Why Auburn offered unranked in-state OT Reese Baker
Auburn recently offered Reese Baker, an unranked offensive tackle from Huntsville (Ala.) Madison Academy.
Shortly after, I put in an RPM prediction for the Tigers to eventually land Baker, and still feel great about that pick.
The question, and it’s a fair question, is why has Auburn offered an unranked in-state prospect this late in the cycle.
At Auburn Live, we always take a deeper dive into things. We can help explain why Auburn felt it was time to take a shot on Baker with a quick film study.
Highly athletic
Offensive line is a difficult position to predict success 3-4 years down the road. There’s so much growth, strength, and work ethic that cannot be determined by watching film or even by in-person evaluation.
What is evident, however, is an athletic ceiling. With Baker, that ceiling is high.
In the clip above, Baker side swipes the defender in front of him to get out in space and take care of the outside backer for the screen play. The quickness in which he gets out of his stance, throws the defensive lineman aside, and finds his target out in space is impressive for a guy his size (currently listed 6-5 260).
Then, he finishes the block with some violence.
The clip above is a very similar play call with the tunnel screen look. Baker, once again, gets out in space in a hurry and finds a man to block opening up room for the ball carrier to run.
Baker moves just as quickly as the running back who comes out to block. When trying to evaluate high school offensive linemen, the combination of a good frame (which Baker has) and good athleticism is really where it all starts.
Understands climbing in a combo block
There are many college offensive lineman who have a hard time learning how to climb when in a zone combo block. Baker, in the clip above, is the right tackle who clears the way for the quarterback keeper.
Baker has a great first step, he takes the time to wash the defensive lineman out of the way, then seamlessly moves up to second level and takes care of the linebacker. This is an advanced play.
He eventually gets that linebacker on the ground nearly 15 yards down field.
The clip above fits the same category in zone combo blocking. It’s the same look from the defensive alignment pre-snap. Baker follows his track and plans on washing the defensive lineman out again before climbing to the backer.
This time, the defensive lineman is on an inside stunt. Baker does not panic, but instead quickly re-directs and puts his force into the linebacker carrying him out of the way.
The idea from the defense was to get the backer into the B-gap and stop the offensive combo between guard and tackle from working so well. Baker ended that idea immediately.
The post Why Auburn offered unranked in-state OT Reese Baker appeared first on On3.
