has never paid much attention to rankings.
The Texas offensive line can always use numbers and Wickline certainly wants to build one based off of his kind of player. In the past, Wickline has taken more projects with great frames that he can build on. Rodriguez might serve as the litmus test for the Wickline way going forward. When watching film I don’t see a 2 star player, but recruiting services have a difficult time evaluating offensive line prospects because they change so much over the course of their career. This was my first chance to watch film of Rodriguez and I came away encouraged.
Rodriguez gives the Horns 21 commitments and is the third offensive line commit in the 2014. He plays mostly right tackle in high school, but looks diverse enough to play either side. Let’s take a look at what the film reveals.
Film Analysis:
A great frame with the ability to pack on positive weight is the first thing that jumps out at you. Rodriguez looks well coached with good technique out of his stance. He moves well when pulling and zone blocking, and doesn’t get lost in space. He’s light on his feet and stays low in his stance with good hip bend. He has long arms and looks like a prototypical tackle. Rodriguez is physical at the point of attack with a mean streak to boot. He latches onto defenders and then drives them down the field and into the ground. Rodriguez is a bit of a reacher and a grabber and will require some coaching in that area to limit penalties. He uses his long arms to not let defensive linemen get inside on him, and shows a good ability to get to the second level. In one clip of his film he manhandles his guy with one arm while extending and blocking down on another. Rodriguez shows little wasted movement when pulling and plays very smart within his offense.
Final Verdict:
Honestly there’s no way to project Rodriguez. He’s an experiment for Texas fans and is nothing but a projection at this point. Wickline has shown a history of taking players with this makeup and turning them into all conference players. Rodriguez will need to put in his work with Pat Moorer in the weight room and stick to Wickline’s side to maximize his potential. The ceiling is high, but he could also turn out to be a guy who never factors in. I look forward to seeing how this one turns out more than just about anyone else as it will tell the story of what we can expect under Wickline.
