Texas tapped into the powerhouse program of Southlake (TX) Carroll to gain their latest commitment, when 2016 corner Obi Eboh made the call to commit. The Longhorns entered Eboh’s recruitment late. Eboh announced the offer on Twitter on Sept. 1, a year after Duke, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and others offered him. Other big programs to offer Eboh include Arizona State, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. It appeared he was Oklahoma bound before the Texas offer. Charlie Strong’s recruiting success against Bob Stoops hasn’t gotten enough attention, but he looks to be consistently winning the battles against his Red River opponent.
As a sophomore, Eboh played in eight games at strong safety for Southlake Carroll — an impressive feat at a top program in Texas — and had 23 tackles, four pass break-ups and a fumble recovery. As a junior, he made the move to corner, where he notched 55 tackles, including five tackles for loss, and broke up 10 passes. One other notable aspect in the Eboh commitment is that he is teammates with Texas targets Lil’Jordan Humphrey and junior Robert Barnes. The three haven’t said they’re a package deal, but Texas was already in great shape with Humphrey, and landing a teammate is never a bad thing. It should surprise no one if Eboh’s commitment brings the other two dominoes down in the Longhorns’ favor.
Film Analysis
The thing that sticks out from the moment you start watching Eboh is his height and length. He’s 6 feet 1.5 inches and 187 pounds. He looks wiry in his junior highlights but may be more similar in build to Davante Davis than Holton Hill.
The rest of his measureables are good (4.57 laser-timed 40, 4.19 shuttle, 33-inch vertical). His straight-line speed doesn’t show up a lot in his highlights but that’s because of the zone technique he’s almost always playing; watch a horror movie — people don’t run fast when they are looking behind them. He ran an 11.10 100-meter as a junior. John Burt ran an 11.02 his junior year. Eboh’s speed is fine, but it’s not tangible qualities that make Eboh unique. His instincts and recognition skills are what really stand out on tape. He seamlessly switches assignments in zone coverage, and reads and reacts to runs quickly. Eboh shows a solid understanding of leverage using the sideline to his advantage against fade routes when in man coverage. Don’t even try throwing a bubble screen to his side unless you want to credit him with a TFL.
He’s a willing, if not great, tackler who doesn’t shy away from contact, but he doesn’t always wrap up and run through his target. Eboh sometimes stops his feet and dives at opponents’ knees instead. It’s also not clear if he has the strength or technique to shed blocks. He will drive back weak efforts by wide receivers, but most of the time he’s just running past them. This is admittedly a minor concern and something he should pick up quickly. There are also a couple of signs that he may get over-aggressive at times and jump double-moves, and he probably doesn’t have the acceleration to recover from mistakes like that. It would also be nice to see some interceptions in his stat line and pass break ups in his highlights. He led the team in break-ups in 2014, but there aren’t many in his highlights, and I’d like to see him put his long arms to use in coverage to know that he can. Finally, I’d like to see him in man coverage against more routes than just the fade. I’ve seen him in man against two out routes — he was good but not great in one and was flagged for pass interference in the other.
Final Verdict
Eboh fits the Charlie Strong mold for a defensive back. He’s a big guy who can get much bigger. He’s versatile enough to play in multiple spots in the secondary. He’s smart and he’s willing to mix it up against the run. I haven’t found a great comparison for him, though he reminds me some of Oklahoma freshman P.J. Mbanasor. I have questions about his ball skills and hip flexibility, which are big reasons a move to safety could be in his future, but the video evidence is there that he can play the field corner position for Charlie Strong.
