Damon Payne: Scouting Report
Recruiting is the life blood of a college football program. Every player added to the program is a new piece of the puzzle. It’s impossible to follow college football and ignore recruiting entirely. Throughout the year as players commit to their school of choice we will review their film and give you a breakdown of what we see. Damon Payne has committed to Alabama. Today we will dive in and breakdown the tape to give you a quick scouting report based on his film.
Damon Payne is a defensive tackle prospect with a sturdy build and good, not great, length for the position, that should play in the 305-310 pound range in college. A very good athlete that moves naturally and flashes high end change of direction skills on film. Payne’s greatest athletic trait is his elite quickness which is arguably the best in the class. He uses his hands effectively to get off blocks quickly and relies often on an impressive swim move at this stage. He will need to develop more pass rush moves and counter moves at the next level but displays an understanding of how to set up blockers.
Payne is an aggressive player that is most comfortable shooting gaps and penetrating up-field, a facet of the game he excels at. With excellent snap timing to go along with his elite quickness, Payne often beats lineman with his movement alone. A disruptive player that generally plays with good leverage and can hold his ground when not penetrating with a thickly built lower half. He projects as a three or five technique at the next level and should be a terror on the interior line. Expect Damon Payne to quickly make a name for himself as one of the most disruptive defensive lineman in the nation.
For scouting reports on other Alabama commits click here.
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