July Player Performance Index top 30 deep dive: No. 30 DT Branson Deen
CaneSport is breaking down the top 30 Miami players on the roster, and today we are starting with No. 30, DT Branson Deen.
THE BIG PICTURE
Deen arrived from Purdue prior to the spring, a welcome addition since Miami desperately needs defensive tackle help with the losses of starter Darrell Jackson and key depth guy Jordan Miller (both transferred out). Deen spent the spring as the first-teamer and looked more than good enough to hold his own. Now in the fall he’ll have to continue to show he’s ready … with Jared Harrison-Hunte coming off injury and the team also adding second portal window transfer Anthony Campbell. Those two are perhaps most likely to challenge him (fellow transfer Thomas Gore and second-year DT Ahmad Moten didn’t appear at the same level in the spring, and new arrival Joshua Horton also hopes to have a say on things and the early reviews are good on him). Can a tackle combo of Taylor and Deen with ends Akheem Mesidor and either Nyjalik Kelly or Jahfari Harvey be a top half ACC front line? We think so. And it’ll also help that Mesidor and true freshman standout Rueben Bain can work inside on passing downs.
THE ANALYSIS
Deen isn’t the biggest, quickest or strongest defensive tackle you’re going to find, but as they say beggars can’t be choosers. Deen had 27 tackles for the Boilermakers last season with 4 TFL and 2.5 sacks along with 4 QB hurries. In 2021 he was All-Big Ten honorable mention after starting 11 games and finishing with 26 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 4 sacks and 4 QB hurries. He has played in 31 career games and has 72 total tackles with 15.5 TFL and 6.5 sacks. Per Pro Football Focus this past season he graded out at a solid 74.2 on defense (70 is considered a good grade), including 66.1 on run defense, a subpar 41.7 tackling (8 missed tackles in 492 reps) and 78.1 as a pass rusher (credited with 25 QB hurries per PFF). In 2021 he got his most action with 554 reps, and he graded out at 68.6 overall (64.3 run defense, 46.5 tackling, 71.7 pass rush). In 318 reps in 2020 he had a 68.8 grade (71.5 run defense, 79.5 tackling, 60.6 pass rush), and in 202 reps in 2019 he had a 52.3 grade (48.6 run defense, 27.3 tackling, 59.9 pass rush).
THE PROJECTION
We see Deen as a guy who will quietly do a good enough job where there’s not going to be an obvious weakness up the middle when he’s in there with the first team working next to Leonard Taylor. Is he going to put up big stats? Probably not. We can see him with around the same numbers he had at Purdue with maybe a handful of tackles for loss and a couple of sacks. Right now he is what he is, a bit undersized defensive tackle who doesn’t have the level of quickness to burst into the backfield consistently. He’s going to be good enough, but probably not great based on what we’ve seen and what he’s done in the past.
THE JUMP HE NEEDS FROM SPRING TO FALL CAMP
You didn’t really see him flashing into the backfield consistently and making those prized tackles for losses this spring, and in the past his forte has been pass rush moreso than run stopping (which makes sense based on his size). So we need to see him break free more and disrupt plays in the backfield. At 6-2 and 285 pounds there are going to be some linemen that will overpower him if he isn’t quick enough to beat them to the point of attack. He has to show he understands that and can gain leverage and won’t get pushed out of his gap. Otherwise Miami will have to go with a bigger body up the middle.
THE QUOTE
“It gives me the best shot of winning a championship. I love the people, coach Cristobal, he’s building the program from the linemen up and I thought that’s a really big thing. He spends a lot of time with us. I love what we have going on here.” –Branson Deen, on why he wanted to become a Miami Hurricane
The post July Player Performance Index top 30 deep dive: No. 30 DT Branson Deen appeared first on On3.
